Resources for Discussion Class Hour on April 10, 2019

Sermon Title: Root Rot: Weathering Storms and the Damage Done by Sin

Text: 2 Corinthians 5:17

Resources:

• Click here to listen to or watch the sermon
• Download tonight’s printable study guide

Brief summary

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“‘For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.’ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:6-7).

“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21).

Our roots are our foundation, and as Christians, we are rooted in love and in Jesus Christ.  But our roots can become sick.  They can be damaged by storms and other hidden forces.  And we may not even fully realize there’s a problem until the damage has been done and the effects are seen and felt.  At that point, we have a choice to make.  Will we do nothing and let the damage spread upward until it destroys our hope?  Or will we let God dig us up, clean off the decay, and replant us in good soil?

Reflection Questions

Start Praying

1. How can our class pray for you or a friend or loved one tonight?

Start Reading(read 2 Corinthians 5:17)

2. What questions do you have after reading this text?

Start Sharing

3. Do you believe that God has ever disciplined you? If not, why not? If so, how?
4. Paul uses the language of “new creation” to describe what we are in Christ. How are you a new creation since you started following Jesus?

Start Thinking

5. Knowing that God does shape and guide us through times we’ve been knocked down or broken, does the concept of God’s discipline (Heb 12:6-7) apply in such situations? If so, how?
6. How can we avoid having shallow, weak roots like the “rocky soil” depicted in Matthew 13:20-21?
7. When you are spiritually decaying and damaged on the inside, in what ways would you prefer that your Christian family reach out to you? How can we be better at initiating proper care and concern for each other when we sense there is a struggle going on?

Start Doing

8. The sermon emphasized the concept of over-watering through “storms” in our lives. What are some practical things we can do as Christians to avoid “over-watering?” If we see someone that we fear might be in a state of being “over-watered,” what can we do to help?
9. Can we think of a specific example in our own lives of someone who was “over-watered”? If so, what practical lessons can we learn from that situation to address the issue of “over-watering”?

Start Praying (ACTS acronym)

10. Adoration: Praise God for loving us enough to discipline us when we need it?
11. Confession: Ask God to forgive us not responding well at times to his discipline.
12. Thanksgiving: Thank God for making us new.
13. Supplication: Pray for God to give every member of this class deeper roots that are not susceptible to the troubles of life?