Hey guys, Im sick this week hence why i didnt write up Small group questions til now. If you need some questions for your group you can give these a shot!
1- In what areas of life are you tempted to be anxious or frustrated?
2- Is it a lack of trusting in God's control, God's love, or just not liking His plan, that leads you to be frustrated or anxious?
3- What scriptures and truth do you need to remind yourself of, when you get anxious and frustrated?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Handout from Sunday School on How to Fight Sin and Temptation
HOW TO FIGHT SIN AND TEMPTATION
This method of sanctification is called the New Covenant model of sanctification. It is called that because it is built upon the theological truths of the New Covenant. The New Covenant believer receives the Holy Spirit and New Heart at conversion. The desire of this new heart is to love and obey God. The Holy Spirit guides us in making these desires a reality in our life. While our old sinful nature remains (see Rom. 6-8) our deepest desire is to obey God.
Many may resist this truth, quoting verses like Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”. However, this verse speaks of the old heart, not the new heart that has been received at conversion by New Covenant believers. There is a fundamental shift between the heart of someone under the Old Covenant, and someone under the New Covenant. For the person under the New Covenant, obedience to God’s commands is what will make us most deeply happy. This model gives you a helpful process to work through when fighting temptation to sin.
Key Scriptures:
Ezekiel 36:26-27 - And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Romans 6:17-18 - But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
1 John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
The New Covenant Model
STEP 1 – LEARN THE WILL OF GOD BY READING HIS WORD
• In some sin issues just learning something is sin is enough to stop. This is how swearing worked for me.
• BUT IF TEMPTATION PERSISTS…
STEP 2 - STOP YOURSELF WHEN TEMPTED
STEP 3- THINK ABOUT WHATS GOING TO MAKE YOU MOST DEEPLY HAPPY
a. We want to think of the positive effects of obedience
b. We want to think of the consequences of disobedience
THIS MUST BE DONE IN COMMUNITY TO WORK! YOU NEED HELP! Our sinful nature is strong, and the desires of our new heart (that most deeply desires to love and obey God) can be clouded by our sinful desires. We need the help of other believers, who will speak grace into our lives, to obey God.
STEP 4: CHOOSE WHAT WILL MAKE YOU MOST HAPPY
STEP 5: DECLARE PRE-EMPTIVE WAR ON YOUR SIN
You need to be proactive in making war on your sin. Here are the four most helpful steps to doing this.
1. Pray (every day that God would keep you safe from temptation and help you obey. Beg the Holy Spirit to lead you powerfully.)
2. Preach the gospel to yourself
• Remind yourself of the gospel and learn to preach it against your specific temptations. See last week’s handout for help on this.
3. Create distractions (or escapes)
• When you are tempted know what you will do (make a plan) to get your mind off the temptation.
4. Be in a small group and spiritual growth/accountability relationship
• You have to be in community, it’s a command from God so don’t make excuses. Create questions for yourself with another person in SG and ask them weekly
• Check out the spiritual growth questions / accountability questions on the blog for help. (www.at-the-cross-ministry.blogspot.com)
5. Do good
• Eph. 2:8-10
This method of sanctification is called the New Covenant model of sanctification. It is called that because it is built upon the theological truths of the New Covenant. The New Covenant believer receives the Holy Spirit and New Heart at conversion. The desire of this new heart is to love and obey God. The Holy Spirit guides us in making these desires a reality in our life. While our old sinful nature remains (see Rom. 6-8) our deepest desire is to obey God.
Many may resist this truth, quoting verses like Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”. However, this verse speaks of the old heart, not the new heart that has been received at conversion by New Covenant believers. There is a fundamental shift between the heart of someone under the Old Covenant, and someone under the New Covenant. For the person under the New Covenant, obedience to God’s commands is what will make us most deeply happy. This model gives you a helpful process to work through when fighting temptation to sin.
Key Scriptures:
Ezekiel 36:26-27 - And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Romans 6:17-18 - But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
1 John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
The New Covenant Model
STEP 1 – LEARN THE WILL OF GOD BY READING HIS WORD
• In some sin issues just learning something is sin is enough to stop. This is how swearing worked for me.
