March 17, 2019
The Impact of a Godly Man
March 17, 2019
Dr. Rick Rigsby
Open:
Sometimes a public speaker will emerge who is able to inspire something within most of the audience to reach for a higher goal than they have ever tried before. What are some encouragements that move you to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone?
Recently we have been looking at the characteristics of a godly man. We have learned that he must first and foremost love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. His family must come next. Today we have a guest speaker who is known for his message of how a godly man can make a legacy of impact in his home and his community when he is sold out to God. We welcome Dr. Rick Rigsby to our church.
Key Verses: Deuteronomy 6:4-5: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Focal Passages: Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Discuss:
Teach it in your home:
- Read verse 7a. Where is the focus of the man who teaches the precepts of the Lord to his children? How far can the legacy reach?
- Was this a commandment or a suggestion? What were the “words” that Moses was referring to?
- What distractions do men today allow to come between their role of intentional teaching and procrastination leading to abandoning their role?
Model it in your neighborhood:
- Read verse 7b-9. Where are some of the places you go when you walk during the day? Where are your thoughts during this time?
- What three things—or situations–should you be looking for as you go through your day?
- What do your neighbors see as you come and go? How do you conduct yourself?
Telling the truth:
- What are two warning flags that are raised as you relate experiences and activities of your day? Why would lying, half-truths and exaggeration be those caution areas? Is there a difference?
- Why is the truth so vitally important in all areas of your life?
Thinking the best of others:
- Why do we want to assume the worst motives for the actions of others?
- Why is it so vital to not judge someone, as opposed to evaluating them? What is the difference? Read Matt. 7:1-3. How do you close opportunities when you judge someone else?
Doing what we say we will do:
- What does it mean to you to “give your word” even if you don’t vow it to be a promise? Read Matt. 5:37. What does God command you? Why?
- How many times do you let work or distractions keep you from a promise made to your child to spend quality time with her/him?
Go. Teach. Baptize. Make Disciples:
- It is often said that we will be able to take only one thing with us to heaven. What is that? Read Proverbs 11:30. Will you have anyone in heaven because you lived your life?
- This was the last commandment Jesus gave; do you take it seriously or let the world and its busy-ness distract you?
- How can you get so full on the world’s entertainment, food, lifestyle or “stuff” that you have no room left for Godly living? Explain.
Close:
Words typed in a study or a closing have no ability to convey the extreme passion and impact that comes from a speaker who knows—beyond a shadow of a doubt—that his message has the ability to change lives. If you have not taken the time to listen to the amazing sermon preached by Dr. Rick Rigsby, please do so. It can change your life.
Growing up in the home of a man whose heart was sold out completely to God, Rick was taught the value of the basics that have been almost forgotten in this millennium. His father, reared in the South when whites were taught to value a person based on their color, overlooked the failures and ignorance of that teaching, focusing rather on being the type of man who put God first in all situations. He was not bound by his color, his education, nor his flesh; rather, he let God’s word be the authority he lived by and reared his children to do the same.
May we all see how the impact of a godly man affects his children as they grow into adulthood. Godliness leaves a legacy that can last for generations.