Sin and Temptation

Help your disciples understand and overcome against sin!

Sin is a constant reality in the life of a Christian. The hope of this curriculum is to help you and your disciples understand the gravity of sin and to give you the tools to lean on the Lord to overcome the sin in your life. We can't attain perfection here on Earth, but we can learn how to flee from sin and pursue righteousness in a way that honors God and produces joy in our lives.

In the buttons below you will find videos, articles, podcasts and helpful questions that will help your disciples become mature in each topic. Take your time to read through the materials yourself so that you can be as helpful as you can.

Session 0: Expectations and Testimonies

Today’s Session

DISCLAIMER: This may look like a lot to go through, but if this is your first time engaging in a D-Group here at Fielder, it is highly encouraged that you take the time to process all of this before starting!

In this first session, you’ll spend time getting to know each other. Here’s an outline of what to expect:

Review the Discipleship Group purpose and guidelines below.
Read, discuss, and agree to the Discipleship Group Commitment Form.
Share your faith story.
Pray for one another.
Plan your next meeting.

Purpose

The purpose of the Discipleship Group is simple: to learn what it means to grow in deeper obedience to Jesus so that we can more effectively inhale the Gospel, exhale the Gospel, and make disciples who do the same.

With that being said, let me tell you what it isn’t. This is not simply another Bible study or prayer group. In this group, you will study the Bible, you will pray, and you will have accountability, but God’s vision for this experience is much greater than any individual component. His goal is nothing other than the production of missionary leaders who have a radical love of God and an incomprehensible love for those He has placed around them. But how do Discipleship Groups accomplish this? Discipleship Groups do two things that help produce missionary leaders:

1. Train you to be a disciple

If you are in a New Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be established in your understanding of who Jesus is, what it means to follow Him, and how to walk in obedience to His commands. This establishing is crucial to the rest of your life as a disciple of Jesus. Everything that God wants to do in you and through you will be based on this foundation that He is establishing in you through Bible reading, prayer, accountability, serving, and learning to share your faith.

If you are in a Growing Disciple curriculum, the goal is for you to be equipped to do the work of the ministry that God has called you to do. Our faith was never meant to be kept to ourselves, but to be used to be a blessing in the world around us. God has called you out of darkness into light so that you might be sent back into a dark world with the power of the Holy Spirit to redeem and save. This curriculum will give you the tools that you need to live your faith out loud, to find freedom from sin, and to make an impact in the world around you with the gifts that God has given you. This is an ongoing process that lasts for the rest of your life!

2. Train you to make disciples

Jesus’ final command to His disciples was not simply to be disciples but “to make disciples of all nations…” That means our journey does not end once we become growing disciples who are equipped to do the work of the ministry, we are commanded by our Savior King to be disciple-makers! Multiplying Disciple curriculum will help export you; to take what you know about what it means to follow Jesus and pour into the next generation of disciple-makers, whether that’s here at Fielder, across the globe, or somewhere in between! If you want to be obedient to Jesus then that means you need to step into the journey of making disciples who make disciples.

Now that you know why we’re here (to either establish, equip, or export you), let’s dive into what this group is practically going to look like!

General Guidelines

The four major values in the DGs are authenticity, teachability, confidentiality, and dedication. Each person is asked to commit to live by these values during the DG experience.

Every person must choose authenticity over comfort. The more real you are, the more you give God space to deal with areas of growth in your life.
Every person must choose teachability above self-confidence. The more you approach this thinking, the more you have the answers, and the less you will see your need to change (and consequently, the less you will!). Our goal is to be teachable during this process, giving God space to let us shape each other.
Confidentiality – what is said during the meeting stays in the meeting. If you are married, this includes speaking with your spouse about things that are discussed by other members. If this guideline is breached, authenticity suffers.
Dedication – due to the intensity of the experience, each person must dedicate themselves to do 4 things: pray for each other, do all the assigned curriculum, prepare for each meeting by answering all questions in advance, and make attendance at the meetings a priority.

