10-Week Study & Discussion Guide

The Weight of Glory

by C.S. Lewis·71 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 Essay 1: "The Weight of Glory" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Matthew 25:21.

Discussion question your group will work through:

1.Lewis begins by challenging the popular idea that unselfishness — rather than love — is the highest virtue. Why does he think this distinction matters? Do you find his argument convincing?

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About This Study Guide

At a glance: this is a 10-week study and discussion guide for The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis, with 71 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.

The Weight of Glory is a collection of nine wartime addresses delivered by C. S. Lewis, most of them to university students and church congregations in England during the darkest years of World War II. The title essay — perhaps Lewis's most beloved piece of short prose — argues that the deepest longings of human beings are not distractions from the spiritual life but signposts pointing toward it. Glory, Lewis insists, is not a vague religious abstraction but a specific, almost unbearable promise: that we might one day hear from God the words "Well done," and that we are, each of us, potential vessels of a weight of splendor we can scarcely imagine. The remaining essays address the life of the mind in wartime, the nature of friendship and community, forgiveness, membership in the Body of Christ, and the costly demands that Christian belief places on ordinary life. Together they form an urgent, intellectually serious, and deeply pastoral summons to take Christianity at its full weight — not as a comfort, but as a reality that transforms everything.

This study guide is designed for use by small groups or individual readers over ten weeks. The pattern each week is simple: read the assigned essay before the group meets, spend a few minutes journaling your initial reactions and questions, then work through the discussion questions together. Some questions ask what Lewis said; others ask what you think and feel; still others push you to connect Lewis's arguments to the larger story of the gospel. No theological training is required — Lewis himself despised needless jargon — but you should expect to think hard, laugh occasionally, and perhaps feel a little undone.

By the end of the guide you will have spent serious time with some of the most penetrating and beautiful Christian prose written in the twentieth century. You may find that Lewis has named longings you didn't know you had, handed you arguments you didn't know you needed, and pointed you toward a vision of God, humanity, and glory that is bigger, stranger, and more wonderful than you imagined when you began.

Week 1: "The Weight of Glory"

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Read Essay 1: "The Weight of Glory" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Matthew 25:21.

Lewis opens this famous sermon with a provocative claim about what we really want — and why we've been taught to be ashamed of wanting it. Come ready to have your assumptions about desire, unselfishness, and heaven gently but firmly overturned.

1.Lewis begins by challenging the popular idea that unselfishness — rather than love — is the highest virtue. Why does he think this distinction matters? Do you find his argument convincing?

2.Lewis argues that our deepest longings — the inconsolable desire awakened by a beautiful landscape, a piece of music, or a line of poetry — are not distractions from the spiritual life but are, in fact, a kind of spiritual homing signal. How does he develop this idea, and what do you make of it?

a.Can you identify an experience in your own life that fits what Lewis is describing — a moment of piercing longing that pointed beyond itself?

b.Lewis says that in such moments the books or music "are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found." What does he mean, and how does this reframe the way you think about beauty?

3.Lewis identifies five meanings of "glory" that Scripture seems to promise the redeemed. The one that strikes him most forcefully is the idea of being recognized and approved by God — of hearing, essentially, "Well done." Why does he find this both deeply attractive and almost frightening to admit? What does it reveal about human nature?

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10-Week Schedule

Week 2: "Learning in War-Time"

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Read Essay 2: "Learning in War-Time" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31.

1.Lewis opens by acknowledging the apparent absurdity of continuing university studies while Europe burns. What is his essential answer to the question "Why study at all in wartime"? Summarize it in your own words.

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 3: "Why I Am Not a Pacifist"

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Read Essay 3: "Why I Am Not a Pacifist" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Romans 13:1-4; Matthew 5:39.

1.Lewis begins by outlining his method for settling moral questions: he weighs intuitions, arguments, and the authority of "the moral tradition of humanity." Do you find this a trustworthy framework? What might it leave out?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 4: "Transposition"

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Read Essay 4: "Transposition" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; Romans 8:26.

1.Lewis introduces the concept of "transposition" through the analogy of a rich musical score being reduced to a single-line instrument. What is the basic idea he is trying to capture with this image?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 5: "Is Theology Poetry?"

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Read Essay 5: "Is Theology Poetry?" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: John 1:1-14; Colossians 1:15-20.

1.What is the challenge embedded in Lewis's title? In what sense might someone argue that theology is "only" poetry, and why would that be a problem for the Christian faith?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 6: "The Inner Ring"

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Read Essay 6: "The Inner Ring" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: James 4:4; John 15:15; Galatians 1:10.

1.Lewis describes the phenomenon of "Inner Rings" — the invisible circles of insiders in every organization, school, and community. Do you recognize this phenomenon? Can you describe an Inner Ring you have encountered or longed to enter?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 7: "Membership"

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Read Essay 7: "Membership" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Romans 12:4-8.

1.Lewis argues that modern "collectivism" — the tendency to dissolve the individual into the group — is actually the enemy of true Christian membership. What is the difference between a collective and a body, in Lewis's terms?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 8: "On Forgiveness"

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Read Essay 8: "On Forgiveness" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Matthew 6:12-15; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13.

1.Lewis begins by noting that Christians often say they believe in forgiveness without thinking through what it actually means. What does Lewis say it really means — what specifically are we committing to when we say we forgive someone?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 9: "A Slip of the Tongue"

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Read Essay 9: "A Slip of the Tongue" in The Weight of Glory. Key Scripture: Matthew 6:33; Luke 9:23; Hebrews 12:1-2.

1.Lewis confesses to a "slip of the tongue" in prayer — he found himself asking for safety and comfort instead of God himself. What is the spiritual danger he identifies in this small slip? Why does he take it so seriously?

+ 6 more questions in the full guide

Week 10: Review & Reflection

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Review your notes and journal entries from the entire book, The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis.

1.Looking back across all nine essays, which one hit you hardest — either because it named something you already believed but had never articulated, or because it challenged something you thought you knew? Why this one?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Book Club Questions More by C.S. Lewis Faith & Theology Christian Living For Small Groups For Pastors & Sermon Series For Individual Study Free Question Generator Make a reading schedule for this book

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About the The Weight of Glory guide

How many weeks is the The Weight of Glory study guide?

This study guide covers The Weight of Glory in 10 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 71 discussion questions across 10 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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