yours: Week 2

Devotional

You ever walk into a room and everyone goes silent and you swear they were talking about you before you walked in? Or have you heard laughing as you walk down the hall and you are terrified to turn around because what if it’s you they are laughing at? Do you walk on eggshells around your house because your family just doesn’t get you? Are you tired of worrying about what people are gonna think of you and say about you when you are not around?

What if we could create a place where we don’t have to worry about that? Everyone has insecurities and mistakes and little awkward things they don’t want everyone to know about. But what if there was a group of people so loving and safe that you didn’t have to fear being made fun of? What if we could create a community where we can be open without fear of judgment? A place where we are encouraged and held accountable for our actions.

A small group could be that place. Where you find the closest friends you have ever had. Where you grow deeper in your relationship with God than you ever had before. Where you find freedom from the sin and habits that are hurting you because you have people praying for you and helping you make changes. A place where we can follow Jesus together and allow the Holy Spirit to change our lives.

You can all have that here but I have a feeling most of you have not experienced that in your small group. Why is that?

Well, I think it’s because you don’t put in the effort required to have that kind of group. Because in order to have that we have to

Refuse to be used by Satan.

See, Satan doesn’t want us to have a healthy godly community. That kind of community terrifies Satan because he has no power in the face of believers who love Jesus and love people well. So if you want your small group to be the best it could ever be. If you want a remix to be the best it could be. If you want your life to change, and the lives of the people around you. We have to stop giving into the works of our enemy and start living like Jesus did.

We are never going to be perfect and that’s not what God is asking for us. But there are three really specific things that are hurting our groups but I believe we can fight them together. But if we fight these things our small group could become the best thing for us. These are the things we have to refuse to do

Gossip

I have seen gossip destroy friend groups. I have seen a little argument turn into an all out war because everyone was talking to everyone about what he did and she said this and this person did this and so on and so forth. Question: How is anyone going to be honest or open in your small group if they know you are gonna go tell all your other friends about it? How is anyone going to feel safe enough to be vulnerable if they know that the other people in the group are texting each other and making fun of you right now. As a group you have to refuse to gossip. Proverbs 16:28 says it all.

"A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends."

If you want to experience the growth and joy that can come from a healthy group of friends you have to stop talking about each other behind their backs. The second thing we have to refuse to do is

Act like we have it all together.

Stop being fake. Stop walking into your small group pretending you know everything, and you never make mistakes and you never go through anything hard. Who is that helping? When you act like you’re all macho and you don’t need anyone, who are you benefitting? Not yourself. Definitely not the other people in the group, You know you are dealing with stuff that you need help with. Stop pretending. Look at 1 John 1:8-10

"If we say that we have no sin, we lie to ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we tell Him our sins, He is faithful and we can depend on Him to forgive us of our sins. He will make our lives clean from all sin. If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar. And His Word is not in our hearts."

When you call yourself a Christian you are admitting that you are imperfect and need a savior. So why are you acting like you have it all together? I promise you when you decide to be open about your struggles you are going to find that you are not alone and that other people want to help you and be there for you. But as long as you keep pretending you won’t get any better and neither will your group. Finally we have to refuse to:

Ignore the word of God.

A big problem in a lot of our groups is we aren’t going to God’s word for answers. When someone asks questions in group this is how we answer then “Well I think” or “i heard this on tik tok” or “My friend says” and listen your personal experience is great and there's space for that. But if we are relying on our own ideas and ignoring the Word of God, we are going to mess things up. We are going to get it wrong over and over again because the reality is 99% of the time we don’t actually know what we are talking about. But you know who does? The God of the universe. He knows what we need and He has given us HIs word and His Son as an example to find the answers to our questions. So when you are in group and someone asks a question before you give your opinion. Why don’t you as a group try and find out what the Word of God has to say.

If as a group we refuse to do these three things I really believe our lives will change for the better and God will use this group to prepare us for what life has to throw at us. The question is are we going to refuse to be used by Satan?

Break the ice

Who is your best friend? Why are they your best friend?

Small group questions

1. Read John 10:10 what does it say about Satan’s intentions for us vs. Jesus’ intentions?

1. What would it look like for Satan to run a small group? What kind of things do you think would happen in that group?
2. What would it look like for Jesus to run a small group? What kind of things would happen there?
3. We talked about three things that could destroy our group. What were they?
4. Looking at Proverbs 16:28 why is gossip so bad for this group? Can you find any other scripture that talks about the effects of gossip?

1. What is so bad about pretending we have it all together?
2. What kind of questions do you think the Bible has answers to?
3. Why is it so important that we as a group go to God’s word for answers?
4. How can we get better at doing that together?

Moving forward

Ask everyone in your group which of these things you struggle with the most as a group. Come up with a plan together to tackle that thing and write it down. Over the next few months revisit that plan and continue to help each other fight gossip, stop being fake and lean on the word of God. Your group will never be perfect so have a lot of grace for each other as you learn to build a healthy, Godly community. Pray together that this year God will help your group be the best it could ever be.