Philip Yancey - Vanishing Grace Study Guide: Whatever Happened to the Good News?

Also by Philip Yancey

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Church: Why Bother?

Disappointment with God

Finding God in Unexpected Places

Grace Notes: Daily Readings with a Fellow Pilgrim

I Was Just Wondering

The Jesus I Never Knew (book and video curriculum)

Meet the Bible (with Brenda Quinn)

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? (book and video curriculum)

The Question That Never Goes Away

Reaching for the Invisible God

Rumors of Another World

Soul Survivor

The Student Bible (with Tim Stafford)

What Good Is God?

Whats So Amazing About Grace? (book and video curriculum)

Where Is God When It Hurts?

By Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Gift of Pain

In His Image

In the Likeness of God

ZONDERVAN

Vanishing Grace Study Guide

Copyright 2014 by Philip Yancey

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition October 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-82565-4

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Cover design: Belinda Bass

Cover photography: Chris Hackett/Getty Images (front);

Potapov Alexander/Shutterstock (back)

Interior design: Katherine Lloyd/The DESK

First Printing August 2014

CONTENTS

As a Christian, I have deep concern about how we represent our faith to others. We are called to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and hope, yet I keep coming across evidence that many people do not hear our message as good news. Surveys show that outsiders increasingly view Christians as bearers of bad news, not good news. It appears the church is failing in its mission to dispense Gods amazing grace to a world that is thirsty for it.

The journalist in me felt compelled to explore how and why the climate of our culture has taken a dramatically hostile turn against the Christian faith in a very short time. As a committed Christian, I wanted to discover what adjustments we might need to make in order to communicate the good news to our friends, neighbors, coworkers.

So I took a step back to reconsider why the gospel truly is good news to people in our world. I explored the ways Christians seek to engage in a diverse world and discovered that some of our efforts can actually drown out the good news and become stumbling blocks to faith. I also looked for models of people from all walks of life pilgrims, activists, artists who are effectively communicating the good news to a culture that is running away from faith.

Grace happens at unexpected moments. It stops us short, catches our breath, disarms us. If we manipulate it, try to control it, or earn it, it is not grace. Gods desire is for those of us who have drunk deeply of his grace to offer its healing balm in a world of division and discord. What can we do to show that grace is real, that we can believe in it? How can we lift the cup of amazing grace to the lips of those who have not yet tasted it?

Philip Yancey,
Spring 2014

GROUP SIZE

The Vanishing Grace video-based curriculum is designed to be experienced in a group setting such as a Bible study, Sunday school class, or any small group gathering. To ensure everyone has enough time to participate in discussions, it is recommended that large groups break up into smaller groups of four to six people each.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Each participant should have his or her own study guide, which includes notes for the five video segments, activities, and discussion questions, as well as personal studies to deepen learning between sessions. Although the course can be fully experienced with just the video and study guide, participants are also encouraged to have a copy of the Vanishing Grace book. Reading the book along with the video sessions provides even deeper insights that make the journey richer and more meaningful.

TIMING

The time notations for example (20 minutes) indicate the actual time of video segments and the suggested times for each activity or discussion. Adhering to the suggested times will enable you to complete each session in one hour. Because more discussion questions are provided than most groups can likely get through in an hour-long meeting, feel free to choose in advance the ones you want to be sure to cover. Of course, if you have additional time, you may wish to allow more time for discussion and activities.

FACILITATION

Each group should appoint a facilitator who is responsible for starting the video and for keeping track of time during discussions and activities. Facilitators may also read questions aloud and monitor discussions, prompting participants to respond and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate.

PERSONAL STUDIES

Maximize the impact of the course with between-sessions personal study, which includes both Bible discovery and ways to put that discovery into action.

EBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

In this ebook edition, please use your devices note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response]. Use your devices highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

Most people I meet assume that Christian means very conservative, entrenched in their thinking, anti-gay, anti-choice, angry, violent, illogical, empire builders; they want to convert everyone, and they generally cannot live peacefully with anyone who doesnt believe what they believe.

UNNAMED CRITIC

INTRODUCTION (8 MINUTES)

As much as Christians may want others to know the good news of forgiveness and experience the hope of a redeemed life, the good news isnt sounding so good to many people these days. In fact, to some outsiders the very word Christian arouses feelings of fear, distrust, antagonism, and hostility. It is a challenge to be salt and light to people who view Christians so negatively.

Questions to Think About

Choose from among these icebreaker questions as time permits.

1. What experiences have you had with people who react negatively or suspiciously when they find out you are a Christian? If you have had such experiences, share them with the group and discuss how you feel when you interact with those people.