He Gets Us Three – Discussion Guide
- Share a moment from Pastor Josh’s message regarding anxiety that touched you the most.
(Leaders – Feel free to allow this to be a continual point of reference to go back to during your Group meeting. These are tender places of the soul and it’s wise to allow God to do business in the areas where people need it most.)
- If you are comfortable, share a time of your life when anxiety was at its highest point. What role did faith, friends or family play in getting you through that period of your life?
(Leaders – encourage people to summarize as best they can before they start to share. Admit to them that it’s tough to be brief when recapping these moments of difficulty, but it’s important so everyone can share and so the Group has time to get through the Bonus Reflections.)
- What are some ways that anxiety still affects you in your everyday life?
(Leaders – These don’t need to be earth-shattering moments. What we are looking for is to see how anxiety affects them even in the small things during the rhythm of their everyday lives.)
Bonus reflections from the Biblical Text
Read John 15:5 – Jesus said to “abide” in me and you will bear much fruit. What are the fruits of the Spirit? And what do they have to do with dealing with anxiety? (See Gal 5:22-23 – read out the fruits and let the participants speak on the connection).
Further reflection of what it means to “abide” in Christ. The word “abide” in Greek is meno which means to stay in a given place, state, relation or expectancy: continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain. What obstacles do you have in your life that can deter you from “abiding” in Christ?
Read 1 Peter 5:5-11. This can be a playbook for Christians in dealing with anxiety. What are some things that we need to do in our lives before we get rid of our anxiety? (vv5-7) Should we be surprised if we suffer from time to time with anxiety? (vv8-10)
How does verse 11 (which is easy to overlook) and Col 3:15 say almost the same thing?
(Leaders – Verse 11 and Col 3:15 talks about Christ having dominion. Col 3:15 says the peace of Christ should “rule” our hearts which means that anxiety should not. The key is “Let”. Let the peace of Christ rule…and be thankful. Pastor Josh said on Sunday that gratitude can break strongholds of anxiety. You see it there in the Scripture, that we are to be thankful when we “let” Christ rule our hearts with peace.)