When The Right Thing Becomes The Wrong Thing Ways we go against God’s will for us: Sins of – bad things I do Exodus 20 Sins of – good things I don’t do James 4:17 Good things I do the Proverbs 16:2 Some common ways we do the right thing the wrong way: Speaking truth without God’s love Ephesians 4:15 • • • Winning at 1 Chronicles 13 Mercy without Hebrews 12:11 Confrontation without Matthew 18:15-20 When we seek to create a change of without a change of 2 Corinthians 7:10 How can I know if my motives are God-honoring? – Is the Bible clear on this matter? – Have I earnestly sought God’s heart in the matter? – Is there a track record of this bringing glory to God? – What do God-fearing believers have to say about this? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Support Our Ministry If you found this message beneficial and you would like to help continue our ministries, we would be grateful for your support. Go to northcoastchurch.com/give ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Weekly Digital Bulletin The Digital Bulletin can be found at myncc.info ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Life Group Study Questions For the week of February 7, 2021 (Questions and Scriptures for further study & discussion) QUICK REVIEW Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or something that caught your attention, challenged or confused you? MY STORY When you hear the phrase, “We need to talk,” what is your first response when it comes from your: • spouse/significant other? • close friend? • boss/teacher? • parent? • sibling? As we heard this weekend, sometimes we go too far by trying to win at all costs. Can you think of a time when you went a little too far while trying to win something? (i.e. youth sports, game night with friends, Halloween costume contest) DIGGING DEEPER This week our “Digging Deeper” questions will focus on the life of David. David had many highs and failures. Fortunately, he was usually surrounded by people who were willing to do the right thing, the right way. This week we will take a look at a couple of those people. We heard this weekend about some common ways we do the right thing the wrong way. One of the refreshing things about the Bible is how human the characters are and how they respond in both good and bad ways. In 1 Samuel 25:2-35, some characters responded in the right way and some in the wrong way. Using the principles from Christopher’s sermon, fill in the chart below. Character: Nabal Observations about their response Character: Abigail Observations about their response Character: David Observations about their response Based on the passage above, was there a specific observation that stood out to you the most? Like Abigail did with David, can you think of a time when someone addressed a potentially difficult topic with you and handled it the “right” way? Have you ever initiated a conversation with someone about the right topic but approached it the wrong way? If you had to do the conversation over again, what would you do differently? Oftentimes God uses people in our lives to speak truth and help us reconcile our relationships with both Him and others. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband Uriah to cover it up, God sent Nathan the prophet to rebuke him. Read the passage below and take note of Nathan’s timing, tact and tone. 2 Samuel 12:1-13 New International Version (NIV) The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. Approaching a king to rebuke his actions can be a dangerous proposition. What can we learn from Nathan in his approach with David? Thinking about Nathan, is there someone you know whom you allow to speak truth into your life? What characteristics does this person possess that you desire to have? Have you played the role of Nathan in someone’s life? What was that experience like? TAKING IT HOME As you reflect back on this week’s sermon and discussion, is there a conversation you now realize you handled wrong and need to go back and ask for forgiveness? Is there a conversation you may need to approach with a new perspective? Is there someone close to you for whom you need to go play the role of Nathan and speak the truth in love? Is there someone you need to ask to speak truth into your own life? PRAYER REQUESTS COMMUNITY SERVICE IMPACT COVID-safe community service projects are available for your group to serve. To see what our high need projects are, check out NorthCoastCommunityService.org