THIS IS A REAL MESS

Planning the Session

Session Goals

Through conversation, activities, and reflection, participants will:

• Explore what it means to be made in the image of God;

• Consider the damaging consequences of sin;

• Examine our reluctance to face our sin;

• Discover ways to begin the process of restoring the beauty of God's image in our lives.

Biblical Foundation

• Luke 18:9-14

• Genesis 1:27

Before the Session

• Set up a table in the room with nametags, markers, Bibles, extra copies of Restored, a small stack of printer or notebook paper, and pencils.

• Have available a chalkboard and chalk, a dry-erase board and markers, or large sheets of paper and markers to record participants' responses during the session.

• In preparation for the "Leading into the Study" activity, write this quotation from Luke 18:11 on the board or a large sheet of paper: "God, I thank you that I'm not like everyone else." Leave space below for writing group responses.

Getting Started

Opening Activities

Greet participants as they arrive and invite them to make a nametag. Have a supply of Bibles and extra copies of Restored on hand for those who may have forgotten to bring one. Also be sure that each participant has paper and pen or pencil, or the electronic equivalent, as these will be used throughout the session.

Introductions

Introduce yourself and share why you are excited about facilitating this study of Restored.

If you sense that the participants in your group do not know each other well, allow time for them to introduce themselves and share something about their relationship with the church — for example, the name of a church group to which they belong, a mission project they support, or a particular worship service they attend. Extend a special welcome to those people who does not regularly attend your church and invite them to worship at your church if they do not have a church home.

Leading into the Study

Read or ask someone to read Luke 18:11-12. Write responses to the following questions on the sheet you prepared before class.

• Note the general categories: "crooks, evildoers, adulterers ... tax collector." What modern-day examples might we include to prove our point to God that we are not like everyone else? (Some examples are bank robbers, hijackers, kidnappers. Record the first four or five responses from the group.)

• Note the Pharisee's examples of fasting and tithing to prove his righteousness before God. What modern-day examples of our own righteousness might we point out to God? (Some examples are attending worship, teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir.)

Housekeeping

• Share any necessary information about your meeting space and parking.

• Let participants know you will be faithful to the time and encourage everyone to arrive on time.

• Encourage participants to read the upcoming chapter each week and do any "homework" that may be suggested.

• Suggest that participants may want to have a notebook or an electronic equivalent for use during the study. Explain that it may be used for recording questions and insights as they read the book and attend the sessions. It may also be used for writing reflections as they consider the topic of restoration.

• Stress the importance of confidentiality within the group. Ask participants to covenant together that they will respect a policy of confidentiality.

Opening Prayer

Holy God, it amazes us that you love us enough to have created us in your image. We are sorry that we allow sin to damage the beauty of your image within us. Guide us along this journey. Help us to clearly see the sin in our own lives. Grant us courage and wisdom as we accept the mess we have made. Show us how to take steps to clean up the mess. Thank you for the opportunity to be restored into a right relationship with you. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Introduce the video by inviting participants to first imagine a showroom of new cars, then to imagine a junkyard filled with cars that have been in accidents. Note that the setting for this video is a junkyard, and Tom Berlin compares a car that has been messed up in a wreck to our lives that are messed up by sin.

Ask participants to make note of any of Tom's comments that describe their own lives or situations as they watch the video. (This video is a bit shorter than the others — about five minutes rather than seven to ten minutes — to allow more time for first-session introductions and housekeeping.)

After viewing the video, ask:

• How does Tom Berlin define sin in the video?

These next two questions are very personal. Remind participants that sharing is completely voluntary. You may want to share a response to one or both questions to help start the conversation. If no one wants to share, then allow a few minutes for participants to write down responses for further reflection. Ask:

• Which of Tom Berlin's comments about the life of an automobile also describe your life?

• Can you think of some part of your life or some relationship you have that really is in need of attention and repair?

Bible Study and Discussion

Read, or invite someone to read, Luke 18:9-14. Ask:

• What was the attitude of the Pharisee when he prayed?

• What was the attitude of the tax collector when he prayed?

• Which one was "justified" or granted a right relationship with God after his prayer? Why? (You may want to invite participants to refer to the section in Restored titled "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector" for more information about what it means to be justified before God.)

Close this discussion by calling attention to Tom Berlin's point that our encounters with God should leave us "with a sense of humility or gratitude for God's grace." God's work of restoration in our lives is hindered by our pride and self-righteousness.

