Stand Your Ground (Week 8)

Through His Grace/Where Do You Stand

Think About/Discuss It

1.      Do you ever think about God’s plan for your life?

2.      Do you ever question if you will reach your goals?

3.      Have you ever felt like your sin trips you up in life? How do you handle these times?

4.      How would you define the term Christian?

5.      What does being a Christian mean to you?

6.      What are the ABC’s of becoming a Christian?

THE ABC’S

A: Admit to God you’re a sinner

B: Believe that Jesus is the son of God      

C: Confess your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord

·         I want you to keep those in mind as we go through these two lessons.

Read: Mark 8:22-26

Verse 22: They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. Verse 23: He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him Jesus asked. “Do you see anything?” Verse 24: He looked up and said, “I see people, they look like trees walking around.” Verse 25: Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Verse 26: Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village.”

Forgiveness

·         Everyone sins!!

·         It’s a part of who we are.

·         We will sin until we are with God in heaven.

·         That is why God offers forgiveness and unconditional love

o   He will never stop loving us

o   He will always be there for us

7.      Have you ever been forgiven for something (not necessarily by God)?

8.      Have you ever done something so horrible, you felt you didn’t deserve forgiveness?

·         Even during these times…

o   God is there

o   All we have to do is ask and we will be forgiven

Read: Ephesians 4:32

Verse 32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Everyone Needs Forgiveness

9.      Do you think God should be the only one who forgives people? Or should we all be willing to forgive others?

10.  How hard is it to forgive someone who has done something wrong?

·         As in the scripture we just read, God should not be the only one forgiving people.

·         We should also forgive one another.

·         It is kind of like the saying Treat Others The Way You Want To Be Treated.

o   We expect God to forgive us, so we should also be willing to forgive others

·         I’m the first to admit that forgiving others is hard, but it is what God expects us to do.

·         Besides, holding grudges takes a lot of energy, which we could be using to glorify God.

Walk Of Faith

11.  Does your sinful nature ever trip you up in your walk of faith?

12.  Do you think you should be perfect in your walk of faith? Do you think God expects perfection?

·         We can’t expect to be perfect in our walk of faith.

·         However, like I said God offers forgiveness every day for all our stumbles.

·         He knows you’re going to stumble and fall short

·         As it says in Romans 3:23

o   For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

·         He just wants us to remember that he is there to offer us forgiveness and his love

·         His love never goes away just because we sin.

Being Washed Cleaned

·         When we fall, God is there to pick us back up.

·         He helps us to take a few more steps towards him

·         If we never tripped, we would never know how it felt…

o   To be picked up in the hands of the Savior

o   To be brushed off and washed clean in a flood of grace

·         Just like he did for the blind man in Mark 8:22-26

·         The only thing making all this possible is God’s unfailing love in Jesus Christ

·         He loves us so much that he takes the time to continually mold us, shape us, and form us into the beautiful children He created us to be.

·         Now, let us look at being a Christian and what that actually means.

The Term Christian

·         Take a look back at questions 4 and 5

o   How would you define the term Christian?

o   What does being a Christian mean to you?

·         Many people have their own stereotypes of how Christians should act or dress.

13.  Do you know any of these stereotypes?

·         Here is what the word Christian means, according to dictionary.com

·         Christian: of, or pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ

Reviewing The ABC’s

A= Admit

B= Believe

C= Confess

Read: 1 Corinthians 1:18

Verse 18: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Being A Christian

14.  Do you think being a Christian means more than just attending Church on Wednesdays and Sundays?

·         Yes there is more.

·         Just because you attend church, doesn’t mean you are a Christian

·         I see many people who attend church every Sunday and Wednesday, but they don’t act like Christians outside of church.

·         As I said in another lesson,

o   You should strive to be like Christ

o   Or at least be a reflection of God’s image

15.  Are you showing people you believe in Christ?

Christian Friends

·         It is important to have friends that are going to keep you on your Walk Of Faith

·         If you have friends that are leading you away from Christ, or distracting you from our ultimate goal.

o   Then my suggestion is you shouldn’t hang around with them

·         God shared the Ten Commandments with us for a reason.

o   The Ten Commandments are God’s Laws not 10 good suggestions

o   You and your friends should strive to follow them.

The Gospel

·         The Ten Commandments aren’t the only things God has shared with us.

·         The Gospel may be foolishness to the world…

o   It is the message of salvation for those who repent

·         Jesus gets us out of the low places of our sinful lives

·         He also gets us out of our destructive attitudes.

·         The Gospel shares the power of God against destruction by persecution or rejection.

Outreach

·         Sharing the gift of God with others can be intimidating and very difficult.

·         This is true for anyone.

·         Like I said, “The Gospels shares the power of God against destruction by persecution or rejection.”

·         It says in Psalms 27:1

o   “The Lord is my light and salvation, whom shall I fear?”

·         We are so afraid of being rejected, when we try to reach out to someone, about Christ, we don’t bother.

·         Christians need not fear rejection because we have Christ with us.

16.  What is that compared to Christ’s love for you?

·         It’s nothing, compared to Christ’s love

·         So we should teach others about Christ

·         It says in Luke 6:22

o   “Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man”

·         Even if people reject you…

o   You are blessed because you believe in Jesus Christ.

What Makes You a Christian

·         Being nice, going to church, or being concerned about prayer doesn’t make you a Christian

·         Other people can fit this description too.

·         You are a Christian because of God’s free gift of faith

·         Jesus died and lives for you and me.

17.  How can we not boldly live and die for him?

18.  How can we not proclaim His Gospel?

The Challenge

·         I have a challenge for you, it is similar to the one I had for you last week.

·         As I said, we are always worried about what others are going to think when we start talking about Christ.

·         This week I want you to try and outreach to someone. Tell them about God’s forgiveness and unconditional love.  Also, tell them about the ABC’s of becoming a Christian  However, feel free to share anything that enters your heart.

Silent Prayer Time

·         Write a prayer asking God to forgive your sin and wash you with his grace. Also ask him to help you to outreach to someone this week. Don’t forget to tell him anything else that may be on your mind.