Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Week 2: Chapter 1 — I've Got Jesus. Why Do I Need the Spirit?

Read Chapter 1 of Forgotten God by Francis Chan. Key Scripture: John 16:7; Acts 2:1–4, 38.

Chan challenges the assumption that the Spirit is optional — a spiritual bonus rather than a necessity — by pressing on what Jesus Himself said about why His departure was actually better for His followers.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Chan points to Jesus' stunning claim in John 16:7 — that it was 'for your good' that He was going away so the Spirit could come. Why is this so hard for us to believe? If Jesus said this, why do we live as though we'd rather have Jesus physically present and the Spirit absent?

2.Walk through the logic Chan presents: the disciples had Jesus physically present for three years, yet they abandoned him, denied him, and doubted him — until the Spirit came. What does that progression tell us about what the Spirit provides that mere proximity to Jesus does not?

3.Chan distinguishes between knowing about someone and knowing them. How does that distinction apply to your relationship with the Holy Spirit right now — is it more informational or relational?

4.Chan argues that the problem is not that people want too much of the Spirit, but that we settle for far too little. Where do you most feel the gap between the Spirit-powered life described in Acts and your own experience?

5.Consider the early church in Acts 2. They were waiting, praying, and together before the Spirit fell. What does their posture of active, communal, expectant waiting say to the way most modern Christians approach the Spirit's work?

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Closing Prayer

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Lord Jesus, You said it was good for You to go — that the Counselor would come. Forgive us for quietly wishing for something less than what You promised. We confess that we have tried to follow You on our own strength, in our own wisdom, with our own plans. We have kept the Spirit at arm's length and wondered why the Christian life feels exhausting and empty. Awaken in us genuine dependence on the One You sent. Let us not settle for a Jesus-history without a Spirit-present-reality. Amen.

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