Defining Moments Study Guide: What to Do When You Come Face-to-Face with the Truth
112
Defining Moments Study Guide: What to Do When You Come Face-to-Face with the Truth
112Paperback(Study Guide)
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Overview
Life is full of defining moments. Like landmarks on a road map, these moments mark key points along your life’s journey. A defining moment happens when you come face-to-face with a truth that invites you to change the way you live. It demands that you make a decision. And regardless of the choice you make, you will never be the same.
In this eight-part companion study guide to the Defining Moments DVD, bestselling author Andy Stanley examines several such moments as depicted in the lives of people from Scripture—the kinds of moments many of us will experience in our lifetimes. And if you’re willing to look at truth honestly, these moments can change your life forever.
Story Behind the Book
While working to develop a series that would introduce people to a new mind-set about the way they live their lives, Andy Stanley discovered the influence that defining moments have. Now, after teaching this principle to his staff, church, and through the extended home study groups of North Point Community Church , this DVD and study guide material are releasing to a national audience through North Point’s relationship with Multnomah.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781590524640 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Crown Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 12/11/2004 |
| Series: | Northpoint Resources |
| Edition description: | Study Guide |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.99(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.32(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
DEFINING MOMENTS Study Guide
By ANDY STANLEY
Multnomah Publishers
Copyright © 2004 North Point Ministries, Inc.All right reserved.
ISBN: 1-59052-464-0
Chapter One
Letting Go
INTRODUCTION
A defining moment often happens when a person comes face-to-face with a truth about life he's never confronted before. But if we're honest, most of our defining moments happen with truths we've simply been ignoring for a long, long time.
In fact, one of the main reasons people dismiss God's truth is that it's simply too painful or inconvenient to acknowledge it. We have our own way of doing things. And while truth may be true, it's often too disrupting to incorporate into our lives. So we shove it aside in favor of what's familiar and comfortable. In effect, we choose to live with a distortion rather than embrace the truth.
But the problem is that for every distortion about God, there is a corresponding consequence. And no matter how uncomfortable truth may seem, it's nothing like the discomfort we experience when the consequences begin to mount up. In the Bible, as people embraced the truths Jesus taught, their lives were transformed. And in this session, we'll examine how letting go of what's familiar can be the first step to experiencing a defining moment with truth in your life.
In Your Dreams
Right or wrong, we all have a picture of what we want God to be like. For each of thefollowing areas of life, describe how you wish God would orchestrate things:
* In your finances:
* In your career:
* In your relationships:
VIDEO NOTES
From the video message, fill in the blanks:
1. Everyone has a picture of what they want ___________________ to be like.
2. With every distortion of truth about God, there is a corresponding _______________.
3. One of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to explain ________________ to us.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Take a few moments to discuss your answers to these questions with the group.
1. What are some misconceptions that people have about God?
2. What are some truths that you've seen people embrace or reject?
3. How have we attempted to shape God in our own image?
4. What consequences have you suffered by avoiding God's truth? What truths have set you free?
5. If a defining moment is embracing an uncomfortable truth, have you had that kind of defining moment?
6. Which truths that Jesus taught are the hardest for you to accept and why?
7. Which truths do you not want to face in order to avoid discomfort?
NOTES
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
MILEPOSTS
* A defining moment happens when we come face-to-face with a truth about life and our lives are never the same.
* Often, we shove truth to the side because it's too painful or inconvenient to acknowledge it.
* For every distortion about God, there is a corresponding consequence.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
1. Are there any areas in your life where you are putting off facing the truth? It could be a truth you have heard before but just weren't ready to incorporate. This week identify at least one truth that fits this description, and complete the statements below.
The truth I've been putting off is:
The distortion I've been embracing is:
THINK ABOUT IT
For every distortion of God's truth, there is a corresponding consequence. Are there any consequences you've already encountered as a result of putting off the truth? What consequences might lie ahead if you don't face up to the truth now?
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Replacing a distortion requires that we renew our minds to God's truth. You can begin by carrying God's Word with you throughout the day. There's a memory verse for each week. Begin memorizing them now.
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32
(Continues...)
Excerpted from DEFINING MOMENTS Study Guide by ANDY STANLEY Copyright © 2004 by North Point Ministries, Inc.. Excerpted by permission.
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