Life Group - Study Guides

As our relationship with God changes, so does our relationship with sin. When we truly believe in Him and spend time in His holy presence our behaviors will start to change. We don’t have the ability to be close to God and happily keep on sinning. Our closeness to Him is what opens our eyes to our wrong choices and helps us to make better choices. This week we will discuss how a relationship with Christ will transform our hearts and our actions.

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” There is a cost to following Jesus. The Gospel is not only useful for improving our lives. The larger purpose of the gospels is to inspire us by introducing a God who is not only all-powerful and all-knowing but also extravagantly faithful and loving. This world is full of traps that can keep us from knowing God better or having a saving faith. Fear of man is one such trap that takes us away from the wisdom God provides. We may want to fit in with the people around us. However, when we acknowledge and submit to God’s greater authority we please Him, become more like Jesus, and His holiness shines through us – a light in the darkness.

When we read the Old Testament, it’s easy to “fear God” while His power is on full display. As we enter the New Testament, Jesus displays a more merciful and peaceful God, making it seem counterintuitive to fear this loving God. However, the “fear of God” refers to a deep respect and reverence of Him. We can see that as we grow closer to God, we will also grow in our awe of Him. This week we will see how respecting His authority can change the way we live.

Our days are filled with so many things; even good, important, purposeful things. Yet our constant efforts and busyness—even for lovely things like parenting, providing well for our families, ministry, or service—do not restore us. We need rest and communion with our God to heal us and give us peace.

Our world is full of noise, of choices, and information. This week we are talking about media, specifically social media and how it affects our need for approval. Ultimately our lives are meant to bring God glory, not ourselves. We aren’t meant to glorify others either – and sometimes social media leads us towards both of those. Some of us use it for good, some of us had to get off, and some of us aren’t sure what role social media has in our lives. Let's discuss what the Bible says—not specifically about social media, but rather about self-promotion, comparison, and the use of our time.