Never Steal My Joy

Spiritual Guidebook Fall 2009

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Dear Body & Soul Instructors, This session we are going to seek the Lord as we learn how to fight back against the joy robbers in our life and experience the fruit of the Spirit in a deeper way! It is my prayer that you will find this guidebook to be a resource for you as you grow in joy personally and share joy with your students. Included in this guidebook you will find the following: Your Date with God guidesheetstart by using this at workshop to guide you in your quiet time with God on Saturday morning and continue to refer to it during the session as you seek to grow in joy and share joy with your students. Your Prayer and Share guidesheet (new!) A theme by theme guide for the session with lyric references from the songs we are exercising to, including a synopsis of the main points made by Joyce Meyer in her book Seven Things

that Steal Your Joy.

Questions to stimulate spiritual discussion and dialogue either after class, in a small group setting, or one on one, as God gives you opportunities to share with your students.

Additional Resources: Encouragement and Wisdom for the Journey our devotional booklet for the session. Seven Things that Steal Your Joy by Joyce Meyer, subtitled Overcoming the Obstacles to your happiness. For the Tough Times, a small book by Max Lucado, subtitled Reaching toward heaven for Hope. What in the World is Going On? 10 Prophetic Clues you Cannot Afford to Ignore by Dr. David Jeremiah Would you Like to Know God Personally a booklet which explains the gospel message. Satisfied? a booklet that explains how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Whispers of Hope an illustrated prayer journal written by Beth Moore

I pray that the Lord will show you which resources will be the most meaningful for you personally and for you to share with your class this session. EnJOY this session! Blessings,

Never Steal My Joy

Scripture Verses Fall 2009

rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again Rejoice! Philippians 3:1 Rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, it is a safeguard for you. Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God Philippians 4:11 ...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances Philippians 4:12b I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation Revelations 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Hebrews 13:5 Be content with what you have Psalm 66:6 Come let us rejoice in Him

Philippians 3:1 Rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, it is a safeguard for you. Psalm 126:3 The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy! I Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you I Timothy 6:6 godliness with contentment is great gain Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for JOY when I sing praise to you I Chronicles 16:31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord Reigns! I Chronicles 16:10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. John 15:11 I have told you this so that my JOY may be in you and that your joy maybe complete. Psalm 4:7 You have filled my heart with great joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

Never Steal My Joy

Date with God Fall 2009 This session is going to be a powerful time of seeking God for His wisdom and guidance in the area of living the joy-filled, abundant life that He desires for you. He will take each of us on our own special journey toward greater joy as we seek Him earnestly. As you start this session with your Date with God think about the themes of the session, refer to the Spiritual guidebook and to your Bible. Spend time in prayer and ask the Lord to guide you to what He wants you to learn from Him. Then sit back and enJOY the path He takes you on 1. Consider the word joy. What does it mean to you? Can you remember a time when you really experienced true joy? Can you remember a time when you cried out for joy in the midst of pain? Allow the Lord to guide you to meditate on this very important word/concept this session. 2. What is the #1 joy stealer in your life? Consider the list of joy stealers from Joyce Meyers book that are listed in the Spiritual Guidebook. Write down any other joy robbers that come to your mind. Then allow the Lord to show you what the # 1 joy stealer is in your life. Then take it to Him in prayer and ask Him to guide you this session to fight for your joy!

3. What is the fruit of a joy-filled life? Read Galatians 5:22 and consider the wonderful fruit that comes from living life in step with the Holy Spirit. Take time to look through the little booklet Satisfied that you found in your workshop box. Pray and ask the Lord what specific fruit He wants you to nurture and grow in your life this session. 4. What defines you? When asked to describe yourself, what do you think of first? How do you prioritize your time with the things that define you? Pray and ask the Lord if there is a particular area of your life that you need to change or develop in order to define yourself better. 5. Who is in control of your life? Who reigns in your decisions and your attitudes, your emotions and your heart? If you find that you are fighting to allow your God to reign in one or more areas of your life, take time to pray about it. Ask for His help to let go and let Him take control.

6. How does the hope/joy connection work in your life? When you are more hopeful, do you experience more joy, or does the joy come first and give you hope? Talk to the Lord about growing in both hope and joy this session.

Never Steal My Joy

Prayer and Share Guidesheet Fall 2009 This is something new this fall! Please use this sheet to communicate with your Body & Soul Leader so she will know how to pray for you this session. Connection is a key value in Body & Soul. Your Leader wants to be there as a prayer warrior and mentor for you, helping you every step of the way to minister to your class joyfully and effectively. Take time to share your prayer requests with her using this guidesheet so she can lift you up in prayer all session long. 1. Share one thought that the Lord has shown you about the definition of joy as you have listened to the spiritual sharing for this session.

