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June 2014 Life Group Lesson

June 2014 Life Group Lesson. Give plenty of time to eat and fellowship. The “Span of Care” person should be ready to remind the group of any birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Celebrate these events during this time of food and fellowship.

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June 2014 Life Group Lesson

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  1. June 2014 Life Group Lesson • Give plenty of time to eat and fellowship. The “Span of Care” person should be ready to remind the group of any birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Celebrate these events during this time of food and fellowship. • Give announcements. Make sure you have a complete list of the upcoming church events. • During this time your secretary should record the names of the people attending (always contact those who aren’t in attendance in the next day after the meeting.) • Before starting the lesson, please start with prayer & a brief time of worship. • Start Lesson (Ideas: Story relating to lesson, Leader personal testimony relating to lesson or Interesting facts or statistics relating to lesson

  2. Have you recovered since you first met Jesus?I hope you said, NO!! I don’t know about you but I’m still mesmerized by His love, His compassion, His mercy and His grace!!

  3. When we think about the first day we met Jesus (or Jesus meeting us) what do you think about? • It takes us back to the first question asked, have you recovered since you first met Jesus? • The definition of Recovery is 1.) The act, process, duration, or an instance of recovering 2.) A return to a normal condition. • People who have recovered from mental illness go back to normalcy or back to health in a physical since but people who are washed in the blood of Jesus never go back to NORMAL.

  4. I’m reminded of the children’s song “He’s Still Working on Me..to make me what I ought to be…” • If we say we have recovered from something so great and something so powerful (day of salvation) how can we just SIT and go back to NORMAL? • Just don’t say because we’re human…tell it like it is! We get lazy and content with life and forget about the greatest gift of all that has been given to us. • I like what Mike Morren said, “man works on the outside. We have counselors, therapist and doctors who work on the fleshly part but God works on the heart”. Please don’t check yourself out of God’s Recovery Plan.

  5. Well then what is part of God’s Recovery Plan? • Yeah we know…you’ve been saved a long time and nobody needs to tell you what to do? We’ll if you fall into this category of people you probably need to re-examine your commitment to Christ. After being born again do you remember how humble you felt and how willing you were to learn God’s Word? • Yes….it’s so amazingly important to be willing and ready to listen and learn. Job 28:20&27 “From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding.” “Then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.” Job knew very well of God’s Recovery Plan. • Be ready to listen to others, to help others and share the Word of God with others. Hello..LifeGroups

  6. Proverbs 3:13 “Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding. Yes…While in God’s Recovery Plan you’ll get happier the more you gain His wisdom. Jesus even “..became for us wisdom from God..” (1 Cor 1:30). Be happy as you recover in God’s word from hardships. Even in trials James said “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” • God’s Recovery Plan will bring you the peace that you’ve been looking for. James 3:17“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” • Ask The Group: Has anyone ever been in a Recovery program for substance abuse or an addiction? Share with the Group what are some of the things they ask you to do first.

  7. What are some things to do first? • Commit to recovery and admit you need help. • Write down the benefits of my addictions and the benefits of not having an addiction. • Write down the costs (emotionally, on the job, depression, guilt, etc) of my addictions and the costs of not having an addiction (save money, get healthy, renew family relationships, loose unhealthy relationships, etc). • Set short term and long term goals. Announce your goals to family and friends. Ask them to support you by not doing those things that temp you in front of you. • Avoid bad influences. Distance yourself from people who don’t support your efforts. • Learn from the past. Reflect on previous attempts to stop. What can you do differently this time to avoid pitfalls. • Develop new activities and interests. • CONTINUE TREATMENT.

  8. Wow! Sounds just like the principals right out of the Bible…we’ll of course they are! The book of Proverbs is filled with these very principals. • What is clear from the book of Proverbs is that the reader can choose to either seek wisdom or live a life of folly. What’s your favorite verse in Proverbs? • From the Bible we find from Genesis to Revelations basic truths and practical precepts. • With all of this great advice from the bible we find that we still need God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. • Ask the Group: then why do we choose the evil way instead of the God’s way sometimes? • In your weakest moment right smack dab in the middle of your addiction why did you choose to take another drink , take another pill, look at porn, ect?

  9. A sick mind can’t heal a sick mind! • These addictions are an obsession of the mind that ONLY GOD CAN RELIEVE!! • You see your brain produces chemicals such as endorphins that excite and stimulate your mind and body. What happens is that your body craves the very thing that is killing you. • Satan and his demons are well aware of these chemicals in your body and know how to use these addictions to bring about all kinds of depression, anger and sickness. • Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” • That’s why “my” self-will doesn’t work against an addiction or the plans of the enemy. ONLY God’s power can break the bondage & heal our inner hurts and bruises. God comes in and heals not only the physical part but he saves and heals the souls of men, women, boys and girls.

  10. Below is a true story of a sister at Covenant Life who once battled an alcohol addiction that tried to kill her. • It was a snowy day with a few inches of snow on the ground. The road was dangerous but the physical and mental torture to have alcohol was so great that she had to get out. The store was over 3 miles away and it was too dangerous to drive so her mind begin to think of how she could get another drink to satisfy her deep dark longings in her body. As bad as the weather was, the distance of the store wasn’t going to stop her. She found a back pack that could hold a 12 pack and thus started out on foot through the snow and cold. She made it to the store and when she had bought the 12 pack it immediately brought a sense of ease and comfort. When she made it back home she felt relieved as if she had her friend once more but as she knew down deep this friend was her enemy and even this enemy could not make her hurt go away. Sometime later this person sought out help and received it! This person hit rock bottom and found that God was there with his arms wide open. This amazing woman now humbly announces how God broke the chains of addiction off of her. She now helps others and gives them hope. Her name is Jodie Hicks.

  11. There’s Victory in Jesus! There’s Power In His Blood! • Jodie Hicks now says today that her addiction “..was her passion.” She said “I was cut off from the Son. God literally reached down & raised me from the dead. I am reborn!! The freedom I have is in Him. When I say that He is the only real thing about me…I mean it. The mental torture & anguish I was in was so wicked & twisted.” • “Praise God!!!! He set me free!!!”

  12. Let’s give God a shout and hand clap of praise! • Let’s thank the Lord for His goodness and mercy! Remember Satan has no Recovery Plan for your life but my brothers and sisters God has a Recovery Plan that heals to the uttermost. Let’s use God’s plan • Prayer time next. Anyone needing a breakthrough or someone you know is needing one please stand in for them. • Pray for more lost to be saved, more addictions to be broken, more leaders to rise up in the church, more raises and bonuses to God’s people. Pray as the spirit leads….

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