Topic: discipline
Series: True Spirituality in Christ: A Book Study on Malachi
Title: Bearing His Tough Love
Text: Malachi 2:1-9
God disciplines us out of love yet when we experience God’s rebuke, we feel not love but rejection from Him. How can we accept God’s discipline without giving into despair so that we remain in His plan?
General Questions:
- Recount a time where you were disciplined or punished (in school, at home, or at work). What made this incident different from abuse or bullying?
- What is the role of the priests in the Old Testament? What does that mean for us as believers of Jesus today?
Perspective Questions:
- In the sermon, Larry mentions that our identity as a royal priesthood calls us to have:
a. A reverential fear of God (Upwardly)
b. A life of integrity in speech and action (Inwardly)
c. Godly influence over people around us (Outwardly)
Which of these areas do you think is healthiest in your life? What are some attitudes or habits that help you in this particular area? Conversely, which do you struggle with the most? What are some obstacles you face that hinder you from growing in this area? - God allows us to reap what we sow to reveal what we are sowing. What are some ways that can help us discern God’s discipline when we sow on the wrong things?
Application Questions:
- Experiencing God’s discipline can be painful and cause us significant distress. What are some biblical truths and perspectives we can hold on when we go through God’s discipline so that we do not give into despair?
- It is difficult to point out to others the sin that they are carrying in their lives. Why should we as a community of God still choose to do so biblically in a loving manner?
Series: Focus 2024 – Disciplines for an Abiding Life
Title: Seeking God through Prayer and Fasting
Text: Joel 2:12-13, Ezra 8:21-23
In the Bible, the people of God fasted and prayed to indicate or express the inner conditions of their hearts. Today, we are not required to fast and pray. But we can still benefit from this spiritual discipline when we practise it from the heart. What is the value of sincere fasting and praying?
General Questions:
- Share about a previous experience with fasting. Why did you choose to fast? How did it go? How did you experience God through the period of prayer and fasting?
Perspective Questions:
- In our struggles with different sins, what might lead us to depend on our willpower and wisdom, instead of taking the fight spiritually? How does the way we deal with sin reflect our relationship with and understanding about God?
- What hinders you from fasting (apart from medical conditions)? What do these hindrances reveal about our understanding of the purpose and impact of fasting? How has the sermon addressed these hindrances, if any?
- Think of different ways in which you might fast. How does fasting set us in the posture to allow God to change our hearts?
Application Questions:
- What are some steps we can take to help us practice fasting (examples given below)? How can the LG support one another in fasting?
- E.g.
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- Ensure we have sufficient rest and hydration, and our other meals are proper nutritious meals
- Adjust the timing of meals, such as planning for a slightly later breakfast and an earlier dinner, and fasting over lunch
- Schedule a fast
Series: Focus 2024 – Abide
Title: Quality Time with God
Text: Psalms 119:33-40
What are the right attitudes we should have when we spend alone time with God so that our Quiet Time is also Quality Time?
General Questions:
- Spending quality time with God helps us grow in intimacy with Him. What does intimacy with God mean? What does it look like? Describe a person who has a close and intimate relationship with God.
- On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the most), how would you rate your desire for intimacy with God? Why?
Perspective Questions:
- Is intimacy with God free or does it come at a cost? What are the ‘costs’ we may need to pay in order to spend quality time with God? These may be challenges we face, or distractions we need to put aside.
- How often do we turn to God and His Word as our first solution, rather than as the last resort? Have we lost sight of our ‘smallness’ before God? To what extent do we trust that God’s Word and ways are far better than our own or that of the world’s?
Application Questions:
- What are some habits that you need to STOP? What are some habits that you need to START?
- How can you spend quality time with God today?
- How can we help each other grow in this spiritual discipline?