Week 1: Introduction — The Missing Ingredient

1.Bevere opens by describing a kind of Christianity that is enthusiastic and busy yet strangely shallow — marked by intimacy pursued without reverence. Have you recognized this pattern in yourself or in broader church culture? What does it look, sound, or feel like?

2.The publisher's description frames holy fear as 'the key to everything.' Before reading further, what is your gut reaction to that claim? Does it feel like an overstatement, or does something in you resonate with it?

3.Bevere draws a sharp distinction between being afraid of God and fearing God in a holy sense. In your own words, how would you describe that difference at this early stage of the study?

4.Proverbs 1:7 declares that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' What does it mean that wisdom begins here — not with intelligence, education, or even sincere effort, but with a specific posture toward God?

5.Bevere suggests that the neglect of holy fear in the modern church is not accidental — it reflects a broader cultural shift. What cultural pressures do you think have made it difficult to preach or practice the fear of the Lord today?

6.Philippians 2:12–13 commands believers to 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' How have you previously understood this verse? Does Bevere's framing of it as an invitation rather than a threat change anything for you?

7.What do you most hope to gain — or have God change in you — through this study? Write it down so you can return to it in the final week.