11-Week Study & Discussion Guide

Holier Than Thou

by Jackie Hill Perry·78 discussion questions

Lead your group with the discussion already prepared: a reading plan, thoughtful questions, and printable handouts for everyone.

Last updated August 16, 2026

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Week 1 — FreeRead the Introduction of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Isaiah 6:1–8; Exodus 3:1–6.

Discussion question your group will work through:

1.When you hear the word 'holy' — whether applied to God or to a person — what images or feelings immediately come to mind? Be honest: are those associations mostly positive, negative, or mixed?

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About This Study Guide

At a glance: this is a 11-week study and discussion guide for Holier Than Thou by Jackie Hill Perry, with 78 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.

Why don't we trust God? We sing about His faithfulness, confess His goodness with our lips, and yet we quietly live as though He might hold out on us — as though He might not actually have our best interests at heart. In Holier Than Thou, Jackie Hill Perry argues that the root of our distrust is not a deficit of willpower or spiritual discipline, but a misunderstanding of who God actually is. Specifically, we have misunderstood His holiness. We have reduced "holy" to a moral checklist, a synonym for uptight or unapproachable, when in reality God's holiness — His utter "other-ness," His set-apart completeness — is the very thing that makes Him worthy of our full and joyful trust. Drawing readers through Scripture with her characteristic blend of theological depth and poetic honesty, Jackie dismantles our small, suspicious versions of God and replaces them with the awe-inspiring reality: God is not like us, and that is the best news in the world.

This study guide is designed to help you move through Holier Than Thou slowly and personally, one chapter at a time. Each week, read the assigned chapter before your group meets (or before your personal study time). Then work through the questions, pausing to journal your honest reactions before discussing them with others. Don't rush past the questions that feel uncomfortable — those are often the ones God most wants to use. If you are working through this guide in a small group, commit to creating a space where people can be real about their doubts and their distance from God.

By the end of this guide, you will not merely have a tidier theology of holiness. You will have been invited — again and again — to let the holiness of God become the ground beneath your feet rather than a wall that keeps you away. You will have sat with the God who is wholly unlike us, and discovered, perhaps for the first time or the hundredth time, that this is not a threat but a gift. Expect your trust to be stretched, your assumptions to be challenged, and your worship to grow larger.

Week 1: Introduction — The Problem With Holy

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Read the Introduction of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Isaiah 6:1–8; Exodus 3:1–6.

Before we can appreciate what Jackie Hill Perry is building, we need to honestly name the baggage we already carry around the word 'holy.' Take a moment to come with open hands.

1.When you hear the word 'holy' — whether applied to God or to a person — what images or feelings immediately come to mind? Be honest: are those associations mostly positive, negative, or mixed?

2.Jackie opens by identifying a gap that many believers live with: we say we trust God, but our actual lives tell a different story. Where do you most clearly see that gap in your own life right now?

3.The book's central thesis is that our inability to trust God is rooted in a misunderstanding of His holiness. Before reading further, does that diagnosis resonate with you? Why or why not?

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11-Week Schedule

Week 2: Chapter 1 — Holy, Holy, Holy

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Read Chapter 1 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Isaiah 6:1–8; Revelation 4:8; Leviticus 11:44–45.

1.Jackie draws attention to the fact that holiness is the only attribute of God repeated three times in Scripture — 'holy, holy, holy' in both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. Why do you think the biblical authors (and the seraphim themselves) single out holiness in this unique way?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 3: Chapter 2 — God Is Not Like You

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Read Chapter 2 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 55:8–9; Psalm 50:21.

1.Jackie addresses our tendency to assume God thinks and operates the way we do. Can you think of a specific time when you caught yourself projecting a human quality — impatience, favoritism, pettiness, forgetfulness — onto God?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 4: Chapter 3 — God Is Self-Sufficient

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Read Chapter 3 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Acts 17:24–25; Psalm 50:10–12; John 5:26.

1.Jackie discusses God's aseity — His self-existence and self-sufficiency. Before reading this chapter, had you thought much about the idea that God has no needs? What was your gut reaction to that concept?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 5: Chapter 4 — God Is All-Knowing

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Read Chapter 4 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Psalm 139:1–6; Hebrews 4:13; 1 John 3:20.

1.Jackie addresses God's omniscience — His complete and exhaustive knowledge of all things, including every detail of our lives and hearts. What is your honest, emotional reaction to the idea that God knows everything about you — including the things you hide from others?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 6: Chapter 5 — God Is Everywhere

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Read Chapter 5 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Psalm 139:7–12; Jeremiah 23:23–24; Acts 17:27–28.

1.Jackie explores God's omnipresence — His being fully present everywhere at all times, not spread thin but wholly present in every place. How does this differ from the 'God is kind of everywhere in a vague sense' version we often settle for?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 7: Chapter 6 — God Is All-Powerful

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Read Chapter 6 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26; Romans 8:31–39.

1.Jackie addresses the way human experiences of power — abusive authority figures, corrupt institutions, broken trust — color how we relate to a God who is all-powerful. How has power been used against you or someone you love, and how has that shaped your picture of God?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 8: Chapter 7 — God Is Good

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Read Chapter 7 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Psalm 34:8; Mark 10:18; Romans 8:28; James 1:17.

1.Jesus says, 'No one is good except God alone' (Mark 10:18). Jackie treats this not as a throwaway comment but as a load-bearing theological truth. What does it mean that goodness, in its truest and fullest sense, is not a human achievement but a divine attribute?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 9: Chapter 8 — God Is Just

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Read Chapter 8 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: Genesis 18:25; Psalm 89:14; Romans 3:25–26.

1.Abraham asks, 'Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?' (Genesis 18:25). This is one of the most audacious questions in the Bible — a man arguing with God. What does it reveal that Abraham assumes God's justice as the very basis of his appeal?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 10: Chapter 9 — God Is Love

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Read Chapter 9 of Holier Than Thou. Key passages: 1 John 4:8–16; John 3:16; Romans 5:8.

1.The Bible does not merely say God is loving — it says God is love (1 John 4:8). Jackie unpacks why that distinction matters. What is the difference between love being something God does and love being something God is?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 11: Review & Reflection

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Review your notes and journal entries from all chapters of Holier Than Thou.

1.Jackie's central thesis is that we don't trust God because we misunderstand His holiness — and that seeing God as truly holy, truly 'other,' is not a barrier to trust but the very foundation of it. In your own words, make the case for that argument. Do you now believe it? Why or why not?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Book Club Questions More by Jackie Hill Perry Faith & Theology Spiritual Growth & Disciplines For Small Groups For Individual Study For Churches Free Question Generator Make a reading schedule for this book

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About the Holier Than Thou guide

How many weeks is the Holier Than Thou study guide?

This study guide covers Holier Than Thou in 11 weeks, with week-by-week discussion questions, reading references, and closing prayers for each session.

How many discussion questions are included?

The complete guide includes 78 discussion questions across 11 weeks — an average of 7 questions per week, designed for group conversation.

Can I use this guide for a book club?

Yes — the questions are written for group discussion and work well for small groups, book clubs, church studies, and couples reading together.

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