Book Study and Discussion

Review Tom Berlin's opening remarks about the painting in the Sistine Chapel. Invite participants to respond to these two observations about the painting:

• "The image consists of two hands. The one on the right is the hand of God, reaching toward Adam, trying to make contact and infuse him with life. The hand on the left belongs to Adam, who reaches feebly back, fingers slack, as if thinking: I don't know. I kind of maybe want what God is offering. Sort of. Not sure. I hope to get around to it. I need to think about it awhile."

• "When you stand in the Sistine Chapel and look at the piece, your eye will inevitably compare the figure of God in active pursuit to the figure of Adam in passive repose."

Created in the Image of God

Read Genesis 1:27 — "God created humanity in God's own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them." Ask:

• What does it mean to be created in God's image?

Share these observations:

The face of a newborn child is full of hope. It is a mixture of innocence and potential.

You look at his eyes, let his fingers curl around your own and feel his warmth. This child is, in the words of the Bible, very good, and it feels like anything is possible for him. The miracle of the child that you hold makes it easier to believe that God exists. Genesis tells us that we are made in God's image. The goodness of God is impressed on our souls.

Every parent knows the rapid changes that children exhibit as they grow up. That innocent baby soon becomes a child standing next to a broken cookie jar, sheepishly making excuses. As children grow older, the issues become more complex. Their goodness is very good, a source of great pride and appreciation. However, their capacity for bad can be disappointing. This is the human condition. It is easy to become so fixated on the bad that we forget what is intrinsic to the human soul. That is not our opinion, but the observation of God at creation. You and the people around you are created in God's image, and that is very good.

Offer this instruction to the group: List three to five ways that you see the goodness of God reflected in your life. Allow a few minutes for participants to do this individually, then invite volunteers to share from their lists and record responses on the board or a large sheet of paper.

Looking at Sin

Note Tom Berlin's comment: "The grime of sin covers us and hides the great beauty God intended for us and the world to enjoy."

Invite a volunteer to share actor Bill Murray's comments about the human condition.

Invite someone to read Luke 6:42.

Invite someone else to read John 8:7.

Note that in these Scriptures, Jesus is warning us against self-righteousness. Paul echoed Jesus by writing, "All have sinned and fall short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23).

Share this description of sin: "A sin is an action or attitude that is in conflict with God's desire for our lives. Humans commit sins so frequently that we come to realize that our problem is not one specific sin we regret, but that our lives are in a state of sin. This is the conflict found in the human story. We want to know God's presence, but we also want to do whatever we desire. The result is alienation from the One who created us."

Note Tom Berlin's point in his discussion of "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector" that "admission of a bad life is the first step in finding a new life." Invite participants to share responses to the following questions in groups of two to four people. Remind participants that sharing is voluntary and all responses will be kept in confidence. Ask:

• What actions and attitudes in your life are in conflict with God's desire for you?

• What situations make you most mindful of this tension between following your own desires and following God's will for your life?

• What parts of God's beautiful and loving image within you are hidden by sin?

Call the group back together. Invite participants to turn to the section of the chapter titled "Stop Trying to Manage Your Sin." Ask:

• What are some of the strategies people use to manage their sin? (denial and admiring the problem)

• What feelings motivate these strategies? Why do you think we experience these feelings? How should we handle them?

• How do you feel about sharing your struggles with people you trust?

• How do you feel when others share their struggles with you?

Restoring God's Image within You

Say: The good news of Jesus Christ is the fact that our sinfulness is not the end of the story. Paul goes on to say, "but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). In his story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus invites each of us to cry out as the tax collector did, "God, show mercy to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13).

Share this quotation from Restored: "If we can own our sin, we can get rid of our old strategies for sin management." Ask:

• What does it mean to "own our sin"?

• How do ownership of and honesty about our sin and our need for God's mercy open the door to restoration and healing with God?

• What are helpful strategies for dealing with our sin?

Wrapping Up

Closing Activity

In the chapter, Tom Berlin notes the restoration process that took place to restore the Sistine Chapel painting to its original beauty. An art restorer may consider these three questions when restoring a work of art:

• What is covering the original work?

• How severe is the problem?

• What must I do to restore the beauty of the masterpiece?

Invite participants to set aside time for personal reflection during the week and to consider these questions as they relate to the image of God within themselves.

