02-09-2020
Dr. E. Dale Locke, Jeff MacIntosh, Pastor Efrain Silva
Sermon Series: Best Year Yet
Week 6: Perseverance
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1. Practice this series’ memory verse - 2 Peter 1:3: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
2. Read 2 Peter 1:3-8:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.“
3. This week’s focus is on adding perseverance to our faith, goodness, knowledge and self-control. This is important, because life is a marathon, not a sprint. Name an area of life where you’ve needed perseverance – whether school, exercise, marriage, caring for a loved one, or any other area that comes to your mind.
4. A lot of people can do well in life for the short term. The big challenge is to keep living well for the long term and finish life well. Briefly describe a person you’ve known, who finished their life well.
5. Read what Eugene Peterson said in his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction; Discipleship in an Instant Society: “One aspect of world that I have been able to identify as harmful to Christians is the assumption that anything worthwhile can be acquired at once. We assume that if something can be done at all, it can be done quickly and efficiently. Our attention spans have been conditioned by thirty-second commercials. Our sense of reality has been flattened by thirty-page abridgements. It is not difficult in such a world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel; it is terrifically difficult to sustain the interest. Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. Many have been born again, but the evidence for mature Christian discipleship is slim. In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in the our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations called holiness.” What do you think of what he says here? Discuss this as a group.
6. Read Hebrews 12:1-12:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.’
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 ‘Make level paths for your feet,’ so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”
What questions or comments do you have from this passage?
If we’re going to grow in perseverance, we need to…
· Say “No” to Distractions
7. In Hebrews 12:1, the writer says to throw off everything that hinders and also throw off sin. So it’s clear that there are things that hinder us, even though they’re not sin. If we want to finish well, we will have to be willing to say “no” to those things. Name some common distractions in our culture.
8. If you’re willing, share some things that you personally struggle with, because even though they’re not sinful, they distract you from focusing on your faith.
· Say “Yes” to Pain
9. Angela Duckworth wrote in her book Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance: that success is not as dependent on intelligence, talent, good looks or wealth, as it is on dependent your ability to hang in there when it gets tough and finish what you’ve started. In our culture, we’ve become addicted to instant gratification, comfort and pain avoidance. What does Hebrews 12 say about this?
10. Parents are often tempted to smooth every path for their kids and keep their kids from experiencing any pain or discomfort. What happens to a person who is raised that way?
· Keep Your Eye on our Great Example
11. Note in Hebrews 12:2-3 what the writer says about fixing our eyes on Jesus. What are some things about Jesus’ example that can help you persevere in a challenging season?