1. Review the final memory verse from the 9 Week Challenge: 1 Peter 4:10. How has the Lord equipped you? How are you currently using your gifts to serve others?
2. Todd spoke about how quickly times flies by and how we are to use our “little while” well. Psalms 90:12 echoes this idea: “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” What do you think it means to “number our days”? How can you help one another do this and use your “little while” well?
3. For you to grow in godliness, the first thing you must do is “come to your senses” and realize your need for God (Matthew 5:3). Have you come to the point where you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? How are you currently looking to the Lord and relying on Him rather than trusting in your own wisdom? (See Proverbs 16:25).
4. In John 5:6, Jesus asked a crippled man, “Do you want to get well?” Why do you think Jesus asked him this question? Doesn’t the answer appear to be obvious? What do you think Jesus was really asking the man? Why doesn’t true healing not come until we acknowledge our desperate need for God?
5. The next step to real life change after coming to God is communing with God. What did Todd mean when he said, “You should not marry someone who is not already well married”? What happens when we finally recognize that Jesus is the “Perfect Lover”? How does it affect our values, relationships, motives, goals, etc.? (Be sure to check out the downloadable handout that Todd mentioned in today’s message on “What Does It Mean To Become “God’s Man / Woman.”
In John 15:5 Jesus talks about the necessity of abiding (or communing) with God. What do you think it means to “abide” with God? What are some daily habits you can practice in order to more closely abide with Him? What are the costs of closely communing with God?
6. Read Proverbs 18:1. People who want to genuinely change deeply connect with one another. How can your group guard against routine and challenge one another and enjoy the blessing of biblical community? What more can YOU do to encourage those in your group?
7. Todd’s last point was that people who want to change also “discipline themselves for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7). What do you think this means? Why is this an essential step in growing in Christlikeness? How can we do this and avoid the perils of legalism? Share with your group your “training plan” to abide with Christ.
The post Discussion Questions: August 18, 2013 appeared first on Watermark Community Church Blog.