D-Group Extras

This curriculum is not meant to be all-encompassing for everything that you need to be a healthy Christian but a tool that you can use in tandem with other tools so that you can grow as a disciple who makes disciples. On top of this curriculum, you should also be using the below resources to make sure that you are as healthy as possible:

Bible Memorization tools
- Writing scripture on our hearts helps us combat temptation, minister to people better, and grow more in love with Jesus. Find a scripture memorization tool that your group likes and commit to memorizing scripture throughout your time together. You can use the apps/books listed below to start!
Join a Community Group and start serving!
- Community Groups give you an opportunity to form a family of believers that you can serve with, pray with, pursue non-believers with, and connect with in a different way than Discipleship Groups. Discipleship is done best in the context of community! Sign up for a Community Group here!
- As you grow in being a disciple, finding opportunities to live out what you are learning is extremely beneficial to your growth. There are plenty of areas to serve within Fielder and countless ways to serve in our local community that will help you walk in obedience to Christ. You can click this link to learn about the serve opportunities available to you in Fielder Church and our Community.
Bible Reading Plan
- Since the purpose of being in a D-Group is to grow in more obedience and likeness to Christ, then spending time with Him through the Word is essential to your growth. We encourage you to start a Bible reading plan with your group to hold each other accountable to spending time with Jesus through scripture and help one another understand the commands and promises that God is speaking over you. You can find Bible reading plans on the Fielder Website by clicking here!

Discipleship Group Meeting Flow

Almost every discipleship group curriculum that Fielder offers follows the same formula and contains the same components. This ensures that no matter what you are learning, it is being taught in a familiar and uniform way. The time spent on each section is dependent on the shepherd’s leadership and the needs of the group, but the average D-Group meeting should generally follow the flow below. The components of a Discipleship Group will often include:

Prayer(10 minutes) – A time to spend time with the Father together, offer up prayer requests, and pray for the non-believers in your lives.

Accountability(25 minutes) – Hold each other accountable to your Bible reading goals, regular prayer times, confession and repentance of sin, and action steps based on the last D-Group session.

Intentional Learning (55 minutes) – This will include:

Overview (5 minutes) – Recap of the curriculum that was assigned to the group
Discussion (20 minutes) – Questions that are geared towards diving deeper into what God is revealing to you through the curriculum. Use this time to answer how you understand what God is trying to say to you through the curriculum. Don’t try to give the “right” answer, give your answer to the questions.
Model/Practice (15 minutes) – An opportunity to put what you have learned into action in a safe environment. Whether it’s role-playing a scenario that you might encounter in the world around you, participating in an activity together, or praying that God would move, this is vitally important for getting what you learned from your head down to your heart.
Action Steps (15 minutes) – Every D-Group member will share what they will do before the next D-Group meeting to build on what they learned in the curriculum and what they confessed and repented of during accountability.

Prayer and Accountability

Prayer and accountability are essential components of Discipleship groups. The prayer and accountability time allotted in your meeting is not just there so you can share. It’s not just there as a checklist to make sure you are doing the right things. It’s there to help you sharpen each other and grow in every area of life as you Inhale and Exhale the gospel!

For each session, you will select two questions within the D-Group Accountability Questions document that reflect areas of victory in your life and two questions that reflect areas of struggle and discuss them with the group. Please spend time before the meeting determining these areas so that you will be prepared to share.

Shepherds have the option to help push the rest of the group deeper in accountability. If more areas need to be discussed, feel free to move beyond the questions selected by the group member.

Intentional Learning Guidelines

Intentional learning is an essential part of D-Groups at Fielder. Much of this learning takes the form of reading the Bible, helpful books, articles, and blogs, and watching helpful videos, sermons, and podcasts. Here are a few tips that we have found to be helpful:

Take notes while you read/watch. Underline important thoughts, put a star or some indication next to new, important ideas, and write frequently in the margins as your thoughts come.
Pick out the 5 most influential thoughts or concepts (Top 5) from your assigned curriculum and record them in your journal.
Carve out 10 minutes every day in your schedule that will allow you to spend time reading/listening and journaling your takeaways.
To assist you in reading the assigned scripture passages, we provide a guide called The Gospel Method to help you grow in your love and understanding of God through reading and studying the Bible. Take time during your first session to go over the method as a group and pray that it gives you guidance on how to hear God’s voice more clearly as you read scripture.

