BIG IDEA GUIDE

DISCUSSION GUIDE / SESSION 5 - I AM STRONG

SERIES BIG IDEA means to wrestle in hand to hand combat and win by When our identity is firmly rooted in we become holding your opponent down at their throat with your a new person. Finding our identity in Christ is a life-long hands. That is an intimate battle. process, a constant ‘stripping off the old’ and ‘putting on the new.’ This series will be an encouragement for QUESTION 1 everyone to begin to see themselves, others, and the Share about a time in your life where you felt that there church through the lens of Jesus, as God’s masterpiece. was a force working against you?

MESSAGE BIG IDEA In verse 11 Paul talks about the ‘devil’s schemes’ in We are strong because of the power of God. It is Him other words- trickery, deceitfulness, to lie and wait to who fights for us, and the fight is not against one another deceive. This means that Satan is artful at leading us but against evil. We are our strongest when we realize the astray and his schemes are crafted uniquely for each of fight is not against my brother or sister, but against evil, us, and he has multiple plans to get us off track, way off and we are strongest when we allow God’s power to fight track. There is an intense battle in the heavenly realms for us and through us. to prevent us from doing God’s will. It is real and Paul is telling us to take it seriously.

ICE BREAKER QUESTION 2 Have you ever been really angry at someone or angry How does it make you feel knowing that there is an about something but then later wondered why you were unseen battle of darkness happening in your life? so mad?

It can be quite disturbing to think about evil being DISCUSSION present in our own life. That very idea is a Western Spiritual warfare is real. It is defined in the as culture idea. Other parts of the world like Africa and demons, dark forces of evil working against us to South America understand that there is a presence of prevent us from doing God’s will. With beheadings, sex evil and dark forces. trafficking, mass shootings, Holocaust and serial killers there is no doubt that evil is present in the world. Most In the Garden of Eden Satan tempts Eve by making people in the western world would agree that evil exist in her question the truth of God by saying (Gen 3:4) the world, but most in our culture have a difficult time to “Surely you will not die?” and through one moment of saying that evil is present in our own life. questioning, Satan brought the curse of death onto all humanity. The Devil’s schemes make us question SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 6:10-12 God and his truth. Jesus is tempted in the wilderness 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty multiple time by Satan to abandon his mission. Satan 11 power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you is good at showing us the tasty bait but yet hiding the 12 can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. hook. He is good at distracting and irritating us with the For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but very things that push our buttons. against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual C.S Lewis writes about the character of Satan in his forces of evil in the heavenly realms. book The Screwtape Letters. This fictional book is a collection of letters that Uncle Screwtape writes to his In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus he gives this last demon nephew Wormwood. Screwtape is instructing bit of instructions to be strong with the LORDs power Wormwood on how to influence people and pull because our struggles are not with people but with evil them away from the truth about God. In one letter forces. The word ‘struggle’ is the word we read in the Uncle Screwtape instructs Wormwood to distract the NIV Bible but the original Greek word used is pale which churchgoer by having the people sitting next to him sing

Community Christian Church / www.communitychristian.org For copies of Big Idea products visit www.bigidearesources.com BIG IDEA GUIDE

