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Discussion Guidelines
Our team has been praying for months that God would use this series to bring us more into the freedom that is found in him. We believe that these small group discussions have potential to be both difficult and life changing, so we are asking for your group to commit to a few things during this series:
- Split up genders - We’d like each community group to divide up based on gender – men with men and women with women. We believe this will provide the potential for more openness in sharing.
- Confidentially is key - What is said here, stays here. We want to provide a high-trust, safe space to share.
- Don’t Give Advice - During these next 3 weeks, avoid trying to “fix one another’s problems”. Let people share and thank them for sharing but this doesn’t need to turn into an advice giving session. Draw a circle around yourself and focus on everything within the circle.
- Pray for one another – The greatest encouragement and most powerful tool we have in seeing lives changed by Jesus is prayer. Feel free to pray as you begin group, as people share, and at the end of your time together. Bathe this time in prayer.
We ask that you review these guidelines together each week as a reminder before beginning discussion. We are trusting that God is going to do amazing things in the hearts/lives of his people as you step out in boldness to allow him to transform each of you more into his likeness.
Life’s Healing Choices
CHOICE 3 – Letting Go: Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
CHOICE 4 – Coming Clean: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.
CHOICE 5 – Making Changes: Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.
Group Questions
Take a few minutes together in prayer to invite the Lord to open your heart, to provide courage to share something hard if He prompts you to share, and to give each of you an awareness of the grace of Christ during this time together.
- Which of the five barriers to commitment do you struggle with the most: pride, guilt, worry, fear, or doubt?
- What are you having a difficult time letting go of? What’s the most frightening part of surrendering this to God and letting Him make any changes He wants to make?
- Think about the thing you feel the guiltiest about. Do you believe God can forgive you even for that? Share why you feel that way.
- If God doesn’t hold our sins against us after we confess them, why is it so difficult to admit our faults and forgive ourselves?
- The Bible says, “…God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished...” Philippians 1:6 TLB
- Recovery happens one defect and one day at a time as you focus on progress not perfection. Where are you seeing progress in your life now?
- In the next week, what are you hoping to see transformed? What step or action can you take toward making transformation a reality?
Spend some time praying for the things that have been shared. Keep these things confidential and continue to pray for each other specifically throughout the week.