Lesson Eight: Discussion Guide for Group or Individual Use (click more)
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time you have provided for us to come together to hear from you and have fellowship in your Word and to learn and apply your Word to our hearts. We need you, Lord. We need your grace all the time. We praise you for your goodness and your love and mercy. Please open our hearts to you and to one another and lead our discussion. Help us not to fear, but to put all of our hope in Christ. Help us to remember there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. May you be glorified in all our thoughts and words and deeds. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I. DISCUSSION INTRODUCTION
Will someone share how the Lord used the lecture to speak to your heart? Did anyone have any questions or concerns about the lecture? If you ever have a question or something is unclear, please let us know. We want to serve you in any way we can!
II. PLEASE READ THE MAIN POINT FROM THIS WEEK’S HOMEWORK
We are sinners, we are weak, and we are prone to wander. But at the same time, we are also saints who have been given the Holy Spirit. We have been given faith to walk in the Spirit and bear fruit. In order to live like Christ, we must believe it is only through Christ and by His Spirit who lives within us that we are able. We must choose Christ by faith. It’s not a matter of reasoning, it’s a matter of resurrection. Without faith we cannot please God.
In our hour of need, we must remember it is no longer you who live but Christ who lives within you. Our flesh no longer has power to control us. We must choose to believe that God has given us everything we need – Himself. What we really believe and how we act on that belief will make all the difference in the harvest from our lives. Our harvest is multiplied when we understand and truly believe who we are, who Christ is, and what God has given to us in Christ. If we sow righteousness, we will reap righteousness.
III. QUESTIONS FROM THE HOMEWORK
Go through the homework, occasionally calling on women. Read scriptures aloud. After asking a question, remember to allow a brief period of quiet “wait-time” to give women a chance to think before answering. After pausing, if no one shares, go ahead with your answer, rephrase question, and/or move on.
DAY ONE
1. Read Ephesians 2:8-10. We were born of the Spirit to bear fruit – His fruit. What does that look like in your daily life?
2. What do you want to spring forth from your heart? What type of fruit do you want growing from your life and your decisions? What fruit do you want to display before your friends and your family? What kind of harvest do you want to reap?
DAY TWO
3. Is anyone continuing their fast? How is it going? How has the Lord used it in your life?
DAY THREE
4. Read James 2:23. Do you believe that God has truly given you all of the righteousness you need to walk in righteousness? What is keeping you from believing this truth?
5. It is no small thing to have been given faith and Christ’s righteousness. What will you do with the priceless gift that God has given to you?
DAY FOUR
6. Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, 21. Will someone share a time from the past week or so that you have chosen to walk forward in Christ and not your old self?
7. What have you learned as you seek to replace your old pattern of thinking and acting with a godly way of thinking and acting? What are your struggles, and what are your failures? Have you seen areas where God has granted you grace?
DAY FIVE
8. What did you learn from the passage in James?
9. Will someone share something that is keeping them back from completely submitting to the Spirit, to Christ? What is it that you don’t want to lose?
IV. PLEASE RECITE YOUR SCRIPTURE MEMORY VERSES TOGETHER
V. TAKING THE TRUTH TO HEART TIME
We will now focus on taking God’s truth to our hearts and bringing it to life. James 5:16a states; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” And 1 Peter 2:24 says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
Please turn to the Taking the Truth to Heart and Bringing it to Life page on Day Six. We will each have 3 minutes so that everyone will have a chance to share. Please record one another’s confessions on the Taking the Truth to Heart Guide on the following page so that you can pray for each other throughout the week. Leaders, please set the example by going first.
VI. PLEASE CLOSE IN PRAYER