• BUT IF TEMPTATION PERSISTS…
STEP 2 - STOP YOURSELF WHEN TEMPTED
STEP 3- THINK ABOUT WHATS GOING TO MAKE YOU MOST DEEPLY HAPPY
a. We want to think of the positive effects of obedience
b. We want to think of the consequences of disobedience
THIS MUST BE DONE IN COMMUNITY TO WORK! YOU NEED HELP! Our sinful nature is strong, and the desires of our new heart (that most deeply desires to love and obey God) can be clouded by our sinful desires. We need the help of other believers, who will speak grace into our lives, to obey God.
STEP 4: CHOOSE WHAT WILL MAKE YOU MOST HAPPY
STEP 5: DECLARE PRE-EMPTIVE WAR ON YOUR SIN
You need to be proactive in making war on your sin. Here are the four most helpful steps to doing this.
1. Pray (every day that God would keep you safe from temptation and help you obey. Beg the Holy Spirit to lead you powerfully.)
2. Preach the gospel to yourself
• Remind yourself of the gospel and learn to preach it against your specific temptations. See last week’s handout for help on this.
3. Create distractions (or escapes)
• When you are tempted know what you will do (make a plan) to get your mind off the temptation.
4. Be in a small group and spiritual growth/accountability relationship
• You have to be in community, it’s a command from God so don’t make excuses. Create questions for yourself with another person in SG and ask them weekly
• Check out the spiritual growth questions / accountability questions on the blog for help. (www.at-the-cross-ministry.blogspot.com)
5. Do good
• Eph. 2:8-10
Small Group Questions
Here are small group questions for this week...
1- What sins are you struggling with in your life? Work your temptation to sin through the New Covenant model. As you think about think about the benefits of obedience and the harm of disobedience (remember this is the third step in our process of fighting temptation: 'think about what will make you most deeply happy').
2- What are 3 questions someone in your small group can ask you weekly to help you grow spiritually and keep you accountable to pursue holiness? (We all need to commit to ask each other these questions, not just talk about it this week and never bring them up again). Figure out who will ask you your questions and make sure you ask them the questions they came up with too.
3- What was most helpful for you to read from the chapter on the Holy Spirit? Why?
4- How can you tell/see the Holy Spirit working in your life lately?
5- Was it good news to hear that the Holy Spirit is working in your life even if you cant recognize it or don't feel like its happening?
1- What sins are you struggling with in your life? Work your temptation to sin through the New Covenant model. As you think about think about the benefits of obedience and the harm of disobedience (remember this is the third step in our process of fighting temptation: 'think about what will make you most deeply happy').
2- What are 3 questions someone in your small group can ask you weekly to help you grow spiritually and keep you accountable to pursue holiness? (We all need to commit to ask each other these questions, not just talk about it this week and never bring them up again). Figure out who will ask you your questions and make sure you ask them the questions they came up with too.
3- What was most helpful for you to read from the chapter on the Holy Spirit? Why?
4- How can you tell/see the Holy Spirit working in your life lately?
5- Was it good news to hear that the Holy Spirit is working in your life even if you cant recognize it or don't feel like its happening?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Comments
Hey some of you may have tried to make comments on previous posts but ran into trouble. You should now be able to post comments without any hoopla so give it a shot!
Colin
Colin
20 Spiritual Growth and Accountability Questions
Here is the list of Spiritual Growth and Accountability Questions that Marianne and I talk through every day or two...
You should think about asking these kinds of questions in your small groups, and regularly with another person who can help and encourage you pursue spiritual maturity. Change them up so they fit you obviously, but doing this regularly will bless you.
The only great American revival (the Great Awakening) was sparked by small groups of believers asking each other these kinds of questions...seriously it did. I challenge you to do this and see what God does in your life and in the lives of others in your groups.
-Colin
1- Did you pray today?
2- Did you read your bible today?
