Jesus Over Everything Week 6

 

Welcome to week six of Jesus Over Everything! The Big Idea from Pastor Josh’s message this is week is Jesus rules over our nature…He will help us rid ourselves of our old self and renew our new self.

  1. What is the most outdated piece of technology that you own and actually use?

***For Leaders – We have old things in our lives that we keep not because we are frugal or they have sentimental value, but because we are comfortable with them.

  1. What is an item of clothing you wore over and over as a kid? Were there people in your life telling you to get rid of it? Tell the group why that item got so much usage in your life.

***For Leaders – Sometimes putting something on involves taking something off first. Not everything “layers” well together. We often try to layer old sinful attitudes and practices between new lifestyle changes and in the end, we get something that doesn’t look good to the world or to the kingdom of God.

Focus Questions: Going deeper together.  Colossians 3:5-10 – The goal is to focus and learn from  our struggle of “how to” put off sin in our lives and see God’s solutions in Scripture.

  1. Read v.5 – How can you “put to death,therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature” in your life?

 

***For Leaders – Answers will vary from person to person. Some basics answers will say to just read more Scripture. More pertinent answers will have to do with the strength that comes from Scripture meditation (not just reading) along with walking in the Spirit.

 

  1. Read v.7 – After reading this verse to the congregation, Pastor Josh said, “There is something about declaring that things will not have power over you.” Share a time in your life when you declared that you wouldn’t allow something to have dominion over you anymore before you had the full victory?

 

***For Leaders – Examples of this would be someone saying that cigarettes won’t have them anymore and their done smoking before they had actually quit for a while. Another example is someone saying they are done being addicted to sugar before they’ve gone days or weeks without eating it. It can also be a resolve like “I’m not going to let so and so get to me anymore” when trying to put off anger. There are lots of scenarios when the resolve came first.

 

  1. Read Gal 5:16 –What does the verse in Galatians tell you about putting Jesus over your nature?

 

***For Leaders – Some people keep making the same mistakes over and over by using old methods of trying to deal with sin in their lives (new promises to themselves to change or just rededicating their resolve in their own strength) only to fail again. It is the Spirit that empowers us to overcome by putting Jesus over our nature so we walk in our new self. He does that by renewing our new self and bringing the right Scripture at the right time back into our minds for meditation.

 

  1. Read 2 Cor 12:9-10 – How is it possible for a believer to experience “when I am weak I am strong?

 

***For Leaders – The answer is grace. Our weaknesses will allow us to succumb to sin in our lives OR we can really on the grace that comes from the Holy Spirit. We will fail every time that we try to conquer sin in our own strength. God is not just here to help us. He gave us our new self so he can live through us.

 

BONUS REFLECTION

Building off of our earlier reflections on Col 3:7 for a moment, read 1 Pet 4:1 in two different versions below:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude,  because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” NIV

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, equip yourselves also with the same resolve—because the one who suffered in the flesh has finished with sin” HCSB

Imagine what your life would look like if you had a new resolve to walk in God’s strength instead of your own in “putting off” sin and temptation in your life!  Share with your group how your life might look different going forward if you were able to accomplish this.

Take prayer requests and encourage one another in prayer that your new self will be renewed daily in the Lord’s strength this week just like Pastor Josh preached about on Sunday!