Main Point: Don’t give up. Live fully for God.

Questions:

What impacted you from the message this weekend? What challenged you or encouraged you? Why is encouragement so important to make it through the hardships of life?

Think of a time when you were encouraged during a hardship. What happened? How did it make you feel? How can encouragement change a person’s perspective on a situation?

Read Hebrews 12:12. What is the “therefore” there for? (Read Hebrews 12:11 for context.) In a race what does it mean when runners drop their hands and their knees get weak? What does this tell us about the situation that the people in the book of Hebrews are facing?

In this verse, the author of Hebrews is referring to Isaiah 35:3-4. Read these verses. How do these verses help us better understand Hebrews 12:12?

Why is it important to be encouraged personally and encourage others with the truth? How does knowing that God is working even in hardships encourage us to keep persevering?

Read Hebrews 12:13. The author of Hebrews starts by quoting Proverbs 4:26. Read Proverbs 4:25-27 for context. What does it mean to make level paths for your feet?

Why is it important to remove obstacles to from your path when you are running? Following the metaphor, why is it vital to remove from our lives things that are damage to our faith? Name a few things specific things hinder or damage a Christian’s faith.

What is the result of making level paths? How does this impact the individual and the community of faith?

What is one thing you can do this week to put into practice what you learned in this message?