ENGAGE INSPIRE


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Life Group Sermon Study

The Substance of Our Growth May 24-25, 2014

Break the Ice:

ENGAGE

(The purpose of these first questions is to help your group open up. Please don’t feel like you have to ask each question. Once you feel like the group is ready, move onto the “Inspire” section.)

• What plans do you have for the summer (vacations/hobbies/etc.)? • Talk with your group about creating a fun night to get together during the summer and put it on your calendars. • What did God teach you during the message this weekend? Did anything in particular stand out? Prayer: Take some time to pray for God to speak to your group through this week’s study.

Questions:

INSP IRE

(Since the group may need time to process each question, don’t let silence scare you. Try to avoid filling the space with unnecessary explanation or moving on from the question too quickly.)

1. Matt said, “Growth in your relationship with Jesus tends to look like a staircase, not a straight upward line. There can be periods of great growth, and then there are times where growth seems to be stagnant or leveled off, and there are many factors that play into both cases.” • Where are you currently in regards to growth in your relationship with Jesus? Discuss. • What contributing factors have caused you to be where you are in your relationship with Jesus right now? Matt said, “We already know that there were false teachers in the Colossian church teaching syncretism, which was the idea that Jesus wasn’t enough and that you have to have Jesus plus ________ (fill in the blank). Syncretism is subjective for each person. Let me take a little bit of Jesus, paganism, Mormonism, Buddhism, mysticism, etc. It’s basically an individual, custom-built religion.”

2. Read Colossians 2:16-17. Matt said, “Christianity isn’t ‘we have to,’ it’s ‘we get to.’ Because of the cross, we get to serve, be baptized, be generous. Because of Jesus, these works are a privilege of salvation, not a requirement of it. Any add-ons to the cross devalue the cross. If human effort is effective, then Christ’s work is ineffective. This is what Paul is getting at.” • Do you find yourself trying to make a greater effort in order to “save yourself,” rather than resting in the finished work of Christ? • Matt said, “Because of Christ’s sacrifice, we get to respond.” How are you joyfully responding to the finished work of Christ?

Read Colossians 2:18-19. Matt said, “Satan will use religious, cultural, and personal false teaching to get you to look at your sin and not at your Savior. When this happens, it will feel like there is a wall between you and the Lord and that there is nothing you can do about it.” • Is there any kind of religious, cultural, or personal false teaching in your life that puts a wall between you and Jesus? If so, what is it and why does it get in the way?

3. Read Colossians 2:20-23. • Are there any worldly elements that you have carried over into your faith? If so, what are they? • Do you find yourself putting in a greater effort to make atonement for your sins, or do you trust Jesus with it completely?

Life Group Sermon Study

The Substance of Our Growth May 24-25, 2014

Application:

EQUIP

(These questions will challenge your group members to apply the study to their daily lives. It is highly important that you go over this section with your group each week for the group study to be a success. Set aside 15-20 minutes at the end of your study to go over this section.)

Matt talked about how while the rate of growth in Christ will fluctuate, it should be progressive. The only way to really do that is by attaching ourselves to Christ. Here’s how we do that: • We attach to Christ through His Word. • We attach to Christ through prayer. • We attach to Christ through His church. • Which one of these three areas are you the strongest in? Why? • Which one of these three areas are you the weakest in? Why? • What action steps do you need to take in order to grow in Christ? Prayer: Take some time to pray over each group member’s identified action steps and life issues. Equip Your Mind: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV)