Discussion Questions:

1) Was there anything from the sermon or the passage that stuck out to you?

2) If God simply deleted evil wherever He found it, He would have to start with people, and instead He made a way for sinners to live near Him (16:16). What does it tell you about God that He chose to stay in the middle of His people's mess rather than wipe it out?

3) Aaron's first sacrifice on the Day of Atonement was for his own sin, and he made it as a father still grieving the death of his two sons (16:1-6). When has grief or disappointment made it hard for you to come near to God?

4) One goat died to pay for sin, and the other carried the people's sins into the wilderness where they could not come back (16:21-22). Which is harder for you to believe, that your sin has been paid for or that it has actually been carried away?

5) Forgiveness rests on the sacrifice of Jesus, not on how well we pray or how sorry we manage to feel. Where are you still trying to earn forgiveness by the quality of your repentance?

6) The priests stood every day offering the same sacrifices, but Christ offered Himself once and sat down (Hebrews 10:11-12). What would change this week if you lived as though the work of dealing with your guilt were truly finished?