Good Grief

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark opened this message from a stretch of 2 Corinthians that shows Paul reunited with Titus in Macedonia, relieved and overjoyed that the Corinthians had received his severe letter well. The sermon centered on one phrase from that passage: godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. The question running through the whole...

Read together

1. Deuteronomy 22:5 briefly mentioned as the passage Pastor started in the previous week, about a man not dressing like a woman
2. 2 Corinthians 2:10-13 quoted as the passage immediately before the great digression, about forgiving others and not being outwitted by Satan, and Paul not finding Titus at Troas
3. 2 Corinthians 7:5-7 quoted as the passage immediately after the great digression, about affliction in Macedonia and God comforting Paul by the coming of Titus
4. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 referenced briefly as a memorized passage about Paul's list of afflictions
5. 2 Corinthians 7:10 quoted and expounded as the central text: godly grief produces repentance leading to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death
6. 2 Corinthians 7:11 quoted to list what godly grief produces: earnestness, eagerness to clear yourselves, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vindication
7. 2 Corinthians 7:12 quoted as Paul explaining he wrote not for the one who did wrong or the one who suffered wrong, but so the Corinthians' earnestness for the true ministers might be revealed

Talk about it

1. The pastor described waiting anxiously for news from Titus, with no way to communicate, and compared it to times we have had to wait without knowing if someone we sent into a hard situation was safe. When have you experienced that kind of helpless waiting, and what did it reveal about where you were putting your trust?
2. The pastor drew a distinction between godly grief and worldly grief, saying both start from the same human experience but go in very different directions. What do you think makes the difference between a person who lets grief drive them toward God and one who lets it harden them?
3. The sermon listed several things that godly grief produces, including earnestness, an eagerness to clear yourself, righteous indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vindication. Which of those have you actually experienced coming out of a season of real grief or conviction, and which ones surprised you to hear on that list?
4. The pastor used Peter and Judas as two people who both felt deep grief and remorse over what they had done to Jesus, but arrived at completely opposite destinations. What do you think accounts for the difference in how each man handled that grief?
5. The pastor talked about shooting arrows into the air this week, meaning he reached out to a few people with hard words he felt they needed to hear, and then had to let go of the outcome. Have you ever had to say something difficult to someone and not know how it would land? How did you handle not being in control of the result?