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LESSON SUMMARY

Ours is a predominantly me-centered world, which is what hinders a real, tangible, intimate relationship with our Immanuel. We are all so full of ourselves, but we need to be filled with Him. We are never going to deeply know Jesus and experience our oneness with Him until we begin to grasp how much our old ways of living are not His way. It is only when we comprehend our need to leave our ways behind and seek Him and His kingdom that we will be able to fully know Him as our Immanuel. Yet we continue to look like the world around us, the culture we live in. Many have an outward appearance of godliness, but are completely missing the love and holiness of Christ. Only He can move the mountains in our hearts and minds. At our salvation the Lord created a new heart in us, and now He is reviving His Spirit within us. We need Jesus! He alone is our great reward!

DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL USE

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. LECTURE- 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. 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. Will someone vulnerably share the list of things you crave more than the Lord? What is keeping you from putting your relationship with Christ first or from fully surrendering everything to the Lord?

DAY TWO

2. Please read Isaiah 1:2-4.

What things of the world do you long for? Where or when do you doubt God’s ways?

3. From reading Isaiah chapter 1, how does God describe Israel and their behavior? What is their heart condition? What does He ask them to do? How does He encourage them in verses 18-20?

4. What areas of darkness, hard-heartedness, callousness, or impurity did the Lord reveal to you? Please remember there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ!

DAY THREE

5. What does God do in response to Isaiah’s confession and repentance? This is what you underlined in the passage from Isaiah 6:6-13.

6. What is Isaiah’s response? What is your response? Will anyone share what they confessed to the Lord?

DAY FOUR

7. Please read Isaiah 10:33-34. What do you need to do to spur on your growth?

8. What do you fear when you think of the Lord pruning you?

9. What did you learn about the Lord’s loving kindness expressed through His warnings in Isaiah 30:1-17 and Isaiah 31?

10. What did you learn from reading God’s encouragement in Isaiah 30:18-22? How are you going to apply this to your life today?

DAY FIVE

11. What did you learn about Jesus from the Old or New Testament passages you read?

III. PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR HOMEWORK ACCOUNTABILITY CARDS

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 your Taking the Truth to Heart Review page. We will each have 3 minutes so that every woman 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 you can pray for one another throughout the week. Leaders, please set the example by going first.

VI. PLEASE CLOSE IN PRAYER