Facilitate Leadership

After the first few sessions, you should begin to rotate the facilitator of each session to give each person in the group a chance to lead. Each of you will be asked to eventually lead a Discipleship Group once you have gone through the Discipleship Cycle.

Once you go through the Discipleship Cycle, or when the shepherd of the group recommends, you should begin to lead 3 new people through a D-Group of your own.

Commitment Form

Click here to download and print the Discipleship Group Commitment Form. By signing this, you are ensuring that everybody in the group is bought into the vision and purpose of this Discipleship Group. This helps you trust one another as you confess and repent of sin, share prayer requests, and challenge each other to walk in Christlikeness.

Faith Stories

Share Your Faith Story

Take turns sharing your faith story using the outline below.

Tell about what life was like before Jesus was Lord of your life. (even if you grew up in a Christian home, there should be a moment where Jesus became the one sitting on the throne of your life instead of you. Describe what that “before time” was like!)
Tell how you were introduced to Jesus Christ and the events surrounding your acceptance of Him as your personal Savior and Lord.
Tell how you have grown spiritually since your conversion and what God is doing in you at the moment.

Prayer

Everyone shares one area that you are asking for God to move in your life.

After each person shares, the group should pray for them.

The Root of Sin

Prayer

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Genesis 3:1-7
Psalm 51:5
Jeremiah 17:9-10
Romans 3:23 (Memorize)
Romans 5:12
Ephesians 2:1-10
James 1:12-15

Outside Resources

Brief Summary

We can all agree on something: we live in a world that is broken. What we may not all agree on is the root of this brokenness. Brokenness originated in the Garden when Adam and Eve first sinned. The first sin was rooted in a desire to “be like God,” leading to a choice to seize autonomy from God and determine what was right in our own eyes. Since then, all of humanity has been consumed by sin. Sin isn’t just committing wrong actions or neglecting good; it is a state of mind, a way of being, that affects everything we do, leading us out to attempt to fulfill good desires in ways that God has not sanctioned. While the world’s brokenness and the devil’s influence both impact our sinful tendencies, James states that the root of sin is evil desire within our hearts. The problem isn’t around us; the problem is in us.

Sin is a critical issue, a monumental problem, that we cannot solve on our own. No amount of ingenuity, charity, good deeds, or “progress” can eliminate sin in our hearts and lives. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are given mercy that covers our sin and grace that frees us from sin’s penalty, power, and presence. The gospel gives us hope that Jesus, not sin, has the final word. Through Him, we can find freedom from sin, overcoming the desires that eventually lead us to death.

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions.

Identify 1-3 desires that you know, if left unguarded, can lead to sin in your life. Write out what those are.
Confess to your group the areas where you are tempted to fulfill those desires of the flesh. Name them specifically.
Describe how the gospel gives you hope to overcome your sinful desires and tendencies. How does the gospel speak directly to each desire/tendency?
How does the problem of sin affect how view and interact with people who don’t yet know Jesus?

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

When thoughts pop up that would typically lead you to sin, how will you address those in the moment? What specific truths will you use to fight against sin?
How can we as a group rally around one another for accountability in these areas? Be specific.

Guided Prayer

Father, we acknowledge our sinfulness before you today, both in our actions and at the core of our desires. We ask for your mercy and grace to invade our hearts, knowing that you have provided us everything we need for life and godliness through Your Son Jesus Christ. We confess that on our own, we have no power to deal with the sinful desires and tendencies that we’ve named. We ask that your Holy Spirit would convict us quickly, leading us to confession, both to you and to one another, that we may find healing and freedom. Help us to remember the high cost that Jesus paid on the cross to forgive us of our sins, and lead us to live in light of His sacrifice. We ask this all in the name of Jesus, amen.

