Series: Survivor / Week 1 (10/4-10/11)
ICEBREAKER
What is something completely ridiculous you believed when you were a kid?
Maybe you believed swallowing gum meant it stayed in your stomach for seven years, the car wouldn't start until everyone buckled up, the ice cream truck played music when it was out of ice cream, or your parents actually knew everything.
TRANSITION
Some lies are funny when we look back on them. Others aren’t. This week’ss message reminds us that there is a real spiritual battle taking place, and some of life’s hardest battles happen where nobody else can see them—in our minds.
The enemy wants us to believe his lies, because if he can corrupt what we BELIEVE, he can affect how we LIVE.
DISCUSS
READ 2 Corinthians 11:3
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
1. Why do you think the mind is such an important battleground in our spiritual lives?
The message compares Satan to a “hacker” looking for vulnerabilities in our thinking. What are some common lies that can sneak into our minds?
Maybe: I'm not good enough. I'll never change. God is disappointed in me. Nobody cares. I have to handle this myself. I'll always struggle with this.
2. Which kinds of lies do you think people are most vulnerable to believing?
READ Romans 8:6
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”
3. What are some practical signs that your mind is being filled with fear, shame, comparison, temptation, or condemnation instead of God's truth?
4. What does a mind filled with God's life and peace look like?
THE ENEMY’S STRATEGY:
READ Genesis 3:1
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’”
Notice the first words: “Did God really say…?”
5. TWhy is questioning God's Word such an effective strategy?
6. Where do you hear versions of “Did God really say?” in our culture or even in your own thoughts?
The message shows a progression in Genesis 3:
QUESTION God's Word → DENY God's Word → SUBSTITUTE a lie.
7. Why do you think deception often begins with something that sounds reasonable rather than something obviously false
GET PERSONAL:
8. Without sharing anything you're uncomfortable sharing, what area of your thinking is hardest for you to keep grounded in God's truth?
· Fear?
· Your identity?
· Your future?
· Your past?
· Money?
· Relationships?
· Temptation?
· What other people think about you?
READ Proverbs 4:23
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
9. What are you currently allowing into your mind that is helping you become more like Jesus?
10. What might you need to limit, remove, or replace because it's influencing your thinking in the wrong direction?
GET PRACTICAL:
READ Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
11. If God's Word is our defense against deception, what could you practically change this week to get more of God's Word into your mind and heart?
REMEMBER WHO YOU’RE FIGHTING:
READ Ephesians 6:12
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
12. How would remembering that people aren't the enemy change the way we respond during conflict?
PRAYER
Ask God to expose any lies you have believed and help you recognize the enemy's attempts to distort your thinking. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your mind with God's truth and give you the strength to guard your mind, stand firm in His Word, and live from the victory Jesus has already won.