Assignment:
Questions
Part 1
1. How do you think most people answer the self-reflective question, "Who am I?"
2. What are some negative messages that can cause spiritual and emotional paralysis? Which of these trouble you most?
3. Look at the list of Characteristics under "Everything Changes." Which two or three of these are most attractive to you? Which seem beyond reach? Explain your answer.
4. Paraphrase Ephesians 2:10. Do you see yourself as God's masterpiece? Why or why not?
5. As you continue reading, it is important to remember that information without application has very little lasting value. What you do matters. So, what do you hope to get out of this book? What difference do you hope this book will make in your life?
Part 2
1. What are your favorite commercials? What is the surface promise for the product or service? What is the deeper promise of how it will give ultimate happiness and meaning? What are some reasons we believe these promises?
2. How does comparison poison our hearts and ruin relationships? Many people compare appearance, possessions, and positions. What do you naturally compare? How does it affect you when you're doing better than others? And when you're not?
3. We can develop a restless spirit when we compare, compete, or conform to what others say we should be. Describe some specific ways Satan tempts, deceives, and accuses. Which of these is a problem for you? Explain your answer.
4. If God's love is so attractive, why do we make excuses and resist him? How would you identify your excuses? In what ways do you resist God's grace?
5. How does Christ sacrifice on the cross begin (or continue) to restore the masterpiece God is creating in you?
Part 3
1. What difference does it make (or might it make if you choose to believe it) for you to be convinced - in good times and bad - that you belong to God?
2. Pick two of the "I am" statements and two of the "I have" statements that are most meaningful to you. How do these comfort you? How do they challenge you to live more confidently and boldly?
3. All of us have some sense of resistance to the extravagance of God's amazing love and our new identity. How would you define and describe your resistance? How will you overcome it?
4. How does the realization that we live in the tension between the "already" and the "not yet" give you perspective, peace, and confidence?
5. In this chapter, we learned that God is not only the Master Artist, but that he is also the Divine Sculptor. How has God used difficulties, conflicts, and disappointments to bring you to an end of yourself?
6. What is God's loving purpose for allowing these painful events in our lives? What's the difference between godly brokenness and depression?
Part 4
1. Have you ever watched an artist paint a portrait or a landscape? Why do you think they take such pains putting in the background before they work on the main subject?
2. Describe the spiritual process of "changing clothes". How does this metaphor help us understand the choices in repentance?
3. Which of the several examples Paul used to illustrate the metaphor can you apply today? Explain how you'll do it.
4. Which of the growth principles comes easy for you? Which one is difficult but necessary? What can you do to begin implementing it right away? What difference will it make in your life?
5. Which (if any) of the forgiveness myths have plagued you? Explain your answer.
6. As you read that section of the chapter, who came to mind that you need to forgive? From whom do you need to ask for forgiveness?
7. What are some reasons we need both persistence and patience as we apply the principles in this chapter?
Part 5
1. How does it (or could it) encourage you to know that someday your portrait will be completely finished?
2. In his famous sermon, "The Weight of Glory," C.S. Lewis reminds us of five glorious blessings we can anticipate when we enter into our eternal home (see page 81). If we are living in light of these promises, how should it be reflected in our lives?
3. How does your new identity in Christ give you a greater sense of belonging, worth, and competence?
4. How would you describe "ambidextrous faith"? On a scale of 0 (nonexistent) to 10 (all day every day), how much of your life is characterized by an ambidextrous trust in God? Explain your answer.
5. How does real, rigorous, deep worship refocus our hearts and change our lives? What are some specific ways you can experience this kind of worship more fully and more often?
6. What are two or three of the most important principles you learned from this book? How have they begun to change your life? How do you expect them to change it even more?