The Penalty of Sin

Prayer Requests

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Genesis 2:15-17
Genesis 3:17-19
Genesis 5:5
Psalm 51:4
Psalm 103:11-12
Romans 6:23 (Memorize)
Ephesians 2:4-5
Ephesians 2:11-12
James 1:15
Revelation 20:14-15

Outside Resources

Summary

“The wages of sin is death…” Full stop. If the story ended there, God would still be completely just, completely holy. Any sin we commit, partake in, or allow is an offense against a perfectly holy God. Because of this, every sin is worthy of the ultimate penalty: death. But what exactly does death entail? Is it just physical? Spiritual? Something more? To be dead is to be alienated from the life of God. This is, in part, physical death, the unnatural separation of the immaterial from the material, the soul from the body; this is also spiritual death, the eternal separation of a person from the presence of God. This death manifests in our lives on earth, walking in ways that lead to death.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Due to no effort or merit of our own, God graciously gives us the gift of eternal life; Jesus took on death in our place, eliminating the ultimate penalty of sin for us. Spiritual death is no longer a concern when we accept this gift through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we still deal with the natural consequences of our sin and the sins of those around us, and physical death is still part of our experience. We believe that one day, Jesus will fully deal with the consequences of sin, finalizing His victory over death and the grave. Until then, we can walk with the understanding that the penalty of our sin has been taken care of at the cross of Christ!

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions.

Think of the spectrum of all your sin, from the largest to the smallest. Acknowledge that even the smallest, most insignificant of those was worthy of eternal separation from the presence of God. Turn that weight into gratitude for what Jesus did on the cross for you!
While the ultimate penalty of sin is covered, we still deal with earthly consequences of our sin. How can you deal with confront or accept the consequences of your sin in godly ways? Talk about a time where you handled a situation like this well or poorly. What would you do differently? What would you repeat in future situations?

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

As part of your accountability time moving forward, ask not only about acts of sin but also personal responses to the consequences of sin. Make this a regular part of accountability and confession.
Incorporate gratitude for forgiveness as a regular part of your personal prayer rhythm.
Take time for each group member to pray a prayer of gratitude to the Lord for eliminating the penalty of their sins. End with the guided prayer below.

Guided Prayer

Father, we come to you in total gratitude for the gift of salvation that You freely give to us. You are holy, righteous, and altogether good apart from anything You did for us, and yet You still chose to act on our behalf because of the love that You have for us. We give You our worship, acknowledging that Jesus died in our place so that we wouldn’t have to experience total separation from You. We ask that the Holy Spirit would remind us this week that we are no longer trapped by the penalty of our sin but are free to live for You. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, amen.

The Power of Sin

Prayer Requests

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Genesis 4:6-7
Romans 6:1-14
Romans 7:21-25
Romans 8:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:13
Galatians 2:20 (Memorize)
Galatians 5:16-25
Colossians 2:15
Colossians 3:5
1 John 2:14

Outside Resources

Summary

Apart from Jesus, we are slaves to the power of sin. Sin is relentless in its pursuit of us, seeking to master us, to make us obey its passions and desires. Sin is a power, a master, which seeks to take us captive. We are born under this power, and our own efforts can’t set us free from it. Sin isn’t just what we do or desire, but a power that keeps us in its grip for as long as possible, coloring every thought, action, and interaction. The battle against sin can feel so hopeless.

Those who are in Christ have died to sin, identifying with Christ in His death and being raised to new life in Him! Because of this, sin no longer has the same power over us, forcing us to bend to its will and desires. Since the Holy Spirit lives within us, we are given the power to overcome sin. Practically, this won’t happen all at once, but as we continually grow in discipleship to Jesus, the Spirit will give us victory over the sin as we learn to “put to death” what is earthly, ungodly, or sinful in us (Col 3:5). This process is called “sanctification,” where we continually die to our own desires and increasingly become more like Jesus by the Spirit’s power and presence in us. It’s only because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection that sin’s power can be broken in us!

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions with the group.

Are there are any sins in your life that lost their power when you became a believer?
Talk about a sin that you, by the power of the Spirit, have effectively put to death in your life. What did that require of you?
What sins currently have a strong grip over your life? What steps are you willing to take to put this sin to death in your life?

