LAUNCH
How have you experienced the inner struggle between choosing right and wrong? Where do you struggle with living according to God’s will for you versus your own desires? Between the desire to live according to what God desires for you and your own way?
THE WORD
Galatians 5:16-26
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
EXPLORE
What do you think it means to “walk” by the Spirit (verse 16)? What does this passage say is true of someone walking by the Spirit?
In verses 16-17 what is the opposition to walking by the Spirit?
In verses 19-21, the deeds of the flesh are described. In verses 22-23, the fruit of the Spirit is described. Look at the contrast between these lists!
How is a fruit produced on a plant? Why do you think the word “fruit” is used to describe the fruit of the Spirit? How is the description of “the fruit of the Spirit” in contrast to “the deeds of the flesh”?
What are verses 24-25 saying about how the Christian life should be lived?
APPLY
How have you experienced the opposition between walking by the Spirit and the deeds of the flesh? Where have you seen the works of the flesh lead to brokenness in your own life? Where have you seen the fruit of the Spirit lead to true life and freedom?
What’s one fruit of the Spirit that you often fail to display? What might it look like to consistently display this fruit? Do you think it’s possible to genuinely live the Christian life without the help of the Holy Spirit?
Imagine the flesh as a hungry dog. Sometimes we think that if we simply indulge the flesh the desires will go away. But it actually feeds the dog and makes it bigger and stronger in your life. We need to starve the dog and “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires”!
What would it look like for you to “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires”? So how does Jesus make it possible to walk in the Spirit? (v. 24) How do we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our lives?
Being controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit is simply turning from our sin and turning to Him in faith. God has already given the Holy Spirit to all believers. But not all believers are yielding their lives to being empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Remember the acronym REST to be Empowered by the Spirit:
R - Repent - Admit, confess, and turn from all known sin.
E - Experience - Experience the gospel. God has already forgiven you through the cross.
S - Surrender - Yield control of every area of your life to God (Ask: Is there an area I’m holding back?).
T - Trust - By faith, trust and depend on the power of the Holy Spirit moment by moment.
MEMORIZE
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” -Galatians 5:22-24
The Spirit-Filled Life
Galatians 5:16–26
The Grace of God
The Grace of God
Ephesians 2:1–10
LAUNCH When was a time when someone gave you a really lavish or expensive gift? THE WORD Ephesians 2:1-10 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. EXPLORE Why are people spiritually “dead” according to verse 1-3? Pick one word to summarize the condition of people in verses 1-3. Pick another word to summarize the condition of people in verses 4-6. What was God’s motivation for doing what He did in verse 4? (Look for two). “grace” - unmerited favor, undeserved gift With that definition in mind, what do you think it means in v. 8 that it is by “grace you have been saved”? Saved from what? “Faith” - trust, confidence With that definition in mind, what do you think v. 8 means when it says that “you have been saved through faith”? What do you think the text means when it says “And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”? Why would this exclude boasting in self? If v. 9 just said that salvation is “not a result of works” what do you think it means that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”? APPLY Think back to the first question you answered. When someone gave you that expensive gift, how did you respond? How is this related to salvation that we looked at in this passage? Sometimes we think that acceptance before God is based on performance (works), but according to this passage, salvation is based on grace - a free gift. How does that affect you to know that we are freed from performance to be accepted by God? How should this passage affect your relationship with God if salvation is not a result of works, but salvation actually produces works? MEMORIZE Ephesians 2:8-10 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Assurance of Salvation
1 John 5:11–13, 1 John 5:9–13
LAUNCH On a scale from 0-100%, how sure are you that you’d spend eternity with God? Why? What gives you that confidence? What causes doubt? THE WORD 1 John 5:9-13 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. EXPLORE When a witness gives a testimony, what is a testimony? How do you know whether to trust or not trust a testimony? According to this passage, what is God’s testimony? According to v. 9-10, why should we accept God’s testimony? How do we receive eternal life? Why does John say that he writes these things? APPLY Click the "Apply" button below to view image. MEMORIZE 1 John 5:11-13 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.