2. Share what you think is the #1 joy stealer in your life. Include a personal prayer request that relates to this.

3. What is one fruit of the Holy Spirit that you would like to grow in this session? Share this as a prayer request. Feel free to share specifics if you like.

4. Share one thing that defines you. Include details of how this makes you feel and if you want to develop this or change it.

5.

Share one thing that reigns in your life. Is this a good thing or something that you would like to change or let go of? Share a prayer request about this if you like.

6. How is the hope/joy connection working in your life right now? Are you in a season of hope or do you need to trust God to help you hope more? Please share anything that will help your Leader know how to pray for you.

Never Steal My Joy

Themes Fall 2009

I.

What is Joy? Spend some time considering JOY! It is one of the fruit of the Spirit. It is something we all desire to experience! Colleen Townsend Evans says: Joy is the evidence of God in our lives. Joyce Meyers says it is The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of something good. This means that our joy is affected by how much we expect good things to happen to us! In the song Never Gonna Steal My Joy Mandisa sings The world may say youre never gonna make it. The world may say youre not strong enough to take it. But I dont care, cause the joy of the Lord is real and theyre never gonna steal my joy! In every hopeless situation theres a song of redemption. Lets get up and rise above the joy robbers and experience the sweet fruit of JOY this session! The Lord Reigns Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice. The Lord reigns. We will sing and shout! Clap your hands and sing for joy because our Lord reigns! Brace Up get yourself together Brace up in your home. Brace up in your job. Brace up in your school. Tell yourself you will not let the apathy get the best of me. Choose joy

choose to brace up!

Feelin So Fly means feeling the Joy! Its a supernatural high when you feel the joy of the Lord! Dance Dance Dance Maybe you dont understand why I gotta dancethere was something had me down but its over now. Im a throw my hands up, wave them all in the air, cause all I wanna do is dance dance dance. Express your joy in dance this session! You My joy , my peace, my happiness. My hope, my strength, my deliverance. Aint no stopping my praise, my diligence. My life Ive dedicated, cause I made it with You. Sing for Joy When I walk in darkness and I cant see my hand before me; when my heart is aching and all I can do is just breathI will sing for joy in the middle of it all. I will sing for joy. No matter what is going on in your life, it is possible to sing for joy as you draw near to God, cling to Him and trust in His plan for you. Jeremiah 29:11I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Nehemiah 8:10 Do not grieve, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength.

II.

Avoiding the Joy Robbers! There are many things that can steal our joy in life and it is my hope and prayer that this session we will each consider the joy robbers that we are the most susceptible to and focus our minds on the joy keepers that we need to live by. I think that we will all agree that we spend too much time missing the joy and not enough time experiencing the joy that God has planned for us. Lets all determine together to learn more about how to let the joy of the Lord be our strength! Joyce Meyer shares in her book Seven Things that Steal Your Joy that one meaning of the word joy is: The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of something good. As Christians we can expect and hope for the ultimate good life in heaven with the Lord. Unfortunately we often forget to expect good things, even simple, everyday good things, in this world. Another powerful insight we need to remember this session is that joy and strength are uniquely intertwined. Gods word says Be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. Nehemiah 8:10. Joyce Meyer says this: The joy of the Lord is our strength; it is our power to winand our enemy, Satan, knows that. ...he is always out to steal our joy because he knows that if we lose our joy, we lose our strength, and that gives him powerful advantage over us... He wants to bring discouraging things into our lives and make us believe that all life consists of is disappointments. We need to fight back! The songs and messages in this session present a powerful message of hope and strength. They encourage us to hang on to our joy, to resist the lies of the enemy, and trust in God. Trusting God to do what only He can do always leads to joy because what is impossible with men, is possible with God. (Luke 18:27) Joyce Meyer touches on the following Joy Stealers and offers a Joy Keeper for each one: Joy Stealer #1 Works of the flesh (expending our energy attempting to do Gods job) When we think it all depends on us and we take action, thinking we are in control, it steals our joy. We need to get to the point where we can be happy without ever having what we want, or we will never receive it. God wants us to have abundant blessings, but there is something we have to do in order to receive themwe have to put God first in our life and live life as He wants us to. No easy taskbut if we dont work on this it will steal our joy! We know its true! So many times our attitudes toward our circumstances can keep us from having the blessings and joy that God wants to give us.

