SESSION 4 THE HOUSECLEANING CHOICE VIDEO OUTLINE:

Transcription

1 SESSION 4 THE HOUSECLEANING CHOICE VIDEO OUTLINE: START THE VIDEO HERE Matthew 5:3-10 The Beatitudes Matthew 5:8 Today s English Version 8 Happy are the pure in heart. GETTING RID OF GUILT 1. Take a personal MORAL INVENTORY. Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad. 2. Accept responsibility for MY FAULTS. 3. Ask God for FORGIVENESS. 1 John 1:9 Contemporary English Version (CEV) 9 But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away. Isaiah 1:18 18 No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. 1

2 The Housecleaning Choice continued: 4. Admit my faults to ANOTHER PERSON. James 5:16 16 Admit your faults to one another and pray for each other so that you may be healed. 5. Accept God s forgiveness and FORGIVE MYSELF. God forgives: INSTANTLY. FREELY. COMPLETELY. Micah 7:18-19 Good News Translation (GNT) 18 There is no other God like you, O Lord; you forgive the sins of your people.. 19 You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea! Romans 8:1 New Living Translation (NLT) 8 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Jeremiah 31:34 New Living Translation (NLT) 34 I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. 2

3 SESSION 4 DISSCUSSION QUESTIONS: The Housecleaning Choice: OPENLY EXAMINE AND CONFESS MY FUALTS TO MYSELF, TO GOD, AND TO SOMEONE I TRUST. Matthew 5:8 Beatitude #4 Today s English Version (TEV) 4 Happy are the pure in heart. CELEBRATE: Let s begin with a little celebration. Share with your group any progress that you ve made so far in. What has God shown you? How have you been changed? Psalm 32:1 1 What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. 1. What does this verse mean to you? Focus on the words happiness, forgiven and confessed. 2. Guilt destroys our confidence, our relationships and keeps us stuck in the past. What is an example of how guilt has negatively affected you? 3. How will a moral inventory help free you from guilt? 3

4 The Commitment Choice continued: NOTE: As you make an inventory make sure it is balanced. Don t forget to add the good choices you ve made as well. If we focus only on the bad decisions it will be an unbalanced inventory of our lives. 4. How will accepting responsibility for my faults free me from guilt? SPECIAL NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAYNE : If you have been physically or sexually abused as a child or adult, I m very sorry that you have had to live through that. I feel for your hurt. When you begin to write your list of wrongs, simply put the words: NOT GUILTY for the abuse that was done to you. No part of that was your fault. So renounce that lie. However, accept responsibility for how you may have hurt others because of your reaction to the past abuse. 5. How will asking God for forgiveness help free me from guilt? 6. How will admitting my faults to another person help free me from guilt? When you begin to write inventory of your past hurts and pains it can cause you to distress. Sometime writing down the events of your past is just to difficult on your own. We understand. We suggest you ask a trusted friend to support you and maybe even be with you as you write. A good person would be someone who has dealt with similar pain or habits that you deal with. You need a safe place. If no one is in sight then call one of the pastors at the church or stop by the Care Center on the weekend and ask for a reference of a good counselor. We d be happy to help you. Note: Make sure you pray together and for each other as a group. And remember, what s said in the group stays in the group. 4

5 MORAL INVENTORY Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the lord (Lamentations 3:40) 1. The Person 2. The Cause 3. The Effect 4. The Damage 5. My Part