Small Group Guide
"But God: The Greatest News of All Time"

Based on Ephesians 2:1-10
Overview
This week's sermon challenged us to rediscover the gospel not as a familiar story we already know, but as the greatest news ever told. Pastor Koty walked us through Ephesians 2:1-10, reminding us that apart from Christ we are not simply struggling — we are dead. And yet, because of who God is, he acted on our behalf through Jesus Christ to bring us from death to life. This guide is designed to help your group slow down and sit in the weight and wonder of that truth.

Key Takeaways

• Apart from Christ, we are not simply struggling or in need of improvement — we are spiritually dead and in need of rescue.
• Salvation begins with the characteristics of God, not the accomplishments of people.
• The two most important words in Scripture may be "but God" — a pivot that changes everything.
• Grace is a free gift. We cannot earn it, work for it, or buy it.
• Good works are not the means of salvation — they are the fruit of it. A living tree produces good fruit naturally.
• The gospel should never become so familiar that it loses its power to move us.

Icebreaker
Think of a time you received genuinely unexpected good news. What made it feel so significant? Share with the group.
Discussion Questions

Section 1 — We Are Dead, Not Just Struggling
(Ephesians 2:1-3)
Ephesians 2:1-3 describes humanity apart from Christ as dead in sin, following the patterns of this world, and living according to the desires of the flesh and mind.

1. Pastor Koty made a distinction between struggling and being dead. Why does that distinction matter? How does it change the way we understand our need for God?
2. He also said that people can be kind, generous, and morally upright and still not know Christ. Why is that a difficult truth to sit with? How does it shape the way you think about sharing the gospel with people you love and admire?
3. Have you ever caught yourself thinking, "I'm not as bad as that person"? What does that kind of thinking reveal about how we view our own sin?

Section 2 — But God
(Ephesians 2:4-7)
Ephesians 2:4-7 introduces God's response to our condition — not because of anything we did, but because of his rich mercy, great love, and abundant grace.

4. Pastor Koty called "but God" the two greatest words in history. What does it mean to you personally that God's response to your sin was not judgment alone, but mercy and love?
5. He said, "Our salvation begins with the characteristics of God, not the accomplishments of people." How does that reframe the way you think about your relationship with God on a daily basis?
6. Is there an area of your life where you have been acting as though God's love for you is conditional on your performance? What would it look like to release that?

Section 3 — Grace Through Faith
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
Ephesians 2:8-9 is one of the clearest statements in all of Scripture on salvation — that we are saved by grace through faith, not by our own effort, so that no one can boast.

7. Pastor Koty described treating salvation like a paycheck — something you earn through hard work. How does that mindset show up in the way people approach church attendance, giving, or serving? Have you ever fallen into that pattern?
8. He said, "You can't earn what God freely gives." How does receiving something you could never earn change the way you feel about the giver? How should that shape our posture toward God?
9. Both the lifelong churchgoer and the person who comes to faith later in life receive salvation the same way. Why is it important that no one can boast? What does that do to our tendency to compare our spiritual journeys to others?

Section 4 — Created for Good Works
(Ephesians 2:10)
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared in advance for us to do.

10. Pastor Koty said, "Dead fruit won't make the tree alive. The tree that is alive produces good fruit." What is the difference between doing good things to earn God's favor and doing good things because you have already received it?
11. He asked the group to imagine someone watching their life over the last seven days and asked whether that person would say you were living a life changed by Jesus. How would you honestly answer that question?
12. What is one area of your life where the reality of the gospel has not yet fully changed the way you live? What would it look like to let it?

Practical Applications
Choose one or more of the following to put into practice this week:

• Revisit your story. Set aside time this week to write down or reflect on your own "but God" moment — where you were before Christ and what changed. Share it with someone in your group or someone outside of it.
• Audit your motivation. Look at the ways you are currently serving, giving, or showing up. Ask yourself honestly whether those things are flowing out of gratitude for what God has done or out of an attempt to earn something. Bring that honestly before God in prayer.
• Share the gospel with someone. Pastor Koty reminded us that we cannot hear the gospel and walk away unchanged. Think of one person in your life who needs to hear it, and make a plan this week to have that conversation.
• Speak grace into someone's life. Think of someone who may believe they have done too much wrong to be loved by God. Find a way this week to remind them that grace is a free gift — not earned, not deserved, but freely given.
• Memorize Ephesians 2:8-9. Let the words sink in throughout the week. Repeat them in the morning, at lunch, and before bed. Let them become more than familiar words.

Closing Prayer
Close your time together by praying through the following:

• Thank God for the reality of "but God" in your own life.
• Ask God to keep the gospel from becoming merely familiar, and to let it remain the greatest news you have ever heard.
• Pray for one person by name who needs to hear the gospel.
• Ask God to produce fruit in your life that flows naturally from being made alive in Christ.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10