Uncategorized

Second Draft of DVD Session Titles & Descriptions

I received some GREAT feedback and got rid of the “stodgy theological terms.”

🙂 !!

So here is my second draft. Thanks for letting me know what you think!

Yours,
Tara B.

Becoming Who You Already Are—Living Life Wholly Defined by the Gospel

1. Who is God? I know how to say all the right things about God … but how do my thoughts, emotions, and actions reveal what I really believe about Him? What does the Bible say about Who God is? And why does it matter?

2. Who am I? Often it seems like I am defined by the jobs I have, the feedback I receive from other people, and my failures or successes at any given moment. But what does my identity as a Christian have to do with the way I live my daily life? Who does God say that I am and where do I fit into His eternal plan to bring glory to Himself?

3. Why am I the way that I am? I’m a Christian! I know I should have hope and peace … but so often, I am depressed, discouraged, and restless. I want to be patient and kind! But often I am angry and selfish. What’s wrong with me and how is God at work to change me for His glory?

4. What motivates me to do the things I do? Jesus says that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks … so I know that I can’t really change until I honestly face up to the root causes of my habitual sins. How does God minister grace and truth to me so that I can identify and repent of the things that I wrongly love more than Him?

 

5. Why do I care so much about what other people think about me? Sometimes it feels like I am in bondage to the opinions of other people! Rather than living for God’s glory, I’m actually ensnared by a desire for the acceptance and love of people. How does an appropriate fear of God displace my sinful fear of Man?

6. How can I move beyond temporary, surface-level changes? Sometimes it just seems like I will never get over a certain sin or be able to obey in a certain area of life. Truth be told—even though I hide it pretty well—I’m often a mess! So how is it really possible that the gospel of Jesus Christ can actually change me so that my life stops contradicting the very faith I profess?

7. Why are redemptive, gospel-infused relationships so important? Sometimes I just can’t believe that unity, grace, and love could actually be reflected in my relationships. It’s hard to be around other people! One part of me longs for friendship and another part fears it. How is God calling me to value relationships within the Body of Christ as one of His primary means of grace?

8. *But I hate conflict! Where two or more are gathered in Jesus’ name, there will eventually be conflict. So how do I usually respond? Do I run away? Attack? Avoid? What is the outcome of my response? And how is God calling me to live out the gospel by persevering in the hard work of repentance, confession, and forgiveness?

9. *What are the first steps I need to take when I’m in a conflict? How can I respond to offenses and hurts in a way that glorifies God? What does it look like for me to own up to my contribution to the conflict and ‘get the log out of my own eye’?

10. *Is it really possible to work through conflicts, forgive, and be reconciled? How is God calling me to go to the other person and talk about what happened? What would it mean for me to forgive her? And why are reconciliation and unity so important to God?

11. But I don’t like her very much! I have lots of relationships where I’m not in any conflicts with the other people—I just don’t like them very much. What does it mean for me to accept and even love people that I don’t instinctively enjoy? How does this glorify God and what practical steps can I take to ‘love my neighbor as myself’?

12. Am I really becoming the person I already am? Can I actually live my life wholly defined by the gospel? Yes! Even though I might have a long history of wrong thinking, habitual sin patterns, or broken relationships, God’s grace is greater still! And God’s love for me is not based on my performance, but on the finished work of Jesus Christ. I become the person I already am as I remember my place in God’s eternal story of redemption and live accordingly.