04.08.07
Small Group Plan - April 8, 2007
“A New Life in a New Land”
Small Group Plan
April 8, 2007
Dear Group Leader…
It appeared on a Yahoo blog and it represents thousands who want to start over:
I want to leave New York, but I have no idea where or what I would like to do. I want to start over, but how do I start? Do I move and then look for a job, or do I look for a job and move there if I get it? I know this sounds strange, but I have lived in New York my whole life and worked at my job for over 10 years. I have NEVER done anything different. So the idea of leaving seems so foreign, but I need a change or I may lose my mind.
The feeling can be emotional, physical, spiritual, or all three. The desire to change can come from the disappointment with the old country or the promise of the new country. But sometimes the frustration of the old country runs into the fear of the new country and the change is never even attempted.
People are tired of who they are. And they want to start over.
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· What have you heard people say they want to change in their lives?
· What motivates a person to make a significant change?
· What keeps them from trying?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
The Old Country …
Romans 6
· Vs. 1 – How would you describe the attitude that says, “If I give in, I can always be forgiven”? Where does this attitude come from?
· How does it trivialize and cheapen God’s grace?
· Vs. 6 – The “old self” – the old country is where we lived as non-Christians. What does the old country look like?
· What is the ugliest part of the old country?
The New Country …
Romans 6
· Vs. 4 – In what sense was our baptism both a funeral and a resurrection?
· Find the repeated phrase “with him” or “with Christ.”
· What “cross-words” or crucifixion words are connected to this phrase? Take each one and describe how it makes you feel to be “with Him.”
· Vs. 11 – What does it mean to “count yourselves dead to sin” ?
· Vs. 16-18 – How does slavery to God differ from slavery to sin?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· When you became a Christian, was the change in your life dramatic, gradual or unnoticeable? Explain.
· How do you respond to the following quote from C.S. Lewis’ devil character, Screwtape?
“The enemy (God) may have his heart,
but we still have his habits”
· How does God help a person to get rid of an old sinful habit?
· When a person crosses the border into God’s “New Country” major changes occur …
How does their routine and schedule change?
How do their relationships change?
How does their attitude change?
How do their goals and ambitions change?
Close in prayer by praising and thanking God for His grace.