3. Holt’s job as an assistant DA is made easier when defendants confess to their crimes; then he simply has to calculate an appropriate punishment. Ironically, he struggles with great internal conflict because he refuses to confess the major crime in his own past. Do you think confession is good for the soul? Does confession of wrongdoing come easily to you? Why or why not?

  4. As a deputy sheriff, Trish sometimes works with Holt to prepare court cases. She admires him and hopes their working relationship will turn into something more. Even though Holt has a girlfriend, Trish holds on to her infatuation, despite the loving attention she receives from her good friend Keith. Have you ever overlooked a potentially great relationship because you were too focused on pursuing a different person? Have you neglected existing friendships in the quest to form new ones?

  5. Trish likes to compete with anonymous players on a speed chess website when she needs a break from the pressure at work. What do you like to do when you feel stressed? How does this activity help you unwind?

  6. Trish is bitter toward the drunk driver who caused the accident that killed her dad and paralyzed her mom. When she finds out Holt caused the accident that killed his best friend, her feelings for him shift drastically. When have you learned negative or scandalous information about a friend or loved one that made you view that person differently? How did your disappointment manifest itself in the way you treated this person?

  7. Trish’s mom, Marge, doesn’t get out much since the accident that left her paralyzed. Yet at one point Trish tells her, “You’re trapped in that chair, but you’re more free on the inside than I am.” Can you think of someone limited by physical disabilities who exhibits great freedom in Christ? What attitudes or traits can you borrow from this person?

  8. At Trish’s surprise birthday party, her friend Sue Ann’s daughter, Candace, gives Trish a plate with the outline of her hands and the verse “My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:15). What does this verse mean to you?

  9. Holt’s scrappy dog, Henry, gets in a tussle with a copperhead snake. Henry almost dies from the encounter but eventually recovers. When have you stumbled across a “snake” in your life—an incident that caught you by surprise, punctured your peace, and left you barely hanging on? How did you fight back?

  10. What was your opinion of Greg and Valerie Stevens at the beginning of the story? Did that opinion change by the time you reached the end of the book? If so, how? Have you ever made a judgment about someone, only to find out later that you had it all wrong?

  11. When Holt feels the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart, he tells the bishop, “It hurts, but in a good way.” Describe a time when the painful conviction of the Holy Spirit brought about emotional and spiritual healing in your life.

  12. Before Holt could be forgiven, he had to admit his guilt; confession always comes before forgiveness. Bishop Pennington tells him, “When a person receives forgiveness from the Lord, it sets him free to do what he needs to do on earth.” When have you found freedom through forgiveness? Describe a time when you forgave someone else, as well as a time when someone else forgave you.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to my editors, Ami McConnell, Natalie Hanemann, and Deborah Wiseman. It’s an honor to invite you into the world of my stories. And to my wife, Kathy, who protects the time I need to live there.

 

 

  Robert Whitlow, The Confession

 

 

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