Unoffendable

“Unoffendable” Bible Study

This Bible study is based on a book titled Unoffendable by Brant Hansen. It is based on the idea that Christians should live filled with grace, mercy, and happiness by choosing forgiveness over anger and offense. The study is broken into two sections- “Check yourself ”and “Living an “unoffendable” Life”

Each week will examine the Biblical examples and real-life scenarios that will help us live by the examples Jesus set and not our human standards.

Scripture: Psalm 119:165 (KJV)

“Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.”

Objectives:

● Use biblical references to support that we should not hold on to offense

and anger in our hearts and minds.

● Examine ourselves to identify offenses that we haven’t surrendered and

understand why we feel justified to feel offended.

● Accept the key to freedom is forgiveness

● Learn to address injustices in life without holding on to anger

● Understand that by letting go of our “right “to be offended we can flourish

in the way God intends us to.

● Find gratitude and grace in Jesus’ sacrifice for us

● Power in refusing to be offended

Part 1 -Check yourself (Weeks 1-3)

Week 1: What is the offense?

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)

“ Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not

know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you [are disqualified.”

Opening:

How do you respond when someone offends you?

What does offend mean?

Offend is a verb, one definition is to cause to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful.

The spirit of offense is a negative influence that causes people to be easily offended,

angry, resentful, and bitter.

Topics to discuss

Feeling offended often leads to other emotions like anger, resentment, bitterness, and

vengefulness and it is rooted in unforgiveness.

What does the bible mean by offense?

Connect some of the points from “Disruptive Thinking” especially “Invisible Fences” and

other aspects that talk about how words and actions cause people to build barriers to

protect themselves largely due to past experiences, words, and actions of others.

We take offense to what has been said and done to us.

Activities to do:

Backpack of Offenses

Look at some Biblical characters that were offended what emotions were brought out and

how they reacted because they were offended.

Suggestions scriptures (optional)

● Genesis 27 Esau and Jacob. What did he carry in his backpack How did Esau

handle the offense?

● 1 Samuel 18 Saul was offended by the song they sang about David. What did he

carry in his backpack? How did Saul handle it?

● Matthew 15:10- 20 Pharisees are offended about their traditions being broken.

What were they carrying in their backpacks? How did they respond?

How did Jesus respond?

Think back over time. What is stored in your backpack of things that people said or did to

offend you?

Week 2- I have the right to be offended! (Luke 18:9-14)

Focus - Self -righteousness

Define Self-righteousness

“Self-righteousness, in which people take pride in themselves and believe they are always

right and that no one is better than them, is not the same as righteous wrath. Moral anger is

energy that is focused externally. When confronted with a situation including insulting

attitudes, abuse, or injustice, it is a type of reactive emotion known as anger."

Opening:

Have you ever?

(Think of 3 or 4 scenarios where people could ever feel rightfully offended)

(Possible)

● Have you ever experienced someone calling you out of your name?

● Someone cutting you off in traffic

● Someone playing in your face

Reflect on the root of the people who were offended by the scriptures from the previous

week's lesson

Self-righteousness- One who is confident in his/her righteousness. A self-righteous

person also shows superiority above all others, especially if they have a different opinion

than theirs.

Isaiah 64:6-” We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous

deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,”

Things to talk about?

Pose questions: Do we have the right to be and stay offended when people sin against

us when we are sinners ourselves?

Possible self-righteous people to highlight

Pharisees

Samson

Satan

Activity -Put off self-righteousness and put on humility.

What type of self-talk or reminders can we give ourselves to remain humble?

Create a list comparing ourselves to Christ

Write a letter to yourself examining why you react the way you do. How often do we

forget our indescretions?

Close: What attributes does Jesus demonstrate that are available for believers to adopt?

Week 3- But, Jesus got angry!

Ephesians 4:26-27 “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use

your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give

the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.”

Opening: Recount events this week when you felt anger.

Recount scriptures in the Bible where Jesus displayed anger.

Activity: Jesus ‘ Backpack vs. Our Backpacks

What was in Jesus’ backpack when he experienced the following scriptures? Was it

different than what would have been in yours?

Discuss -Righteous indignation

"Righteous" refers to doing anything in accordance with moral or divine law or without guilt

or sin. It can also refer to a choice or action that is justified or morally right, as well as one

that is motivated by an outraged sense of justice or morality. Anger brought on by injustice,

cruelty, or unworthiness is referred to as "indignation". Indignation is defined by the

Standard Dictionary as "a feeling of anger mixed with contempt or disgust."

Pose the question: Does anyone have the right to feel righteous anger besides Christ?

For humans, righteous anger is based on handling anger correctly not the right to hold

on to anger.

Suggested scriptures (option to choose your own )

● Mark 3:4 (Confronted about healing on the Sabbath

● John 2 and Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 21 (Cleansing the Temple scriptures)

● John 11:38-44 (Lazarus raised from dead) -How did Martha handle the

disappointment? How did Jesus handle his?

What happened?

How did he respond?

Did he stay there?

Holding on to anger can destroy us and our testimony!

No one who walked this earth is sinless, but Jesus.

Have the class share experiences where they felt justified in staying angry because

whatever made them angry was something that

God views it as offensive or sinful. What did they put in the backpack?

Closing

What corrective action needs to be taken?