Closing Prayer

Merciful God, we thank you for your gift of forgiveness that invites and leads us into a restored relationship with you. Grant us the courage to look honestly at our lives and the wisdom to recognize the sin that keeps us from being the people you have created us to be. Guide us as we journey together and share together. Thank you for the promise of a restored relationship with you. Amen.

WHO LEFT THIS MESS?

Planning the Session

Session Goals

Through conversation, activities, and reflection, participants will begin to:

• Discover the meaning of prevenient grace;

• Consider why our lives sometimes end up in a mess;

• Accept the invitation to a restored relationship with God;

• Imagine how our changed lives also bring about change in our families and communities.

Biblical Foundation

• Luke 19:1-10

Before the Session

• Set up a table in the room with nametags, markers, Bibles, extra copies of Restored, a small stack of printer or notebook paper, and pencils.

• Have available a chalkboard and chalk, a dry-erase board and markers, or large sheets of paper and markers to record participants' responses during the session.

• Write the heading "Turning Points" on the board or a large sheet of paper and display it in the room. This will be used during the discussion of both the video and the book.

• Make multiple copies of the following questions to distribute when you break the group into smaller groups.

* How did the person asking for healing approach Jesus?

* How do you think the person felt about approaching Jesus?

* How did Jesus respond?

Getting Started

Opening Activities

Greet participants as they arrive and invite them to make a nametag. Have a supply of Bibles and extra copies of Restored on hand for those who may have forgotten to bring one. Also be sure that each participant has paper and pen or pencil.

If there are newcomers to the group, introduce yourself and allow a brief time for participants to introduce themselves. Remind participants to covenant together that they will respect a policy of confidentiality.

Leading into the Study

Remind participants of the story in Restored about the man who was locked out of his home on a cold morning when he went outside to get the newspaper.

Invite participants to share quick examples of experiences that left them asking, "How did I get here?" or "How did this happen?" The examples may be serious or humorous. If your group is large, invite participants to share in pairs or small groups, or limit the number of participants who share to four or five. Close this activity by noting:

• Sometimes we are responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves.

• Sometimes we are victims of circumstances.

• Always God is ready to help us and offer us a new and transformed life.

Opening Prayer

Loving God, we confess that we do not always follow your will for our lives. When we stray from the life you call us to live, we allow your divine image within us to get lost. Because of our sin and our wrongdoing, our lives sometimes end up in a mess. We thank you, merciful God, that you come to us in the mess. We thank you for your forgiveness that offers us a way out of the mess and offers us a new opportunity to follow your will. Grant us the courage of Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree to see you more clearly. Let us be like Zacchaeus and accept the new life you offer us. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Introduce the video by saying: In this video Tom Berlin explains the meaning of prevenient grace. Four individuals who have participated in the program Celebrate Recovery share how their lives were once a mess, and how, through God's grace, they have experienced healing and are now living new and different lives.

Instruct participants to listen for:

• Definitions of prevenient grace.

• "Turning Points" that led the four individuals to seek transformation.

After viewing the video ask:

• What caused some of the messes that Jeanette, Mike, Jim, Kelvin, and Diana experienced in their lives? (Responses may include: alcohol and substance abuse, physical abuse, broken families, mental illness.)

• What was their initial response to these messes? (Responses may include: became angry, hid the truth because of social stigmas, turned away from God, continued the cycle of inappropriate and unhealthy behavior, allowed life to spiral out of control.)

• How did these people feel while they were living in the mess?(Responses may include: alone, isolated from God, angry, trapped, ashamed, out of control.)

• What were the "Turning Points" or significant realizations that led these people to seek transformation? (Record responses on the board or the large sheet of paper you prepared with the heading "Turning Points." You will refer to these responses later in the session.)

• What is prevenient grace? (God's grace preceding you, running ahead of you, looking for you)

Ask Tom Berlin's closing question from the video:

• Where have you found God to be present in your life before you were ever looking?

Bible Study and Discussion

Read, or invite someone to read, Luke 19:1-10. Ask:

• How does Jesus show love for Zacchaeus?

• How does Zacchaeus's acceptance of Jesus' love bless his household? (His household receives salvation.)

• How does Zacchaeus's acceptance of Jesus' love bless the community? (The poor receive half of his possessions, Zacchaeus compensates those he has cheated, and the community sees a life transformed by the love of God.)

• Who are "the lost" in our communities that Jesus "came to seek and save"?