Anger and Superiority (pp48-57)
- What causes and elder brother to become angry, alternatively at himself or God (pp48-50)?
- Do you ever think “goodness and decency is the way to merit a good life from God” (p52)?
- If so, where does that thinking lead you?
- How does “competetive comparison” (p53) fuel self-righteousness (pp53-57)?
- Do you ever feel good about yourself in comparison to others?
- Have you ever been in a co-dependent relationship with a younger brother (e.g., the spouse of an alcoholic, p56)?
- Do you agree that “their anger is a prison of their own making” (p57)?
- Have you ever seen that anger in yourself?
Slavishness and Emptiness (pp57-65)
- What is wrong with honesty out of fear or self-interest (pp58-59)?
- How much do leadership scandals cost the church?
- Do you ever have a pragmatic view of honesty?
- What is “the fundamental cause of evil in the world” (p60)?
- How do fear, self-interest, joy, and love each address that cause (or not)?
- Does it really matter if we do a good thing more for God or more for ourselves?
- Have you ever had mixed (or bad) motives for doing something good?
- Do you agree that “Religious and moral duties are a great burden, often a crushing one” (p62) ?
- Have you ever been tempted to just give up on trying to meet moral codes?
- How do lack of assurance (pp63-64) and a dry prayer life (pp64-65) go hand in hand with moralism ?
- Do you ever see either of these problems in your life?
Who Needs to Know This? (p65-72)
- Why do elder brothers need to hear that Jesus calls them “as wrong and destructive as younger-brother lostness” (p65)?
- Why do younger brothers need to hear this (pp66-70)?
- What are the implications of this message for City churches (pp67-68)? Even in Texas?
- Have you ever met someone who had difficulty distinguishing between Christianity and moralism?
- Why do “genuine Christians who are elder brotherish” (p70) need to hear this?
- Are you ever tempted to have any characteristics of an elder brother?
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