EASTER 2012
“Mirror, Mirror”
Group Leader Guide for use April 8-14, 2012
Directions: This guide provides a menu of teaching and discussion materials to help in leading your group. Please select and use the materials that best suit your group.
SERMON RECAP:
One of the greatest promises in the Bible is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, which says that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, and the new is come! The good news today is that Jesus didn't just come to clean us up or to make us better people; He came to make us brand new!
We often miss the mark on living this out, so sometimes we instead try to:
ICEBREAKER:
Easter has come! Hopefully everyone has been able to spend time with their families and celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, since that is definitely the reason for the holiday. Other things have been added to the holiday, though; traditions like the Easter bunny, wearing your best outfit, and hunting eggs have worked their way into the festivities over the years. Obviously each of those traditions has origins that can be traced back to many years ago, but…
What extra activities does your family participate in on holidays like Easter?
Answers will vary – including the Easter bunny, dying Easter eggs, Santa Claus, etc. This is a good time for people to talk about how their family dynamic works, but it is also potentially an open door to criticize each other for the traditions that we uphold. Leaders, make sure to protect against negativity in this discussion!
Do you think that it is possible to redeem those activities that are seemingly unrelated to the actual holiday, and to practice them in such a way that reinforces the Christian values within your family?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Leaders’ note: Answers provide Bible verses for the group to look at together as you reinforce the Bible as the guide and source for victorious living.
Q: God compares His Word to a mirror that you can look into and see what it reveals about your life. (1) Think about people you know outside the church. Would they consider the Bible to be a mirror, a true standard, by which you should evaluate and adjust your life, and why or why not? (2) Would your answer be the same for people who say they're Christians? Why or why not?
A: James 1:21-25
Looking in a mirror can be tough for some people; they see things they don't like. Looking in God's Word can be even tougher. That's why some folks reject the Bible, make fun of it, marginalize it, or generally ignore it. Doing what God says requires commitment and sacrifice. It requires change, but the change brings blessing. "But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it." (James 1:25) The joyous change that comes from obeying God's Word is why we often hear at NewSpring: "NewSpring is a church where change takes place."
Q: Do you think it takes more strength to "give up" and give things over to God, or to "hold on" to things yourself and try to make life happen? Explain your answer.
A: Ephesians 6:10-13; 2 Cor. 12:6-10
Your first inclination might be to say: "Oh, it takes a lot more strength to hold on to life than to surrender it to God." But the Bible teaches that giving up your own ways and strategies takes great faith and spiritual strength. To be strong in the Lord, and not self, is a battle. In Ephesians 6, Paul urges the church to be "strong in the Lord" and stand firm in Him because he knew it wouldn't be easy. Not only is it human nature to want to fight our own battles, but our enemy (Satan) is also working overtime to keep us from trusting the Lord. It takes spiritual strength to release your life and weaknesses to God's grace -- maybe even more strength than you would exert by holding on. It took Paul numerous seasons of prayer to come to trust God to handle life's difficulties, even if He never took them away. One of many enigmas in the Christian life is that Jesus' power works best in what we perceive to be a weakness, including a "weakness" of reckless trust. "So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me...For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Paul, from 2 Cor. 12:9-10).
Q: Does a change in your behavior affect your heart, or does a change in your heart affect your behavior? Is your heart or your behavior more important to God?
A: Matthew 6:15-20; Mark 7:21-23; Matthew 5:28-30; Romans 7:14-25.
God cares about our hearts and our behavior. But, in order for our behavior to change, our hearts must change first. Jesus taught that people who have had their hearts changed by God naturally produce good fruit, or good behavior. Notice that this good fruit doesn’t earn salvation. Instead, it’s a result of our salvation and the heart change that we experienced. A heart change doesn’t mean that we are always going to feel like following God’s commands. There are times when we are going to be called to change our behavior and fight sin when our hearts don’t want to. A heart change does mean that our hearts have been freed from slavery to sin and we have the ability to follow God’s commands whether we feel like it or not, and ultimately God will use our pursuit of Him to change our hearts to desire the same things that He does.
Q: Should it be easy for a person’s life to change, or should it be difficult? How do you find it to be in your own life?
A: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Matthew 23:4; Matthew 11:28-30; John 6:35.
Growing people change! And the good news is God doesn’t expect you to be able to change apart from Him. “Giving up” trying to be righteous on our own doesn’t only apply to our salvation, but it applies to how we experience change in our daily lives as well. When we give up daily and admit that we are too weak to obey His commands on our own, He gives us the strength and ability to do so. It can feel hard because we still experience the presence of sin as we live in a broken world. Unlike the Pharisees, though, Jesus not only gives us commands for a holy life, but He also helps us to follow them. Jesus says that His burden is light because He bears our burden and helps us change our lives. This world and our sin make it hard to change, but Jesus makes it joyous! In other words, it is hard to surrender but it is easier when the Lord is doing the work on our hearts.
LEADS APPLICATION:
The heart of NewSpring home groups is summarized by the acronym L.E.A.D.S.:
L – learn the Bible together
E – embrace serving together
A – assist one another
D – devote ourselves to generosity
S – send people out to start new groups
Embrace serving together.
Spring time is here! Now that the weather is beautiful and the flowers are blooming, it is a great time for your group to consider planning a day when you all get together and devote a few hours to working outside to serve someone. Maybe it is at the home of one of your group members, maybe it is at a local park, or maybe it’s something else altogether. Maybe your group could even head to the gardening section of your local home improvement store and introduce yourselves to a stranger, and offer to follow them home and do the labor for them for free!
Regardless of what that looks like for your group, it is definitely a great time to pray for God to put such an opportunity in front of you.