3- What did you learn?
4- Did you focus on and think of God throughout your day?
5- In what areas did you not and why? What can you do to change that?
6- How did you, and how did you not, glorify God today?
7- Do you think I sinned against you today? How so?
8- Do you think I sinned against anyone else today? How so?
9- Is there anyone else I/you sinned against?
10-Do you think you sinned against me today? How so?
11- Did you look at pornography or anything inappropriate?
12- Did you fight lustful thoughts or desires when they happened?
13- Did you act angrily with anyone?
14- Did you act impatiently with anyone?
15- Were you gracious with your family today?
16- Were you gluttonous today?
17- Did you gossip, or were you tearing down others with your speech?
18- Were you anxious or frustrated today? How did you not trust in God's love and providence?
19- Did you preach the Gospel to yourself and fight your sin by thinking through the consequences of obedience and disobedience to God?
20- Did the media you consumed today cause you to love Christ more or less?
You should think about asking these kinds of questions in your small groups, and regularly with another person who can help and encourage you pursue spiritual maturity. Change them up so they fit you obviously, but doing this regularly will bless you.
The only great American revival (the Great Awakening) was sparked by small groups of believers asking each other these kinds of questions...seriously it did. I challenge you to do this and see what God does in your life and in the lives of others in your groups.
-Colin
1- Did you pray today?
2- Did you read your bible today?
3- What did you learn?
4- Did you focus on and think of God throughout your day?
5- In what areas did you not and why? What can you do to change that?
6- How did you, and how did you not, glorify God today?
7- Do you think I sinned against you today? How so?
8- Do you think I sinned against anyone else today? How so?
9- Is there anyone else I/you sinned against?
10-Do you think you sinned against me today? How so?
11- Did you look at pornography or anything inappropriate?
12- Did you fight lustful thoughts or desires when they happened?
13- Did you act angrily with anyone?
14- Did you act impatiently with anyone?
15- Were you gracious with your family today?
16- Were you gluttonous today?
17- Did you gossip, or were you tearing down others with your speech?
18- Were you anxious or frustrated today? How did you not trust in God's love and providence?
19- Did you preach the Gospel to yourself and fight your sin by thinking through the consequences of obedience and disobedience to God?
20- Did the media you consumed today cause you to love Christ more or less?
Monday, September 21, 2009
The Respected Sin of Judgmentalism
Hey Guys,
Soon enough we are going to start to deal with our individual respectable sins as we study the book Respectable Sins: Confronting The Sins We Tolerate. One of those sins many of us will be confronted about is being judgmental.
I just found an excellent article you should all check out on sin of being judgmental by a guy named Ken Sande.
In case you dont know who he is, Ken Sande wrote a book called "The Peacemaker" about interpersonal conflict that is quite simply the best book on the subject. John Piper endorsed the book by saying "I know of no living writer who is a more reliable guide for peacemaking in church and family than Ken Sande". CJ Mahaney, another well known pastor, said "There is no need for another book on this topic to be written now that this volume exists".
Those are some pretty amazing endorsements, so you should read The Peacemaker obviously. Personally, this book may have been one of the most helpful books I have ever read in learning how to live as a Christian. But I also wanted to post this article by Sande for you to check out, since most of you won't just start reading that book immediately. We all need help in knowing how we grow mature as Christians who can think critically, but who are not judgmental. This article should help us grow in maturity as Christians.
Part 1 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-1
Part 2 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-2
Part 3 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-3
God Bless,
Colin
Soon enough we are going to start to deal with our individual respectable sins as we study the book Respectable Sins: Confronting The Sins We Tolerate. One of those sins many of us will be confronted about is being judgmental.
I just found an excellent article you should all check out on sin of being judgmental by a guy named Ken Sande.
In case you dont know who he is, Ken Sande wrote a book called "The Peacemaker" about interpersonal conflict that is quite simply the best book on the subject. John Piper endorsed the book by saying "I know of no living writer who is a more reliable guide for peacemaking in church and family than Ken Sande". CJ Mahaney, another well known pastor, said "There is no need for another book on this topic to be written now that this volume exists".
