Sermon Study Guide | Series: Let’s Be Honest |
Sermon: Week 5 - Roman Catholicism | Scripture: | Date: July 26, 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 time when your sense of closeness to God rose or fell based on your performance. Maybe you felt confident after a spiritually productive week but avoided prayer after making a mistake or neglecting a spiritual practice. Where are you most tempted to believe that God is keeping a running account of what you owe him? What would change if you truly believed that Jesus had already settled your debt?
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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 Hebrews 10:11–14, 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 3:23–25, and Ephesians 2:8–10 together, then discuss:

• Hebrews contrasts priests who continually stand and offer sacrifices with Jesus, who offered one sacrifice and sat down. What does Jesus’ seated posture communicate about the completeness of his work?
  
  
• The message compared two approaches to God with a tollway and a freeway. Where have you experienced faith as an ongoing series of spiritual tolls rather than a road Jesus has already paid for?
  
  
• First Timothy 2:5 says there is “one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” What does it mean for Jesus to be our mediator? How does this shape the way we approach God?
  
  
• The message identified mediation and assurance as two significant differences between Protestant and Roman Catholic teaching. Why does it matter who stands between us and God? Why does it matter whether we can know where we stand with him?
  
  
• Read Romans 3:23–25 slowly. What does it mean to be justified by grace as a gift? Why is it often difficult to receive a gift without trying to earn it or repay it?
  
  
• The thief on the cross had no opportunity to complete religious rituals or build a record of good works, yet Jesus assured him of paradise. What does this encounter reveal about grace, faith, and assurance?
  
  
• Ephesians 2:8–10 teaches that salvation is not the result of works, yet we are created for good works. What is the difference between works as the fee for belonging and works as the fruit of belonging?
  
  
• How can we speak honestly about theological differences with Catholic friends or family members while still listening respectfully and recognizing the diversity of individual beliefs and experiences?

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.

• Begin each morning by reading Hebrews 10:11–14 and thanking Jesus that his sacrifice was sufficient for all time.
  
  
• Identify one “invisible toll” that affects your relationship with God. Confess the belief beneath it and replace it with the truth that salvation is God’s gift.
  
  
• When shame or failure makes you want to withdraw from God, pray immediately rather than waiting until you feel spiritually worthy.
  
  
• Ask yourself, “Does my sense of God’s love rise and fall with my performance?” Write an honest answer and bring it to God.
  
  
• Choose one good work this week as a response to grace rather than an attempt to earn approval. Serve, give, forgive, or encourage someone because you already belong to God.
  
  
• Have a respectful conversation with a Catholic friend or family member. Consider asking, “How do you personally connect with Jesus?” Listen to understand rather than to win.

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 your sacrifice was complete and that our debt has been paid in full. Forgive us for the ways we continue trying to earn what you have already given as a gift.

We confess that our sense of closeness to you often rises and falls with our performance, even when we say that we believe in grace. Help us trust that you are the one mediator who brings us directly to God. Teach us to rest in what you have accomplished and to live with the assurance that we belong to you.  Let our obedience, generosity, and service grow as the fruit of grace rather than the price of acceptance.

Give us humility and compassion as we speak with people from different faith traditions, and help us hold conviction without cruelty; remind us that the road home has already been paid for. Amen.

FIVE-DAY DEVOTIONAL

DAY ONE: THE SEATED PRIEST

Read Hebrews 10:11–14.

The priests described in Hebrews remain standing because their work is never finished. The sacrifices continue, but they cannot permanently remove sin. Jesus offers one sacrifice for all time and then sits down. His posture communicates completion.

Consider where you are still standing spiritually—still striving, proving, sacrificing, or attempting to settle something Jesus has already addressed. Grace invites you to stop trusting the strength of your performance and rest in the sufficiency of Christ.

Reflect: What are you still trying to earn from God that Jesus has already secured for you?

Pray: Jesus, help me rest in your finished work today.

DAY TWO: ONE MEDIATOR

Read 1 Timothy 2:5.

Paul’s words are direct: there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Jesus Christ. We do not need to find the right person, achieve the right record, or complete the right sequence before approaching God. Jesus himself is our access.

We may still place other mediators between ourselves and God without realizing it. We may trust a leader’s approval, our religious habits, our knowledge, or our past faithfulness more than we trust Christ. These things can be helpful, but none of them can carry the weight that belongs to Jesus alone.

Reflect: What person, practice, or accomplishment are you tempted to trust more than Jesus?

Pray: Jesus, clear the road of everything I have placed between you and me.

DAY THREE: THE INVISIBLE TOLL

Read Galatians 3:1–3.

The Galatians began their relationship with God through faith but drifted toward dependence on their own effort. That drift still happens. We receive grace freely and then begin measuring our standing with God by our spiritual performance.

These tolls may be difficult to notice. After a good week, we assume God is more pleased with us. After a failure, we avoid him. We may not openly reject grace, but our emotions reveal that we believe God is quietly maintaining an account.

Reflect: Does your confidence in God’s love change according to the kind of week you have had?

Pray: God, expose the invisible tolls in my life and teach me to live by grace from beginning to end.

DAY FOUR: TODAY

Read Luke 23:39–43.

The thief beside Jesus had no opportunity to build a spiritual résumé. He could not be baptized, repair the damage he had caused, or demonstrate a lifetime of obedience. He simply turned toward Jesus and asked to be remembered.

Jesus did not offer him a delayed possibility. He gave him assurance: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This does not make obedience unimportant. It reveals that our acceptance with God rests on Jesus rather than on the completeness of our religious record.

Reflect: What fear about not having done enough do you need to surrender to Jesus?

Pray: Jesus, thank you that your grace is sufficient even when my record is not.

DAY FIVE: THE FEE AND THE FRUIT

Read Romans 3:23–25 and Ephesians 2:8–10.

Everyone has sinned, and no one can earn a place with God. We are justified freely by grace through Jesus. Salvation is not our accomplishment; it is God’s gift.

Yet grace does not make good works meaningless. It puts them in their proper place. Good works are not the toll we pay to enter the road. They are the fruit of a life that has already received grace. We obey, serve, forgive, and give because we belong to God—not so that we can persuade him to accept us.

Reflect: Are your actions today flowing from gratitude or from a need to prove your worth?

Pray: God, let my life become a joyful response to the grace I have already received.

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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