The Life You've Always Wanted by John Ortberg
Week 9: Chapter 8 — Receiving Grace (The Practice of Confession)
Read Chapter 8 of The Life You've Always Wanted. Key passages: James 5:16; Psalm 32:1-5; 1 John 1:9.
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Ortberg treats confession not as a humiliating religious ritual but as one of the most liberating and transformative practices available to us — the place where honesty and grace meet.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Ortberg argues that we live in a culture of image management — we constantly curate how we appear to others, and often to ourselves. How does this culture make the practice of honest confession feel threatening or strange?
2.He draws a distinction between feeling guilty and genuine confession. We can feel guilty while never actually confessing — guilt can become a form of self-flagellation that leaves us stuck rather than free. Have you experienced guilt that was not accompanied by real confession? What did that feel like?
3.Psalm 32 describes the physical and emotional weight of unconfessed sin — 'my bones wasted away...my strength was dried up.' Have you ever experienced the bodily or emotional weight of carrying unconfessed sin? What was that experience like?
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