Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Galatians 5:22-23), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• “Goodness” is the quality of something that comes from God and pleases God. In Genesis 1, God created the heavens and the earth and all that fills them—these things all come from his being, his character, and his will. And he saw that all these things were “good” and “very good”—this was his real, internal response to what he had made. The original creation resonated with God. After the Fall (Genesis 3), is the creation still good in some way(s)? Is humanity still good in some way(s)? Why do you think what you think about this?

• “No one does good” (Psalm 14:1; Romans 3:12). “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). It is common for people to consider each other to be “good people.” Is there a difference between the way we use that language and how Jesus uses that language? Can you think of specific ways that people in our culture “call evil good and good evil”? Can you think of specific ways that you tend to do this? Do you think of yourself as a “good person”? How can one realign with God’s goodness?

• Jesus is the good God in the flesh, the only human whose whole life comes from God and pleases God perfectly. Through the Spirit we are united to Jesus, and his goodness counts for us in God’s sight, and his goodness is grown in us so that we whom Jesus calls “evil” (Matthew 7:11) can actually become good and do good. “I myself am satisfied about you, brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness” (Romans 15:14). “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). Now we can follow Jesus in his goodness. There are overtones of generosity in the way Jesus’ goodness is described in the Gospels (see Matthew 20:1-15), and the way Paul talks about it in Galatians (see Galatians 6:6-10). Do you recognize Jesus’ generous goodness when you see it? Do you call his generous goodness “good”? Does it resonate with you? When you see God being generous toward others, do you celebrate it or begrudge it? Do you want to reflect and extend his generous goodness to others? What are some practical ways you can show generous goodness to each other in the church and to your neighbors?