The Bible 20/20 - Week 16: "Have Mercy"

In this week’s sermon, we take a look at King David who ran a faithful yet imperfect race over the course of his life. He was a man after God’s own heart, but also made several huge mistakes that had devastating consequences. Today we explore a key moment of failure in his life so we can learn from his mistakes and his humble repentance. May we all have David’s perspective to recognize our God who, in our moment of failure, is full of mercy and offers the grace of His abiding presence. Discussion Questions: 1. Have you ever struggled with the modern “idol” of sitting in judgment of God? Why do you think this happens? How can we shift our perspective to be more like David’s? 2. In this story, David resists the warning of his friend and avoids God before pushing forward on a bad decision. Have you done that? What was the outcome? Why did you avoid guidance or resist the warning? How can we be more open to hearing warnings and corrections from those closest to us? How can we lovingly be willing to warn others close to us? 3. David recognizes and acknowledges his sin in several ways in the story - He recognizes he did wrong, and he owns up to the impact it had on others around him. Have you ever struggled with minimizing your sin or its consequences - why is that wrong or damaging? Why is it important to own up to the consequences of our mistakes and the effect they have on others around us? How does honestly facing the consequences of our mistakes impact our ability to receive mercy and move forward in a healthy way with God and others? 4. Why is God’s mercy so closely connected to sacrifice? How does the sacrifice of Jesus that brings mercy into our lives then lead to our own “living” sacrifice? If his sacrifice is enough to cover our guilt and deal with the consequence of our sin, why then should we live a sacrificial life? (read Romans 12:1-2 again for guidance) 5. The place of David’s failure in this story becomes a place where God’s presence now resides. How is that true in our lives? What does that teach us about the grace of God in the midst of our mistakes in life?