SELF-CONTROL (1): SERMON PREP GUIDE

Where do you see healthy self-control exhibited around you? What effect does that have on you, others? What effect does lack of self-control have? 

READ Ecclesiastes 3.1-14

How does this passage support a picture where self-control has an important role to play? 

How does this passage paint a picture that contrasts ways of life like asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons)? 

How does this passage support living in a rhythm of sabbaths and sabbaticals? 

READ John 5.16-24

If anyone should be free to be self-directed, shouldn't it have been Jesus? How does this passage illustrate something different? 

What rubric or authority should determine how we behave?

How do we lean into a life that exudes self-control? 

GENTLENESS (1): Sermon Prep Guide

Begin by considering one person or thing that you cherish the most. How does your cherishing influence your behavior? 

REVIEW Galatians 5:13-26

After immersing ourselves in the Fruit of the Spirit for the past several months as a congregation, what strikes you about this passage today? What might God be trying to reveal to you through these studies and scriptures?

READ Matthew 9:35-36

How did Jesus feel about the people he encountered? How did that influence His behavior? 

READ John 4:1-30

What in this story would make you say, "Come and see! Could this be?"

How does Jesus handle this sinful woman? What does that reveal about how He feels about her or what He desires for her?

Where do you see Gentleness in these passages? 

What is the result of gentleness in this passage for the woman? For people besides the woman?

In whom do you see the Fruit of Gentleness pouring forth?

BONUS: Can you find other stories in scripture that reveal God's Gentleness? [comment here on this blog post if you do!]