WEEK 8 - SANCTIFICATION

“The secret of life to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of every day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.”
-Henry Moore

PRIMARY TEXT:

ROMANS 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

SECONDARY TEXTS

HEBREWS 12:10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.

PHILIPPIANS 2:12-13 Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:3It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4that each of you should learn to control your own body  in a way that is holy and honorable,

Discussion Questions.

BEFORE DOING THE STUDY: MENTION TO YOUR GROUP THAT THERE IS NO GATHERING ON THE LONG WEEKEND (4TH OF OCTOBER). THIS SUNDAY A GUIDE FOR WHAT WE ARE DOING INSTEAD WILL BE AVAILABLE. NEXT WEEK IN GROUP THERE WILL BE MATERIAL FOR MAKING A CONCRETE PLAN TO SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE WEEKEND.


Read all the passages above.

1. What things stood out to you from the passages? Was there anything unclear, confusing?

2. Romans 8:28 has sometimes been used to support the idea that God wants us to be happy, healthy, wealthy. How we know (from these verses) that that isn’t what its talking about?

3. Do you tend to think of yourself as being ‘Conformed to the image of Christ’? Why/ Why not?

4. What difference does it make that God has called us according to a purpose?

5. Do you feel like actively seeking to become more like Christ is a significant part of your life? Why/ Why not?

Read the following CS LEWIS QUOTE:

The job will not be completed in this life: but He means to get us as far as possible before death. That is why we must not be surprised if we are in for a rough time. When a man turns to Christ and seems to be getting on pretty well, he often feels that it would now be natural if things went fairly smoothly. When troubles come along — illnesses, money troubles, new kinds of temptation — he is disappointed. These things, he feels, might have been necessary to rouse him and make him repent in his bad old days; but why now? Because God is forcing him on, or up, to a higher level: putting him into situations where he will have to be very much braver, more more patient, or more loving, than he ever dreamed of being before. It seems to us all unnecessary: but that is because we have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us.

…Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

6. Have you seen times in your life where although it has been hard, God has been at work to transform you?

Break into Groups of guys and girls to share and pray.

Are there any areas that god is making you like Jesus even though it’s hard?

Are there any areas you need to actively pursue being more like Jesus?

Pray

Weekly Challenge:

Write out what it would look like to be more like Christ. 1 year from now. 5 years from now and 10 years from now.