Group Notes | November 13

Making Room For Joy
November 13, 2016
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

Open:

Joy is heart-felt, deep inside us, even though we may be in tumultuous circumstances. Can you think of one sentence that robbed your joy this week? Give one sentence that reflects something that brought you joy this week.

This week we are going to look at what is takes to make room for joy. Joy does not happen by accident, but through actions. Let’s look at what it looks like, and how we get it.

Focal Passage: Galatians 5:13-26

Discuss:

To Serve in love

  1. In verse 13, what admonition does Paul give the believers? You have freedom in Christ, but how are you to use that freedom? What does this mean to you?
  2. Read Philippians 2:3,4. What is Paul saying in this verse?

QUESTION: What can you do for someone today that will put a genuine smile on their face?

To Speak in love

  1. What are you warned of in verse 15? Does anyone remember the word picture for “biting, devouring, and destroying”? (Hint: wild animals attacking).
  2. If you are saturated with concern about the world and its impact on you, what room will you have for joy? Why?
  3. Who was Paul writing to? Why did he need to warn believers to stop these practices (verse 15)?

QUESTION: What can you say to someone today that will encourage them, or lift their spirits?

To Act in love

  1. What are the fruits of the Spirit? How do you get these to grow in your life?
  2. How can you practice doing the right thing, even when your flesh desires to take over or get even?
  3. Read verses 19-21. Do you want a life like that? Yet it is a perfect synopsis of today’s world. What does verse 24 tell you?

QUESTION: How can you change your actions today to show the fruits of the Spirit to others?

 To Reflect Christ in love

  1. Read 1 Peter 2:21. Whose example are you to follow? Why is the saying “What would Jesus do?” still very pertinent?

Close:

It is incredibly difficult to put the trials and pressures of the world out of your mind so that they do not take away the joy you have. Go around the circle and give one word examples of things the world cannot take from you (for instance, your salvation). The fruits of the Spirit are easy to quote, but very hard to put into practice, yet they should be something produced in you effortlessly as you become more like Christ. Real joy will come when your personal desires are at war with doing what is right, and you stop, take a breath, then do the right thing. Those small victories will come more often, and grow into habits. Pray for each other that the joy of Christ would be abiding in you, and that you can be a conduit to pass it on to others this week.

Memory Verse: Galatians 5:14: “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Focal Passages: Galatians 5:13-26; Phil. 2:3, 4; 1 Peter 2:21.

Further study on Question 1: Romans 6.

 

 

 

 

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