Saturday, April 6, 2024

Speaker: Ben Snyder, Lead Pastor

Title: The Problem with Religion

Memory Verse: Romans 6:14 (NLT) Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

Religion is focused on what we must do to earn God’s approval and blessing.

The illustration is that we spend our life "earning tickets" to turn in to God at the end of our life, hoping we did enough for him.

The PROBLEM is that living the religious life leaves you with unanswered questions:

• How many "tickets" are needed?
• How do I "earn tickets"?
• Can I "lose tickets"?

These questions leave you anxious and burdened, and can lead to burnout or boredom.

Jesus came to invite his followers to lose their religion and instead follow him. The most outrageous sinners received Jesus' most compassionate welcome. The most religious people received Jesus' strongest rebuke.

Luke 5:27-32 (NLT) Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?" Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent."

Two types of spiritual conditions:

Those who know they are sick

Those who are sick but believe they are not

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT) God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Additional Passages: Matthew 5:20-30

What standard will you use to determine where you stand with God?

Song: "Make Room"

Shake up the ground of all my tradition

Break down the walls of all my religion

Your way is better

References/Resources:

What's So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancy

Vintage Chuck E Cheese animatronics

Updated Chuck E Cheese animatronics

LCBC Losing my Religion Series (series framework used with permission)

Song Links:

House of the Lord - YouTube // Spotify

Graves Into Gardens - YouTube // Spotify

Make Room - YouTube // Spotify

Discussion Questions:

Icebreaker: What is one question you would ask God?

What makes grace a challenging concept for many people?

Read Luke 5:27-32. What do you learn about Jesus in this passage?

Read Ephesians 2:8-9. What do you think living from God’s grace looks like?

What is one way you can develop your relationship with God and live from his grace?