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

Create an action plan against a sin that you are currently struggling against.
Plan check-ins with one another as part of your action plan.
Pray for one another that the power of these sins would be broken in each other’s lives. End with the guided prayer below.

Guided Prayer

Father, You are intimately aware of our weaknesses. You know where we try and fail, where we stumble and fall, where we may be stuck in a cycle of sin. Thank You that Your grace is not dependent on our efforts but completely on our position in Christ Jesus. We ask that by Your Spirit, You would give us the grace to continually put to death the things in our lives that aren’t pleasing to You. We pray for quick conviction from the Spirit when we walk into sin, and we thank You that it’s Your kindness that leads us to repentance. We pray for strength to carry us through the day. Show us Your power over sin, and make it apparent in our lives. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, amen.

The Presence of Sin

Prayer Requests

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Psalm 32:1-5
Romans 8:19-23
1 Corinthians 15:35-57
Galatians 6:9
James 5:16 (Memorize)
1 John 1:8-10
1 John 2:1

Outside Resources

Summary

We’ve talked about the how the penalty of sin has been eliminated and how the power of sin has been broken, but what about the presence of sin? Can we ever truly escape from sin? The Scriptures provide a realistic picture of this for us. In this life, sin is something we will continually struggle with. Honestly, this sounds a bit like bad news! Why fight if we can never fully get away from it? What’s the point?

We believe that when Jesus returns, He will make a final end to sin and all its effects. Our bodies will be resurrected and glorified like the body Jesus has, untouched by sin. Even creation will be renewed and restored from the effects that sin has had on it. Death will have no more victory, and sin will have lost its sting. So what does that mean for us now?

We live in light of the future hope of full resurrection and restoration. God has given us grace to cover our sins and practices to walk in obedience. Regular confession is one of those practices. Confession in community isn’t a sign of defeat but the evidence of a life that’s coming into continued alignment with the Spirit. We thank God for moments of victory and the practices of freedom, and we hopefully await the restoration of all things.

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions with the group.

Describe a time where the practice of confession to a person affected your fight against that sin or temptation.
Is there any sin in your life you’ve hesitated to confess up to this point? Be bold to confess that now.
Are you ever tempted to give up the fight against sin and temptation? Talk about what that feels like and how you have successfully (or unsuccessfully) combatted that.

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

If regular confession outside of this group meeting time is not a normal part of your rhythm, prayerfully make a plan to incorporate that as part of your weekly rhythm.
Commit to pray for one specific person in your group over the course of this week in the area of sin and temptation.

Guided Prayer

Father, we recognize the reality that our struggle with sin won’t come to an end until we experience full resurrection and restoration in You. Thank You for providing us with tools to combat sin, and thank You for the grace we’ve received in Jesus that covers our sins. I pray that we wouldn’t grow weary in doing good, and that Your Spirit would continue to cultivate a desire to please You in our hearts and lives. We submit our continued struggles to You and ask that You continue Your transforming work in our hearts. We pray all this in the name of Jesus, amen.

When Temptation Comes...

Prayer Requests

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Psalm 119:9-11
Matthew 4:1-11
Matthew 6:13
Matthew 26:41
1 Corinthians 10:13
Ephesians 6:10-18
2 Timothy 2:22 (Memorize)
Hebrews 3:7-14
Hebrews 4:14-16
James 4:7

Outside Resources

Summary

We’ve all learned by now that being tempted towards sin is part of living in a broken world. As believers in Jesus, we become increasingly aware of the way He calls us to live, but we find that sin is still close at hand, calling and coaxing us to fall out of step with the Spirit of God. Oftentimes, temptation feels overwhelming, and sin’s power rears its ugly head again in our lives. What is the way out?

Jesus models for us a dynamic response to temptation. When tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He responds primarily with the word of God. Scripture was so ingrained in His heart that when the pressure to give into temptation squeezed Him, the only thing that came out was God’s word in direct response. Likewise, the word of God wielded in prayerful response to temptation is a powerful weapon against the temptation of the enemy and even of the sinful desires that well up inside of us.

