Texts:
Isaiah 64:6
1 John 1:5-10
Genesis 3:14-15
Unpack it: As a result of following Jesus, his holiness amplifies our unholiness. That confrontation brings us to confession and repentance.
1. Look at the language that God uses to describe our good deeds and attempt at holiness and righteousness apart from Jesus. Knowing that's how God views your attempt at good, how does that impact how you view your sin?
2. Look back in the OT at ways that God handled sin. Death, famine, plagues, killed off an entire generation of people in the wilderness, discomfort, removing of his provision and presence, etc. Do you think God still has the same viewpoint of sin today? Why of why not? What's different?
3. What does light do to darkness? It pushes it back and exposes it. Think about the light/dark analogy when it comes to God and our sin. How is our sin exposed? It should be a natural reaction to walking with God. So is that process evident in your life? If not, what does that communicate about your relationship with God?
4. What does it mean to know Jesus? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Your reaction to sin helps show which team you are on. Why is this such a critical question?
5. What is the one case that Satan has against humanity? How does Satan try to manipulate people into thinking that they are hopeless, shameful, and guilty? His secret weapon is convincing people that you are too long gone to confess and turn around now, so don't even try. He is literally fighting to keep you from confessing and repenting and finding Jesus. Once you find Jesus, his only case against you in nullified.
6. What is your natural reaction to darkness in your life? Run away from it, ignore it, hide it, put lipstick on it to make it look better, downplay it, confess it, embrace it? We all have darkness and sin in our lives (if you don't think you do, then you're calling God a liar). So the important question is what is our reaction going to be to the light? If you are to comfortable with your sin, the light will annoy you and you will turn away from it. However, when we are willing to be exposed by the light in order to rid the darkness from our lives, we will start to be dependent on the light and will welcome it in our lives.
At first, the light will be hard to look at (embarrassing, humbling, will show you things you don't want to have to look at), but keep going towards it! Keep depending on it!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Deceived Word Night, August 19th-25th
Confession
Text: Psalm 51:1-17
Aspects of Confession:
1. Conviction: vs 1-2
2. Confession: vs 3-6
3. Sorrow: vs 7-12
4. Beg for Mercy: vs 13-17
1. What terminology do you use for your sin? Do you dumb it down with phrases like "I messed up, I slipped up, I did some things I shouldn't have done" or are you real about the severity of your sin? Start using words like "guilty, sinful, separated from God, and broken." Even your language can have an impact on the conviction of your sins. Start calling your sin our for what it is. Not something small and insignificant, but something with HUGE ramifications and consequences.
2. Why should you confess? Doesn't God already know what you've done? Doesn't he already offer his people forgiveness through Jesus? So why do we need to ask for it? The death of Jesus on the cross doesn't negate the fact that we need to confess. It just ensures that the availability of forgiveness is there.
3. Does your sin ever remind you of an instant replay? Does it constantly come to your mind? How can un-confessed sin take over your life and force you to make decisions through a tainted mindset in the future?
4. How can you be a slave to your sin? Guilt, shame, remorse, depressions, guilty conscience, lose sleep, etc.
5. Does God know your sin? Yes, so does that make confession less scary? Knowing that you aren't going to surprise Him, what else is there to fear?
6. You were born a sinner, but don't use that as a crutch! Don't fall into the trap of passing your sin off and blaming it on "your sinful nature, the depravity of man, etc." Just because you were born a sinner doesn't mean it's an excuse to sin!
7. What is the real problem of sin that you need to ask for help with? Is it the actual actions, or your heart? How is being forgiven for your outward sins and having an unchanged heart not actually helping the problem at all?
8. God wants to use your story. God wants to use your brokenness to impact people. What do you need to do in order for your darkest hour to be used by God to draw people to Jesus? How could God actually accomplish that and make your sinful life all about the Gospel?
Some great prayers about your sins and confession:
1. God please break me of the sin in my life.
2. God use my broken life story to bring people to Jesus and to glorify God
3. God help me eliminate excuses in my life when I avoid confessing my sins to you
4. God set me free from myself and the bondage of guilt/shame/sin so that I can have freedom in Jesus
Text: Psalm 51:1-17
Aspects of Confession:
1. Conviction: vs 1-2
2. Confession: vs 3-6
3. Sorrow: vs 7-12
4. Beg for Mercy: vs 13-17
1. What terminology do you use for your sin? Do you dumb it down with phrases like "I messed up, I slipped up, I did some things I shouldn't have done" or are you real about the severity of your sin? Start using words like "guilty, sinful, separated from God, and broken." Even your language can have an impact on the conviction of your sins. Start calling your sin our for what it is. Not something small and insignificant, but something with HUGE ramifications and consequences.
2. Why should you confess? Doesn't God already know what you've done? Doesn't he already offer his people forgiveness through Jesus? So why do we need to ask for it? The death of Jesus on the cross doesn't negate the fact that we need to confess. It just ensures that the availability of forgiveness is there.
3. Does your sin ever remind you of an instant replay? Does it constantly come to your mind? How can un-confessed sin take over your life and force you to make decisions through a tainted mindset in the future?
