Review from April 17

Hey y'all

Hope you are having a good week and bracing for the snow!
In Club 56 on Sunday, we continued our look at sin.  This time around, it was about the excuses we make,(What if I don't know its a sin?) and does God accept our excuses?  To prove the point, we played a strange game where the point was to collect as many of 3 different items as you wished to in 1 minute.  The items had different values that were not shared before the contest happened.  In the end, there were some bits of information that you didn't know that affected the end result of the game.  That lack of information was frustrating.  God, however, doesn't withhold any information as to what is right or wrong.  It is pretty well stated. 
In our discussion groups,  we looked at these passages.

Genesis 3. - This is the story of Adam and Eve being tempted by the serpent (and giving in to the temptation)  When God comes along and asks where they are, they are hiding, because they know they are naked and they are ashamed.  When God asks each of them what happened, they are ready for excuses.  We don't like to accept the blame when we mess up either. 
Proverbs 24.12, James 4.17, John 15.22-24
These verses speak about how we can't avoid responsibility for our actions.  Ignorance is no excuse.  James reminds us of an important fact, too - sin isn't just doing what's wrong.  It also means not doing what is right.  If God is asking us to do something (like live for Him) and we choose to live for ourselves, well, that is also sin.  And John reminds us that this is the plan.  Since we all have sinned and messed up, we need help.  We need a savior.  Jesus coming shows us our sinfulness, and at the same time, frees us from it.
John 16.5-15 - Jesus promised to send a helper after he returned to Heaven.  This is the Holy Spirit.  The very spirit of God that lives in us if we invite Him to.  He will guide us in the choices we make,  teach us from the scriptures we read, convict us of sin in our lives and filling us with hope of what is to come for the followers of the one true God. 

There is a lot of reason to celebrate the verses that we read.  God knows of our sin.  He shows grace, mercy and compassion to save us from our sinfulness and then to help us live for Him.  Our challenge this week is to stop making excuses or trying to justify our sin, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide us in this life to live out our faith so we (and others) may be drawn closer to God.

Look for bonus points coming soon.

~~Chris