Sermon Discussion Guide: 10/19/25

Sermon Recap

Title: The Law Can’t Cleanse You
Text: Matthew 14:34-15:20
Big Idea: You cannot fix yourself.

Discussion Questions

1. What traditions were you raised with that were presented as “Gospel Law”?

2. How did those traditions impact your understanding of the Gospel or the concept of grace?

3. What “traditions” or ways of doing things do you find or suspect may be present in your life now or at North Park?

4, How do you grapple with your personal external behaviors and what they reveal about your heart? Would you say that you tend toward “cleaning yourself up” like the Pharisees or do you find yourself struggling with behaviors that make you feel like your guilt is too much to fix?

5. How do you see the world offering solutions to the problem of internal guilt that is universally felt through common conscience?

6. How would you address different ways of handling guilt with the hope of the Gospel? Can you think of a person with a specific example that you could talk about in group, then talk to sometime soon?

7. How do we balance the demands of righteousness and holiness with the cleansing work of Jesus for the unrighteous? How do these both work together without contradiction? How can we imbalance their relationship?