Because He Himself was tempted, Jesus understands our struggle against sin. The author of Hebrews describes Him as our Great High Priest who can sympathize with our weakness because He was tempted in every way as we are (Heb 4:15). In the midst of temptation, we can lean on Him both for strength and support.

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions with the group.

Describe a typical step-by-step response of how you fight temptation in your life. Is this effective for you? Why or why not?
Is there a difference between sins to confront directly and sins you need to flee from?
Are there temptations where your response to them is too soft or dismissive? How can you strengthen your response to those temptations?

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

Choose a relevant Scripture to memorize in your fight against temptation. (Psalm 119:9 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 are good places to start.) Choose a Scripture in the next day or two and review it with your group at your next meeting.
Think of a specific sin you struggle with. Write out several Scriptures that specifically address this sin. Put them in a place that’s easy to access when you’re tempted.

Guided Prayer

Father, we echo Jesus’ prayer to You: lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. We ask that You strengthen us in Your word and by Your Spirit. On our own, we are not strong, nor can we resist the temptation of sin. But You have given us new life, and by Your Spirit we choose to walk in that new life. Let our manner of life be worthy of the gospel, that others would come to know Your goodness and love through us. We pray for the Spirit to produce self-control in us, that we may fight well against the deceitfulness of sin. Show us that You are better. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Fighting Sin Together

Prayer Requests

How can we pray for you…
- In your relationship with the Lord?
- In the key relationships in your life?
- In your work/school?
How has the Lord answered prayer in these areas in the last week?

Accountability

What has God been saying to you over the course of the last week…
- Through Scripture?
- Through prayer?
- Through community?
Start. Stop. Continue.
- What do you need to start doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to stop doing to be obedient?
- What do you need to continue doing that has been helpful in your walk with the Lord?
- How can we hold you accountable for these things?

Content Overview

Scripture Reading

Proverbs 27:5-6
Proverbs 27:17
Matthew 7:3-5
Galatians 6:1-2
1 Thessalonians 5:14
Hebrews 3:12-15
Hebrews 10:24-25
James 5:16
1 John 1:7 (Memorize)

Outside Resources

Summary

Over the course of these last several sessions, we’ve focused on the root and effects of sin in our life and in the world. The practical portion of each lesson has really dug into the final aspect we want to focus on: the role of community in our fight against sin. The Lord saved us into a family of faith, which means that we are not isolated in our discipleship to Jesus. We were meant to walk through this life with other people; our fight against sin is no different.

All throughout the New Testament, we see exhortations directed to the family of faith to encourage and stir up when another towards faithfulness to Jesus, and to remind one another of the deceitfulness of sin. This isn’t a solo fight; this is a communal effort to walk towards holiness together. Your victory is my victory; my loss is your loss. We choose to step into the lives of our brothers and sisters because we know following Jesus is worth fighting towards that end together.

Model & Practice

The Leader will be the first to walk through these questions with the group, modeling the practices discussed here. Each group member will then follow through the practice/questions with the group.

Discuss how the accountability of this group has helped you in your struggle against sin. How can that continue?
Have you given full permission to this group to speak into your life? Why or why not?
What has been the most encouraging thing to come from this group, either in your life or in the life of another group member?

Actions Steps & Guided Prayer

Actions Steps

Discuss how deep accountability can continue as you move into other curriculum or even end your group for the sake of multiplication. What will you take with you?
Take a moment together to thank the Lord for each member of your group and they have specifically encouraged your faith.

Guided Prayer

Father, thank You for bringing us into a new family that follows You together. We are grateful for the family of faith that You surround us with. Thank You that in our struggle against sin, we can lean on one another, confessing our sins to each other, and spurring one another to love and good works. Help us to remind one another of the gospel of Your Son and what He has accomplished for us. We pray that the Spirit would continue to bind us together in love as we continue learning what it means to follow You. We pray all this in Jesus’ name, amen.

NOTE: If you are the leader of this group and this is the last session that your D-Group will be meeting for, please fill out the Close Out your D-Group form! Thank you for your help in shepherding the flock at Fielder Church!