ALL IN - WEEK 3
“Giving It All I’ve Got”
Group Leader Guide for use January 22-28, 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:
In this series, we are learning that a growing relationship with God is intentional, not accidental. This means that God is always ready and available to bless us and to help us grow, but it is our responsibility to dedicate ourselves to growing in Him. It is our responsibility to go all in.
This looks different for each of us, so it is important that we are always looking to take our next steps in our walks with Him. Whatever those steps are, we have to be willing to give it all we’ve got. There are a few common myths that tend to impede our progress:
Following Jesus is not always easy, and sacrifice is often required. No matter what step God wants you to take next, though, you will not be able to grow until you surrender to Him and give it all you’ve got.
ICEBREAKER:
The World Series of Poker is perhaps the most famous annual Texas Hold ‘Em tournament in the world. The 2011 championship was won by a 22-year-old German man named Pius Heinz, whose path to victory required him to make several very risky moves. In fact, near the end, it was down to Heinz and one other player and Heinz barely had a fourth as many chips as his opponent had. In other words, the odds were against him.
Have you ever been in a situation in life where you felt like the odds were against you?
Heinz apparently did not want second place, though. Both literally and figuratively, he knew he would have to go all-in to win. On two occasions Heinz saw that he needed to make a gutsy move – even though he did not even have a pair in his hand in either instance – because the time was right to put all his money on the line. Even when he went all-in, the odds were against him. As a result, though, he was able to defeat his final opponent and take home the $8.72 million prize.
Do you tend to be conservative in taking big steps, or are you more of a risk taker?
Is it easier to go all-in with your HEART or with your MONEY? (Don’t forget about the first sermon in this series, where we learned that they are very closely tied together)
Do you think that, if Heinz had lost, he would still be glad that he put all of his money on the line because his heart was in it? (Regardless, the second-place prize was $5.43 million…)
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: Why is it sometimes so hard for us to submit and do what God has told us to do?
A: 1 John 5:1-5; 2 Timothy 1:7-12; Mark 10:17-29
What makes it hard is that we are not naturally inclined to give God all we’ve got. As the rich young man in Mark 10 demonstrates, our nature is to think that giving something up for God will result in some form of unhappiness for ourselves. Happiness is very important to us – more important sometimes than even God’s glory. God has assured us, though, that our joy will be rich when we surrender, obey, and allow Him to reign in our lives and exercise the power by which He has already conquered the world! Our fear of unhappiness is not from the Lord; when we obey in faith we are able to truly see His transforming power.
Q: Abraham was used in this message as an example of a Biblical figure who was all-in for God. In what way(s) did Abraham give it all he had, and what were the long-term consequences of his obedience?
A: Genesis 12:1-5, 17:1-8, 22:1-12; Hebrews 11:8-19
Abraham (originally called Abram) obeyed God in some truly remarkable “next steps.” First, God told Abram to uproot his family and leave his home (when he was 75 years old, by the way…) to go to a new land. Then He changed Abram’s name to Abraham with the command to circumcise his people. God then tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his only son on an altar. Of course, we know the outcome of the story: since Abraham was obedient, God intervened at the last second and provided a ram to sacrifice instead of Abraham’s son. As we see in Hebrews, though, Abraham died without ever seeing the complete fulfillment of the promises God had made to him – but Abraham found joy in obeying God, even when it required sacrifice.
Q: Why does unaddressed sin have such a negative impact on our ability to follow God?
A: Hebrews 3:12-13; Romans 6:17-18; Ephesians 4:17-19
Sin hinders our ability to follow God because it robs our ability to hear Him. Unaddressed sin, whether it is unrepented or habitual, desensitizes us to God’s will. According to Ephesians 4, those who live in sin “are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Put simply, sin is the enemy of righteousness, and God cannot produce righteousness in a heart that prioritizes sin. Of course, none of us can be 100% perfect and 100% obedient; that is why we must continually give everything we’ve got to obeying God and letting our lives point to our Savior. This includes addressing the sin that is lingering in our hearts.
Q: Will God’s love for you increase after you take your next step?
A: Titus 3:3-8; John 3:16-17, 14:15; Genesis-Revelation
There is nothing you can do to earn more of God’s love. God loves us because it is His nature. It is His character. God was convinced He loved you before you even existed. Nothing you do will cause you to deserve more or less of God’s love. It is important to see, though, that there are huge implications of having a Savior who loved us in our sinfulness: He gave us new, righteous hearts so that we could love Him back. That is why we obey, and that is why Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
L.E.A.D.S. Application:
The heart of NewSpring home groups is summarized by the acronym LEADS:
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.
What is your group's next step? Sure, it's just the beginning of the semester and some people in your group may not even know each other, but that does not mean that God can't use your group to impact your community. While it is very important to keep pursuing your next steps individually, we should always be seeking the Lord on how He wants to use our groups as well. Take a few minutes to discuss some simple ways that your group can begin to have an impact this semester.
For example:
Start your semester off with a bang! Serving together, even in a seemingly small task, will serve to unite your group like few other things can.