Sermon Study Guide | Series: Let’s Be Honest | Sermon: Week 4 - Mormonism
Scripture: Matthew 17:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-9 | Date: July 19, 2026

For this series we’ve developed a Let's Be Honest — Resource Guide

CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

Think about a “ladder” you have been climbing: success, approval, productivity, knowledge, morality, financial security, or spiritual achievement. What does the next rung seem to promise you? How has trying to prove your value through progress affected your peace, relationships, or view of God? Share about a time when you realized that your worth could not be secured by working harder or reaching higher.

ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

Read Matthew 17:1–8 and Ephesians 2:8–10 together, then discuss:

• The message reminds us that when competing voices speak, we should listen to Jesus. What voices currently compete for authority in your life, and how can you refocus your attention on him?
  
  
• Read Ephesians 2:8–9 again. What does Paul say is the basis of our salvation? Where are you tempted to add your own achievements, behavior, or religious performance to God’s gift of grace?
  
  
• When the disciples looked up, they saw “no one but Jesus only” (Matthew 17:8). Why is that detail important when evaluating prophets, religious leaders, spiritual experiences, or additional claims of revelation?
  
  
• The message explained that historic Christianity sees Jesus as the eternal Son of God, not a created being who later became divine. Why does our understanding of who Jesus is matter so much?
  
  
• The message said, “Your conduct is not the price you pay to belong to God; it is the life that grows because you already belong to him.” How does that change the way you understand obedience and good works?
  
  
• How do you deal with the anxiety of uncertainty? What questions still linger for you or what have you had to release?
  
  
• What would it look like to hold a clear conviction about Jesus while treating a Latter-day Saint friend, relative, or neighbor with genuine curiosity, humility, and dignity?

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

• Identify one ladder you have been using to measure your worth. Write down what you believe reaching the next rung will give you, then bring that desire honestly to God.
  
  
• Begin each day this week by reading Ephesians 2:8–10. Thank God that grace is a gift before thinking about what you need to achieve or accomplish.
  
  
• When you feel pressure to prove yourself, pause and repeat: “I do not work for belonging; I live from belonging.”
  
  
• Examine the voices shaping your beliefs about God. Ask whether they point you toward Jesus as he is revealed in Scripture or attempt to add to, correct, or replace his authority.
  
  
• Approach a Latter-day Saint friend or neighbor with genuine curiosity. Ask what their faith means to them, and listen without preparing an argument or reducing them to a set of doctrines.
  
  
• Choose one act of obedience or service this week, not to earn God’s approval, but as a grateful response to the grace you have already received.

PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

Jesus, thank you that we do not have to climb high enough, perform well enough, or understand every mystery before we can belong to you.

Thank you for coming down to meet us, carrying our sin, and offering us salvation as a gift of grace. Forgive us for the ways we have built ladders out of success, morality, knowledge, productivity, or religion and asked them to carry the weight of our worth. Teach us to listen to you above every competing voice and to trust what you have already accomplished.

Give us humility, wisdom, and compassion as we engage with people whose beliefs differ from ours. Help us hold conviction without cruelty and extend the same grace to others that we have received from you. When our frameworks falter and uncertainty rises, remind us that you remain and that you are enough. Amen.

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If you have feedback on this guide or ideas that would help your group engage more deeply, we’d love to hear from you. 

Your insight helps us continue growing as a church that wrestles honestly and walks faithfully together. Contact msummers@menlo.church

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