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Read Text: James 3:13-18

1. How did God speak to you through the message? What resonated? What encouraged you?

2. Think about the difference between Godly wisdom and worldly wisdom. Discuss Charles Stanley's statements on Godly wisdom. Do you see this?

"Wisdom is seeing things from God’s perspective. How does God see this? And then responding according to the truth."

"Stanley is convinced that if we don’t observe the consequences of our conduct we’ll end up destroying ourselves and well never become the better people we desire to become."


3. What sort of wisdom do you hear the world giving that might sound wise, but dig a little deeper it at odds with the law of love?

4. Discuss Platinga's definition of sin. And the ways we disturb shalom in our own lives.

He defines sin as “Sin is the culpable disturbance of shalom.”

Let me break that down for us.

Shalom. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, wholeness, health, and blessing. Shalom is how God wants things to be. It would be a picture of God’s Kingdom. Why when Jesus came he was about the business of healing, saving, restoring, making all things new. His ministry was restoring the Kingdom. Re-establishing Shalom.

Disturbance. Things aren’t how they’re supposed to be, are they? Yes people and creation is so beautiful in so many ways but you don’t have to look very far or deep to realize things are broken. From environmental degradation to ISIS to child slavery to all the ways we disrespect one other, this world isn’t everything it could be. 

Culpable. Guilt, deserving blame, blameworthy, responsibility, ownership - culpable is any way you and I have contributed to the disturbance of shalom we see all around us.

Sin is anything we do to disrupt the Shalom God desires for His Creation, including yourself, others, and the broader creation.

5. Talk about Darcy's personal story of risking tension and conflict in order to bring about a true sense of peace/shalom. What might God be asking you to do/say in order to help restore Shalom?

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