Weekly Discussion Guide

This weekend Pastor Matt wrapped up the Faith Misunderstood series by talking about what it means to live life for God, where a life of service, for its own sake, is still an empty life. Love-driven service for the sake of Christ, on the other hand, makes up the abundant life of which Jesus spoke.

MY STORY
What always shows up on your daily to-do list?
What would happened if you skipped doing that thing for a day or two?

WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO HEAR?
"The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

What was the last good report you either gave or received? What made that news special and memorable?

What is the scope of the authority that Jesus gives to believers?
Even when we do the miraculous, what must we always keep in mind? What needs to be the motivation behind what we do for God?

Why must we never forget how difficult, and how challenging, it was for Jesus to accomplish our salvation? Why can it be easy to take that for granted?

WHAT DOES GOD WANT US TO DO?
What are some things that you do consistently and faithfully that don’t seem to be a priority for anyone else in your life? Would they notice if you stopped doing those things? On a scale of one-to-ten, with how much resentment do you struggle with this?

Contrast a ministry task done for its own sake with the same task done as an expression of love for Christ and the people you’re impacting.

WHAT DOES GOD WANT ME TO DO?
Take an inventory of your motives when it comes to your acts of service.

Celebrate the acts that are driven by a deep sense of love for God and those you are serving.

If some works are being done for their own sake, or just to live up to someone’s expectations, or out of a sense of obligation, or because they’re spectacular, even miraculous, then re-assess why you’re doing those things— and work on getting your motive behind those acts into closer alignment with the mind of Christ.