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WEEK2 SERMON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS

August 11, 2024

Reset –  Changing Always Starts With Choosing

Introduction:

The ability to make moral choices is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to each of us. Our choices shape our lives far more than our circumstances do. This is especially true in the area of our minds. Choosing what we think about, how we think about it, and what we allow into our minds affects our lives daily. This week, we take a look at the first step toward a life reset — choosing to change what we think about.

Something To Talk About:

Every day I must choose to feed my mind with the best thoughts: You can learn a lot about a person’s physical health by simply looking at their physical diet. The same is true spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. You can know a lot about your spiritual, mental, and emotional health by looking at your mental diet. Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise man is hungry for truth, while the mocker feeds on trash” (TLB). You have a choice—and every day, you must choose to feed your mind with the best thoughts. Philippians 4:8 describes the thoughts best for your mental, emotional, and spiritual health: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” So, you have to train your mind to think thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. How do you do that? By doing it! You must practice filling your mind with these things by reading the Bible, meditating on it, and memorizing it. You have to hunger for it.

Feed your mind by focusing on what is important. Jesus spent His last hours of freedom with His best friends, teaching them how to remember Him and sharing the foundations of the gospel with them. He prayed for them (John 17) and then prayed for the strength to walk the difficult journey to the cross (Mark 14:32-36). When it came down to it, the most important thing to Jesus on His last night was doing the will of the Father and serving His closest friends. Jesus spent His whole life choosing to do the most important thing at any given moment. He stopped to heal the sick when they crossed His path. He sat on a mountainside to speak life to a waiting crowd. He prayed for children, even as His disciples scolded the people for bringing them to Him. He looked a bleeding woman, a blind man, and a beggar in the eyes and gave them personalized hope. We need to focus on what matters most. Focus on Jesus. You’ve likely heard the saying, “You become what you think about most.” If you want to become more like Jesus, fill your thoughts with Him. Think about others. The Bible says in Philippians 2:4, “Don’t just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in what they are doing” (TLB). Your mind is your greatest asset and also the greatest battleground. Ask God to help you make the choice every day to feed on God’s Word and fill your mind with Jesus.

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Apart from God, can a Christian make “right” choices on life issues?
  2. How does making the right choices form the foundation for a reset in life?
  3. Are you good at making wise choices? How good are your choices on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best)? What’s one practical thing you could do to improve when making a choice?
  4. What is a choice you made that you thought would make you happy but left you feeling empty or unhappy?
  5. Describe a time when you had the courage and wisdom to make the right choice and were glad you did.
  6. Are the choices you make trying to control things for you or God? 
  7. Do you think you can “think good thoughts” on your own? Why do you need the help of the Holy Spirit to free your mind from destructive thoughts?
  8. How does knowing God’s Word help you change the direction of your thoughts?
  9. What can we do this week to bring our thoughts under control?
  10. What is the biggest takeaway from this week’s message?

Take one thing home with you:

All choices are not equal. Some choices are good choices, and some are bad. And you usually know at the time if you are making a good or bad choice. What would your answer be if someone asked you what is the best choice you made in the last 24 hours? What about your best choice? God wants you to make the right choices, which is one of the reasons He sent His Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide and counsel you—and you will find yourself making better choices. In addition, if you are struggling with knowing whether or not a particular choice would make God unhappy, take the time to find applicable Bible verses on any topic. Take the time to read a story in the Bible when someone had a choice. How might the story have changed if they had made a different choice? Think about that scenario and others when faced with a choice.