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A Cross Shaped Life: Walking in New Life – Sermon Discussion Guide – 7-28-24

Ben Phebus // Rockford Campus // July 28, 2024

 

A Cross Shaped Life: Walking in New Life

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

Praise in the Park is coming up this Sunday, August 4, from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm at the Garden Club Park in Downtown Rockford. Come and lift your praise in this gathering with friends and neighbors in the heart of our community! Please bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Kids entering grades 3 and 4 are invited to WILD Wednesday on July 31 and August 7, 6:30-8:30pm. Join us for crazy fun, swimming, water games, snacks, friends and learning about our great God. More details in the Events section online.

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

In this week’s sermon, Ben brought up a few examples of wonderful gifts that required a lot of work, like a child getting a nice bike that he/she doesn’t know how to ride yet. Have you ever received a gift that required a lot of work?

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Philippians 2:12-18 | Walking in New Life

Note: We encourage you to read the entire text together out loud.

 

Working Out

Salvation is a gift we do not and cannot earn. We do not work for our salvation. But God’s Word says that this gift still requires diligence and effort, not to earn but to fully enjoy. We must work out our salvation.

QUESTIONS

  • In 2 Timothy 2:4-6, Paul gives us three examples of people who discipline themselves with diligence: soldiers, athletes, and farmers. Which one most inspires you and why?
  • Name an area of life you where have worked diligently to achieve a goal. What did you have to change or work on? Was it worth it?
  • It’s been said that “Grace is opposed to earning, not effort.” Are you more often tempted to try and earn God’s love and salvation or to neglect the work of obedience because of God’s grace? Focusing on the past month in particular, how easy or hard has it been to keep these truths straight?

 

Walking in Freedom

Sometimes the way we think about sin leads us to misunderstand what salvation means. Salvation isn’t a to-do list of obligations we meet to avoid rejection. Sin is a corruption of God’s good creation, and salvation restores us to the way God designed us to be. Sin is slavery, and salvation is freedom to live with God and for God. There is no such thing as freedom to sin, only freedom from sin. Walking in God’s ways is a gift to be enjoyed.

QUESTIONS

  • Just like the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, sin often looks enticing but fails to deliver on its promises. What are some sins that people commonly mistake for freedom? How do they trap and enslave?
  • Read Romans 6:15-23 and John 8:34-36. What do these passages say about God’s character and His desires for you?
  • Is there anything in your life right now that you know is wrong but still looks enticing?
    • If so, what is it that you are longing for in that situation? What are you hoping it will give you and why is that important to you?
    • God supplies all our needs. What are some good ways God might provide for you in this area without turning to the slavery of sin?

 

Good Fear, Good Trembling

We are to work out our salvation “with fear and trembling.” This is not the fear that comes from being God’s enemy, dreading the day when He comes to punish injustice. This fear is that feeling we get when we recognize we are in the presence of greatness and we want to be careful to show respect and honor. God is immeasurably good and immeasurably powerful, and if you are in Christ, you are His adopted son or daughter. Even as He invites us close in love, we must not lose sight of His glory and majesty.

QUESTIONS

  • What are some aspects of God’s goodness and greatness (power, wisdom, etc.) that really capture your attention?
  • Have you ever experienced fear of God in a deep way? How did that happen? What was that like?
  • What are some ways we can cultivate awe and reverence for God? What tends to block that in our lives?

 

We Never Work Alone

The call to work out your salvation with fear and trembling may sound challenging or intimidating. But the good news is God doesn’t expect us to do this alone! God Himself is at work in us to help us do everything He has commanded. Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to be in us, to teach, to guide, to gift us, and to sanctify us. We never work alone.

QUESTIONS

  • What are some ways you have seen God at work in your life, changing your heart and actions?
  • What does it look like to work with God day to day? How might that look different than (a) passively expecting God to do everything for you or (b) trying to do everything yourself without God?

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

After sharing these general principles about the Christian life, Paul calls us to two commands in particular: do everything without complaining or arguing. Share with one another any area where you have a pattern of complaining or arguing, and pray for one another for help in this area for the next month. Come back and check in with one another about how things are going.

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

What a gift God has given us! In Him, we have new life because Jesus died and rose again. In Him we have a comforter, the Holy Spirit who works in us and with us to produce the fruits of new life. Take time to pray together, thanking God for all the ways He shows His goodness to us. Ask for God’s help in any areas you identified in today’s discussion, knowing that He is faithful to complete the good work He began in you.