WEEK 3 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

The ruthless elimination of hurry: Simplify

Introduction:

What if hurry, busyness, and resulting distraction are the biggest challenges facing our spiritual lives today? That is the question John Mark Comer addresses in his book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. The title comes from a quote by Dallas Willard. Willard once said, “Hurry is our day’s great enemy of spiritual life. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

Something To Talk About:

People want to be used by God, but they’re too busy. It is easy to get so busy that you don’t have time for the important things—ministry, mission, and time alone with God. You can’t do it all. So, do what matters most. Simplify your life and eliminate distractions so God can use you. You can help do that by doing the following:

Clarify your view of stuff: Jesus didn’t own very much. The Gospels don’t tell us anything about a storage unit for his overflow belongings. In comparison to Jesus, most of us have a whole lot of stuff. We have a house and a car in the driveway, computers, and more clothes than we can wear for several weeks straight. Most of us have all this stuff and would not be upset if we had more. It is easy to believe your stuff will make you comfortable, in control, successful, or good. Ownership can be an obsession in our culture. It’s an illusion that gives us false security and draws us away from depending on God to provide for us. If you want to cultivate more simplicity and peace of mind, then clarify your view of your stuff. In other words, Christians are called to be good stewards. The steward recognizes that they are only managing on behalf of someone else. We may be entrusted with land, money, houses, or investments. We have gifts, imagination, emotion, and skills. But in the end, it all belongs to God. We no longer need to cling. We need not worry about loss. We can free our focus to steward well.
Trust that God will provide: Simplifying our lives by trusting God with the complexities is a transformative approach to living. By seeking God first, trusting in His understanding, praying about our concerns, being still in His presence, and casting our worries on Him, we can experience a profound sense of peace and clarity. Let us remember that God can handle whatever comes our way, allowing us to focus on what truly matters—loving God and loving others. The foundation of faith is trust. As believers, we must learn to trust God’s provision in all our lives, believing He will meet our needs and guide us through every circumstance. Scripture assures us that God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. Philippians 4:19 reminds us, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” This promise extends beyond material possessions to encompass emotional, spiritual, and relational needs. As we align our hearts with His will, we can experience peace, joy, and abundant life, knowing He is our faithful provider.
Prioritize your pursuit of Jesus: Spiritual clutter might crowd out your relationship with Jesus. This might look like going through the motions in your faith or holding onto things that keep you from walking closely with Him. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “…strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Clearing spiritual clutter doesn’t mean adding more “holy” activities to your week. It’s about making Jesus a priority in your life. We are told to “capture rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10.5). When we make abiding in Jesus our number one priority, we see our other responsibilities in light of that. As we go about our day, He’ll show us what to do and what to let go of. We’ll understand our priorities better when His Holy Spirit leads us. We may not be able to get through everything on our list today, but we can still focus on one of the most important things: a vibrant relationship with Jesus. When obeying Jesus becomes our first concern, we can gracefully handle challenges. Jesus renews our peace, gives us wisdom for our next right thing, and enables us to navigate our priorities step by step.

Discussion Questions:

To become what God calls us to be, we first need to simplify our lives. Think of some of the good things you’ve put first in your life. Have any of them distracted you from God’s best for your life?
Keeping our eyes on Jesus is key to becoming like Him and fulfilling our life purpose. What does Hebrews 12:1-2 say about how to de-clutter our lives and focus on Jesus?
What does simplifying your life look like to you? What are some specific areas of your life where you could simplify? (Encourage personal reflection and identify areas for change.)
What are the benefits of simplifying your life, both practically and spiritually?
How can we resist the temptation to fill our lives with unnecessary things or activities?
How does physical, mental, or relational clutter affect your relationship with God? (Explore the impact of external factors on spiritual well-being.)
How can we identify what truly matters in life and prioritize those things?
How can we simplify our daily routines to create more space for prayer, reflection, and connection with God?
What practical steps can we take to declutter our lives – physically, mentally, and emotionally?
What was one thing you found particularly interesting, insightful, helpful, or challenging to understand from this sermon?

Take one thing home with you:

Recent surveys indicate that a majority of people want to simplify their lives. Simplifying one’s life is often motivated by the desire to achieve goals, enjoy experiences, and generally feel happier. There’s nothing wrong with this– in fact, we need to prioritize what we love most. The challenge is we often complicate our lives when we are working toward goals.

Jesus mastered the art of maintaining a clear perspective while accomplishing every single one of His objectives. Though we never read of His hurrying anywhere, He fulfilled the complete agenda. Just before the agony of the Cross, He told the Father that He had “… brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). And only seconds before He drew His last breath, He made that epochal statement, “It is finished” (19:30). Nothing essential was left undone.

Jesus followed His agenda instead of everyone else’s. He set predetermined limits: He chose twelve (not twelve hundred) whom He trained to carry on in His absence. He maintained His priorities without apology. He balanced work and rest, accomplishment and refreshment, never feeling the need to ask permission to spend time in quietness and solitude. He refused to get sidetracked by tempting opportunities that would drain energy and time.

We need to step back three spaces, clean out the clutter, and simplify our lives.