Conformed or Transformed: Discerning the Times as We Follow Jesus, Part 1
If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are not your own. He cannot be a nice addition on the structure of the lives that we have built. He needs to be the foundation of all.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What was one thing about this message that you found particularly compelling, encouraging, challenging, or beneficial?
- Why is it helpful as Christians to be students of the culture around us? Why can this be difficult?
- Read and discuss Romans 12:1-2. What does this tell us about us? What does it tell us about God? Why is this particularly relevant for us today?
- Read and discuss Luke 9:23-24. How does this provide the foundational understanding for being transformed by Jesus instead of being conformed by the world?
- What does it mean to deny ourselves and take up our cross? Why are we called to this as we follow Jesus?
- In what ways does our culture tell us that everything revolves around us? How is this contrary to a biblical viewpoint? How do you struggle with this?
- In what ways have you observed and experienced how the amount of information available to us via computers, smartphones, etc. affects us today?
- How do we find balance between enjoying good gifts God has given, but not being mastered by them? What areas in your life do you tend to struggle with this?
- What distracts you from following Jesus?
- As you look at the trajectory of your own life, would you say you are being conformed to the world, or transformed to be like Jesus? Has it always been this way for you? What changed your trajectory? What needs to change now?