4. How can you be a slave to your sin? Guilt, shame, remorse, depressions, guilty conscience, lose sleep, etc.
5. Does God know your sin? Yes, so does that make confession less scary? Knowing that you aren't going to surprise Him, what else is there to fear?
6. You were born a sinner, but don't use that as a crutch! Don't fall into the trap of passing your sin off and blaming it on "your sinful nature, the depravity of man, etc." Just because you were born a sinner doesn't mean it's an excuse to sin!
7. What is the real problem of sin that you need to ask for help with? Is it the actual actions, or your heart? How is being forgiven for your outward sins and having an unchanged heart not actually helping the problem at all?
8. God wants to use your story. God wants to use your brokenness to impact people. What do you need to do in order for your darkest hour to be used by God to draw people to Jesus? How could God actually accomplish that and make your sinful life all about the Gospel?
Some great prayers about your sins and confession:
1. God please break me of the sin in my life.
2. God use my broken life story to bring people to Jesus and to glorify God
3. God help me eliminate excuses in my life when I avoid confessing my sins to you
4. God set me free from myself and the bondage of guilt/shame/sin so that I can have freedom in Jesus
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Deceived Word Night, August 12th-18th
Texts:
Psalm 1:1-2
Matthew 7:1-5
-Ask your group this: Do you think you have a sin problem? (Sometimes straight up admitting and verbalizing that will be a big step is fixing it).
-If you have friends or family that don't think they have a sin problem, what is your response? What can you tell them? What scripture can you point them too? After all, if people don't think sin is an issue, it's hard to convince them of their need for Jesus!
Why is it so easy to see the sin in other people's lives and so difficult to see it in our own?
-Do you think we get used to it, like Psalm 1:1?
-Do you think we are in denial, deceived that we don't have a sin problem?
-Do you think we are just ignoring our problem, focusing on other's to make us feel better?
What are the dangers of leaving this sin untouched?
-Being Judgmental
-Being Hypocritical
-You'll never overcome your sinful issues
How can focusing on your own sin more make you less judgmental and hypocritical?
What are healthy ways of handling your sin issue?
-Confessing, repenting (when is the last time you really had an intense time of confession?)
-Accountability (is there someone close that you can be real with?)
-Focusing on God's word and his promises (Psalm 1:2)
Take the doctor's approach: Diagnose the issues in your life. Then, figure out what you need to do to make it better. Then, you can track your "healing" process and monitor your condition to make sure you keep the problem in check.
Challenge your group to include a time of reflection and repentance in their daily prayer time. Realizing our sin problem helps the Gospel become more alive in our lives. Your appreciation and gratitude goes way up when you realize how little you deserve of what God has given you.
Psalm 1:1-2
Matthew 7:1-5
-Ask your group this: Do you think you have a sin problem? (Sometimes straight up admitting and verbalizing that will be a big step is fixing it).
-If you have friends or family that don't think they have a sin problem, what is your response? What can you tell them? What scripture can you point them too? After all, if people don't think sin is an issue, it's hard to convince them of their need for Jesus!
Why is it so easy to see the sin in other people's lives and so difficult to see it in our own?
-Do you think we get used to it, like Psalm 1:1?
-Do you think we are in denial, deceived that we don't have a sin problem?
-Do you think we are just ignoring our problem, focusing on other's to make us feel better?
What are the dangers of leaving this sin untouched?
-Being Judgmental
-Being Hypocritical
-You'll never overcome your sinful issues
How can focusing on your own sin more make you less judgmental and hypocritical?
What are healthy ways of handling your sin issue?
-Confessing, repenting (when is the last time you really had an intense time of confession?)
-Accountability (is there someone close that you can be real with?)
-Focusing on God's word and his promises (Psalm 1:2)
Take the doctor's approach: Diagnose the issues in your life. Then, figure out what you need to do to make it better. Then, you can track your "healing" process and monitor your condition to make sure you keep the problem in check.
Challenge your group to include a time of reflection and repentance in their daily prayer time. Realizing our sin problem helps the Gospel become more alive in our lives. Your appreciation and gratitude goes way up when you realize how little you deserve of what God has given you.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Deceived Word Night, Aug. 5th-11th
Text:
Genesis 3:1-13
Opening question: What is sin? Describe it with 1-2 word phrases. (responses will let you know how serious your group takes the concept of sin and how they really feel about it). Are the responses strong and intense? Or are the responses light, almost like admitting that sin is really not that big of a deal?
-One of the goals of this new series is to help communicate the severity of sin. If we don't get offended by sin, then we really don't see a need for a savior. If sin is no big deal, then why do we need Jesus? What do we need saving from?
Here are 3 reactions to sin that we have to guard ourselves against. A great exercise is to get out a piece of paper and get the group to privately write down sins in their own lives that fall into these categories. One of the first steps to eradicating sin in our lives is identifying them and admitting they are a problem!
vs. 1-7: When we sin, we often try to justify is or downplay it.
