1.  Have you ever faced alienation in your life due to some physical distinction (racism, classism, sexism, etc.)?  What do you think was the cause of this alienation?  How did it make you feel?

2. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “If you do not realize what you were before God took hold of you, you will never praise Him as you ought.” Do you agree with this statement? Please explain.

3. Sam listed some physical distinctions that you or the world uses to determine your worth. Can you list any others? For those of you who are in Christ, why do you think you still use these distinctions to determine your value, despite your identity in Christ? What can keep you from believing such obvious lies, especially for one who believes in God’s Word?

(For Question 4, you might want to have the women break up into small groups and discuss this and share amongst themselves)
4. Women, why do you think physical beauty is so important to women? How do you think this impacts your life? Listen to these quotes again from the A&E Documentary Beauty in a Jar :

Naomi Wolf, author of The Beauty Myth, comments: “Beauty products have managed to put their finger on the pulse of the culture and of women’s legitimate longings and desires. They have nothing to do with beauty… [They symbolize] equality…freedom…sexuality…love. When in fact what you’re getting is some color to put on your face and some goo.” One woman said: Another unidentified woman comments: “When [I] see someone who is overly made up, it makes me feel uncomfortable for that person. There’s something that they feel they need to hide. But at the same time, the way that you look on the outside does influence how you feel on the inside. Now, it can’t only be that, but it does contribute to your well-being and your self-confidence.” Helen Gurley Brown, editor-in-chief for Cosmopolitan, comments: “Make-up is almost a religion in itself. You don’t even think about why you do it. You just do it… We just want to look more luscious, more desirable, more beautiful, more interesting. It has to do with attracting not only the opposite sex, but attracting everybody. You make up your face, you’re more dramatic, you’re more interesting, people pay attention to you.

Are these generally true? Are they true in your own life? What do you think is the proper balance between God’s sense of beauty and the world’s sense of beauty? How can knowing God’s standard of beauty impact your life? Is it wrong to enjoy cosmetics and physical beauty? How do Gen 1:26-27 and Prov 31:30 help you to answer these questions? What are some practical ways beauty can be enjoyed in Christ? What are some practical ways beauty can be abused when outside of Christ?

5.  What are the reasons people have a critical/judgmental spirit?  How can such a spirit spring forth from self-centeredness?  Why are we so easily uplifted by people’s praises and so destroyed by people’s criticism?

6.  Why were the Jews chosen as God’s people?  What did they believe about their chosenness?  How does understanding the Jews belief about themselves and their superiority over others, help us when we think the same way about ourselves?

7.  Why is it so critical to remember that we are in Christ?  What do you think this practically looks like?  How does preaching the Gospel to ourselves practically impact our joy in life?  Please share what this looks like for you.

8.  Why do you think it is so important to remember that you were once far off but brought near?  How can forgetting that we were far off or brought near by God Himself lead us to joylessness and dissatisfaction in life, in our relationships with others, in our relationship with God?

9.  Why do you think the Bible and Christians continually emphasize the blood of Christ?  Do you have any experiences where you have seen large amounts of blood?  How did that make you feel?  Why is it important for us to remember the blood of Christ according to verse 13?  What does this truly mean for the Christian?

10.  Knowing what you know about what Christ has done for you, how then shall you live?

Or as Paul Tripp wrote: “Jesus, by his bleeding and broken body on the cross, not only gave the kingdom of God its life and hope, but its paradigm for living well.” How does knowing what Christ has done for us affect our view of life?