DISCUSSION GUIDE / SESSION 5 - I AM STRONG out of tune or have squeaky shoes to make his mind flit QUESTION 6 to and fro. DISCUSSIONWhen someone wrongs GUIDE you / are SESSION you tempted # to - retaliate?TITLE How do feel about just standing your ground and not QUESTION 3 fighting? Knowing how crafty Satan can be, in what ways may Satan be distracting you, irritating you or tempting you? QUESTION 7 What would it look like for you to stand firm and not Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not fight? against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world Paul wrote about our natural instinct to respond with the and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly wrong tactics when we get hurt by someone else. realms. SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 12:17-19, 21 QUESTION 4 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do Talk about a conflict currently in your life or has what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, someone recently wronged you? Can you see where as far as it depends on you, live at peace with Satan may have played a part in that conflict? everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but have room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord…. Do not be When we stop, reflect and recognize that our struggles overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. are not with people but we begin to see the influence of Satan fighting to distract us and pull us away from It is not in our nature to just stand and not fight but the will of God it can be frightening and it can seem scripture is clear that our battle is the LORD’s. like a hopeless battle. However Paul’s words to the Ephesians are clear that we can be strong in the LORD’s QUESTION 8 power. Read Ephesians 6:13-17 to discover how we can Is there a battle in your life right now that God is asking be strong in the LORD’s power. you to stand and let Him fight? SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 6:13-17 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that Learning to be strong and stand firm in our identity in when the day of evil comes, you may be able Christ is an on-going process. That’s why Paul finishes to stand your ground, and after you have done his letter to the church in Ephesus with these words. everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the SCRIPTURE: EPHESIANS 6:18-20 breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am word of God. an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. We need to put on the ‘full armor of God’ and stand our ground. Paul says ‘stand’ three times in this passage. Finish up your small group time by praying for each other. Pray that you may alert and clearly see that your QUESTIONS 5 battles our not with flash and blood but with dark forces. What do you think Paul means by ‘stand your ground’? Prayerfully put on the armor of God so that each of you can stand firm and be strongly rooted in your identity in Christ and not tempted to be drawn into a battles that are not yours to fight.

Community Christian Church / www.communitychristian.org For copies of Big Idea products visit www.bigidearesources.com NEXT STEPS GUIDE

NEXT STEPS GUIDE / SESSION 5 - I AM STRONG

The Next Steps Guide is designed so that you can go 1. How would you be at risk if you went into a physical further in your interaction with this week’s Big Idea. We battle without a piece armor? encourage you to connect with a few others from your small group and discuss the following content. Feel free 2. What would happen if you didn’t have a shield or a to use it as an individual study tool. Leaders, feel free to helmet? use the content below to supplement your small group discussion times. It is very dangerous to enter into a physical battle without having all your armor on and it is equally dangerous for us to enter into spiritual battles without the ‘full armor of MESSAGE BIG IDEA God’. We are strong because of the power of God. It is Him who fights for us, and the fight is not against one another 3. Where do you see dark forces creating struggles in but against evil. We are our strongest when we realize the your life or what spiritual battles are you fighting? And fight is not against my brother or sister, but against evil, how are you currently battling these struggles? and we are strongest when we allow God’s power to fight for us and through us. 4. What piece of armor would help protect you in this battle? EPHESIANS 6:10-20 - THE ARMOR OF GOD 10 • Belt of Truth-knowing the truth about God and who you Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty are in Him power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you 12 • Breastplate of Righteousness-You are made righteous can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. through Jesus not being good. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but • Helmet of Salvation-knowing your salvation is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the through Christ and Christ alone not growing in full powers of this dark world and against the spiritual 13 understanding or good works and earning salvation. forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put • Shield of Faith-trusting in God’s promises. on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil • Shoes of Peace-inner peace and readiness to extend comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and 14 peace empowered by the Holy Spirit. after you have done everything, to stand. Stand • Sword of the Spirit-the word of God, using Scripture to firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your defend yourself and triumph over the lies and deception waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, of Satan. 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can Deuteronomy 4:39 17 extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Psalm 18:1-3, 100:3 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the John 14:27, 16:33 18 Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Romans 3:23-24, 6:23 Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and Romans 5:1 requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep :14 19 on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me Hebrew 4:12 so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Galatians 2:20-21 20 gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. :8-10 Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. Read each of the scriptures, memorize your favorite one Paul describes the different pieces of armor in verses 14- or memorize all of them. 17 Belt, Breastplate, Helmet, Shield, Shoes and Sword.

Community Christian Church / www.communitychristian.org For copies of Big Idea products visit www.bigidearesources.com