1. Are some sins more serious to you than others? Do you have some that are heinous, yet others that are "little white lies?" Do you know that God does not categorize and differentiate between levels of sin? Sin is sin, and God detests it all.
2. What are ways that we try to downplay or justify our sins? a. we look at the sins of other people and consider them more severe (oftentimes simply trying to make our own sins more palatable).
3. How can we avoid downplaying or trying to justify our sins? By constantly confessing them, realizing our depravity, depending on God. Again, if we don't think it's a problem, then we'll never more towards fixing it!
4. What are some sins in your life that you are downplaying or justifying?
vs. 8-9: When we sin, we often try to hide it.
1. When Adam sinned, he used a fig leaf to hide behind. What is your fig leaf? Warning: fig leaves can even be good things in-and-of themselves. However, when they are used to hide the real issues in our lives, they can be destructive. Is it possible that people are using their involvement in rGroup as a way to hide behind their sin and keep it a secret?
2. Share some things that you have used as a fig leaf in your past to help others in your group from making the same mistakes. Have you used your past or your hard life as a crutch? Are you allowing a difficult past to be the enabler for your current sin? Maybe your leave is the sin of others, which pushed you towards the mentality of "as long as I'm not as bad as they are, then I'll be ok."
3. What are the sins in your life that you are trying to hide?
vs. 10-13: When we sin, we often try to blame someone or something else.
1. When you are at work and you are busting it hard, and one of the other teammates isn't doing their job, it's frustrating when they make excuses. It's even worse when they mess up and then try to blame someone else for their failure. Our sin is no different. It seems like we live in a society where no one is willing to take the blame for their actions!
2. Would anyone be willing to share a story of when you blamed God, your family, your friends, your circumstances, etc, for the sin in your life? How did that turn out?
3. What are the sins in your life that you are trying to blame on something or someone else.
Let's compare those 3 to the biblical response to sin.
1. Admit that you are a sinner and that sin is a problem.
2. Confess your sins to God.
3. Repent of your sins.
Spend some time in prayer this week responding to God in these three simple steps. Sin is a serious issue that separates us from God. I hope that we can begin to realize how God views sin, and that our reaction will be similar when we see sin in our own lives.
Genesis 3:1-13
Opening question: What is sin? Describe it with 1-2 word phrases. (responses will let you know how serious your group takes the concept of sin and how they really feel about it). Are the responses strong and intense? Or are the responses light, almost like admitting that sin is really not that big of a deal?
-One of the goals of this new series is to help communicate the severity of sin. If we don't get offended by sin, then we really don't see a need for a savior. If sin is no big deal, then why do we need Jesus? What do we need saving from?
Here are 3 reactions to sin that we have to guard ourselves against. A great exercise is to get out a piece of paper and get the group to privately write down sins in their own lives that fall into these categories. One of the first steps to eradicating sin in our lives is identifying them and admitting they are a problem!
vs. 1-7: When we sin, we often try to justify is or downplay it.
1. Are some sins more serious to you than others? Do you have some that are heinous, yet others that are "little white lies?" Do you know that God does not categorize and differentiate between levels of sin? Sin is sin, and God detests it all.
2. What are ways that we try to downplay or justify our sins? a. we look at the sins of other people and consider them more severe (oftentimes simply trying to make our own sins more palatable).
3. How can we avoid downplaying or trying to justify our sins? By constantly confessing them, realizing our depravity, depending on God. Again, if we don't think it's a problem, then we'll never more towards fixing it!
4. What are some sins in your life that you are downplaying or justifying?
vs. 8-9: When we sin, we often try to hide it.
1. When Adam sinned, he used a fig leaf to hide behind. What is your fig leaf? Warning: fig leaves can even be good things in-and-of themselves. However, when they are used to hide the real issues in our lives, they can be destructive. Is it possible that people are using their involvement in rGroup as a way to hide behind their sin and keep it a secret?
2. Share some things that you have used as a fig leaf in your past to help others in your group from making the same mistakes. Have you used your past or your hard life as a crutch? Are you allowing a difficult past to be the enabler for your current sin? Maybe your leave is the sin of others, which pushed you towards the mentality of "as long as I'm not as bad as they are, then I'll be ok."
3. What are the sins in your life that you are trying to hide?
vs. 10-13: When we sin, we often try to blame someone or something else.
1. When you are at work and you are busting it hard, and one of the other teammates isn't doing their job, it's frustrating when they make excuses. It's even worse when they mess up and then try to blame someone else for their failure. Our sin is no different. It seems like we live in a society where no one is willing to take the blame for their actions!
2. Would anyone be willing to share a story of when you blamed God, your family, your friends, your circumstances, etc, for the sin in your life? How did that turn out?
3. What are the sins in your life that you are trying to blame on something or someone else.
Let's compare those 3 to the biblical response to sin.
1. Admit that you are a sinner and that sin is a problem.
2. Confess your sins to God.
3. Repent of your sins.
Spend some time in prayer this week responding to God in these three simple steps. Sin is a serious issue that separates us from God. I hope that we can begin to realize how God views sin, and that our reaction will be similar when we see sin in our own lives.
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