A Problem I Can't Do Anything About

In one paragraph

Pastor Nathan opened with two stories from his early years at First Baptist, then walked the church through the first two steps of recovery as a lens for understanding what the gospel actually does. The sermon landed at the communion table, where the new covenant was held up against the old: the law shows us the problem, and Christ's blood is the provision. Pastor Nathan had been trying to preach...

Read together

1. Galatians 5:25 If we are living by the Spirit, by the Spirit we should also be walking, used to introduce the sermon's theme of keeping in step with the Spirit
2. Galatians 5:19-23 Works of the flesh contrasted with the fruit of the Spirit, used as a representative list of sin patterns
3. John 16 Upper room discourse where Jesus tells his disciples it is to their advantage that he leaves so the Helper will come, and the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment
4. Romans 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, used to establish the universal problem of sin
5. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord
6. Romans 5:8 While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, used to show God's provision for sin

Talk about it

1. Pastor McDaniel said that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, and that a lack of belief or reverence for God can lead us to think our sin is okay or not even sin at all. Where have you seen that play out, either in your own life or around you?
2. Ron came through the door saying 'tell me about Jesus' only after he had exhausted every other option and hit rock bottom. What do you think it takes for a person to reach that point of genuine openness, and what kept him from getting there sooner?
3. The first step McDaniel covered is admitting we are powerless over our problem and that our life has become unmanageable. He said people will go to great lengths to avoid admitting that. What makes that admission so hard, even for people who already believe in God?
4. Looking at the list from Galatians 5, McDaniel pointed out that it is easy to spot these works of the flesh in other people but much harder to see them in ourselves, and that the way to see our own is to humble ourselves before God and ask Him to show us. What does that kind of honest prayer actually look like in practice?
5. McDaniel described the old covenant as putting the burden on us, a burden we have already broken, and the new covenant as God making a way through Christ's blood while we were yet sinners. How does understanding communion in that light change the way you approach the table?