Those are some pretty amazing endorsements, so you should read The Peacemaker obviously. Personally, this book may have been one of the most helpful books I have ever read in learning how to live as a Christian. But I also wanted to post this article by Sande for you to check out, since most of you won't just start reading that book immediately. We all need help in knowing how we grow mature as Christians who can think critically, but who are not judgmental. This article should help us grow in maturity as Christians.
Part 1 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-1
Part 2 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-2
Part 3 - http://www.ccef.org/judging-others-danger-playing-god-part-3
God Bless,
Colin
Friday, September 18, 2009
6 Essentials of College Ministry
Many of you are getting ready to start up your new school year. As you do this you may be thinking about how to talk to new acquaintances, or old ones, about the Gospel. You may be wondering what you should be thinking about and how to engage people. If you are one of these people check this out....
Its good advice from a Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle about the 6 essentials of college ministry. Whether you will be doing official ministry, or are just thinking about how to engage people on campus, check this out.
Colin
http://theresurgence.com/6-essentials-of-college-ministry
Its good advice from a Pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle about the 6 essentials of college ministry. Whether you will be doing official ministry, or are just thinking about how to engage people on campus, check this out.
Colin
http://theresurgence.com/6-essentials-of-college-ministry
Materials for Sunday School on 9/18
Hey Guys so I was going to post the stuff for Chapters 2 and 3, which we will cover this week in sunday school, but I cant figure out how to make it formatted correctly. If I post it without the formatting it looks like a mess, so just pick it up in SS class. If you wont be there and want it, email me.
Colin
Colin
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
What Makes Good Teachers?
My favorite blog: Between Two Worlds by Justin Taylor (www.theologica.blogspot.com) posted this recently, and I thought it would be helpful for small group leaders, especially, to read.
Colin---
John Piper's article The Marks of a Spiritual Leader (written in 1995) is well-worth reading slowly and carefully, especially for those entrusted with spiritual leadership.
Colin---
John Piper's article The Marks of a Spiritual Leader (written in 1995) is well-worth reading slowly and carefully, especially for those entrusted with spiritual leadership.
Here's a section where he seeks to give some of the essential characteristics of a good teacher.
- A good teacher asks himself the hardest questions, works through to answers, and then frames provocative questions for his learners to stimulate their thinking.
- A good teacher analyzes his subject matter into parts and sees relationships and discovers the unity of the whole.
- A good teacher knows the problems learners will have with his subject matter and encourages them and gets them over the humps of discouragement.
- A good teacher foresees objections and thinks them through so that he can answer them intelligently.
- A good teacher can put himself in the place of a variety of learners and therefore explain hard things in terms that are clear from their standpoint.
- A good teacher is concrete, not abstract; specific, not general; precise, not vague; vulnerable, not evasive.
- A good teacher always asks, "So what?" and tries to see how discoveries shape our whole system of thought. He tries to relate discoveries to life and tries to avoid compartmentalizing.
- The goal of a good teacher is the transformation of all of life and thought into a Christ-honoring unity.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Ask your unbelieving friends to study the Bible
"…We asked a total of 1,000 twenty-something unchurched people; 900 American, 100 Canadian. And we compared them to a sample of 500 older unchurched (30 or above). ... And what we found is that yes, there are negative views of the church, two-thirds saying the church is full of hypocrites, people who do one thing and say another. But there was also great openness that's there. One of the questions that we asked them to agree or disagree with was: "I would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked me to?" Among twenty-somethings, 61-percent said, "Yes." Among their older counterparts of 30 and above, 42-percent said, "Yes." That was a statistically significant difference saying there is something going on, there is an openness that's there. So we're seeing that as an opportunity that in the midst of some negative views of the church there is also some openness to the things of God."For more on this see Stetzer’s latest book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them (B&H 2009).
—Ed Stetzer, The Albert Mohler Program, July 30, 2009, timestamp 22:55—23:46.
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