Joy Keeper #1 Be Led of the Spirit (refer to the Campus Crusade booklet Satisfied) One of the most powerful ways to keep our joy is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. If we pray first and ask God for a plan, His Holy Spirit will prompt and gently lead us to a place of joy. After all, The fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galatians 5:22, 23 Joy Stealer #2 Religious legalism (following a strict set of rules to feel righteous in the eyes of God.) As we seek God and walk in the Spirit, God will guide us to follow His ways in obedience. It is when that spills over into earning righteousness by following rules that it steals our joy away. We are made righteous by faith alone. We need to stop having unrealistic religious expectations of ourselves and stop self-criticizing our efforts to keep laws we make ourselves for ourselves. We need to enjoy God instead of just spending our lives struggling to be good enough to gain His approval. Joy Keeper #2 Be Free in Christ Your joy will be full and you will be free from struggling when you believe Gods promises for your life and obey His commands. The Holy Spirit will guide you like the wind guiding a sailing ship if you are in tune with the Lord. For some, it may seem easier to follow the law instead of being led by the Spirit. The Spirit may take us to uncharted waters. It requires faith to see the law as our tutor but not as our master, and to go where we sense the Spirit leading. Joy Stealer #3 Complicating Simple Issues We need to learn to live life as simply as possible. People are looking for a simpler life. This joy stealer is one that many people are dealing with in this day and age. We take things that are simple and fun and make a big deal out of them instead of just enjoying them. The enemy Satan wants to distract us with confusion and complications so that we cannot experience Gods joy. Joy Keeper #3 Be Uncomplicated! Easier said than donebut we need to try to simplify our lives and trust in God with a childlike faith. We need to stop worrying about what others think, quit accumulating so many things, stop trying to do so much and simply trust God! Learning how to simplify your life is possibly one of the most important principles to understand because Satan wants to steal your time. He steals your joy by making you too busy to enjoy all that God has given to you! Joy Stealer # 4 Excessive Reasoning Reasoning occurs when we try to figure out the why or how behind something. We worry instead of trusting. We think that we have to have all the answers. We wring our hands and our hearts thinking that we are the only ones who can fix thingsand it steals our joy!

Joy Keeper #4 Be Confident in God We have two options in lifewe can try to do everything ourselves, or we can let God do it for us. If we are going to let God do it for us, we dont have to figure it out. We need to start resting in Him and stop reasoning! We need to be confident in Gods ability to take care of everything that concerns us. We need to rest in the fact that He is in control. It takes time to get to a place where we have all of our confidence in God. It is a process, and we can make progress in the process this session! Joy Stealer #5 Ungodly Anger Anger is often how we express our dissatisfaction with life, and it steals our joy. We need to get to the root of anger and deal with it. We need to learn how to handle it. And we need to remember that feeling anger is not the sinit is what we do with the anger that is important. God tells us in Ephesians 4:26 that when we are angry, we must not sin. Joyce Meyer suggests that we can work to talk ourselves out of anger and we can learn to control our mouth. Self control is one of the fruit of the Spirit! Joy Keeper #5 Be Quick to Forgive Joyce Meyer suggests the Joy can be restored to our life when we learn to forgive and forget, just as God takes our sins and puts them as far away as the east is from the west, and He remembers them no more. Secondly she says that we may need to forgive ourselves so we can move forward and let go of the past. And thirdly, we may need to forgive God if we hold bitterness and resentment due to disappointments in life. We need to make the decision to live in the now, experiencing the joy of the Lord is everyday life. Joy Stealer #6 Jealousy and Envy We must avoid comparing ourselves with others because it invites covetousness, jealousy, and envy. Coveting what others have is a big reason why people lose their joy. This is the joy stealer of contentment and gratitude; it is the opposite of these wonderful traits. Joy Keeper #6 Be Outrageously Blessed! Focus on the blessings that God has given you and learn to be obedient to do what He calls you to do individually. Determine to only do what He wants you to do, in obedience, with an attitude of gratitude. Obedience brings deep and lasting joy. It starts with being still and listening so we can hear Gods instructions. It comes through seeking Him in His word. We need to do a better job of being still and knowing that He is God. We need to turn from the frantic, stressful lifestyle that makes it so challenging to hear God. Joy Stealer #7 Habitual Discontentment We must avoid habitual discontentment. A dissatisfied spirit robs us of joy and blinds us to seeing what God is trying to teach us. There will always be things we want to see happen in our lives, but we can learn to enjoy where we are, on the way to where we are going.

Joy Keeper #7 Be Content Contentment is a decision to be happy with what you have already. The Bible teaches us to be content in all circumstances. (Philippians 4:11) It is a learned art, and God will help us if we seek to live lives of contentment. Joyce Meyer says that we can have joy every day by being satisfied with what we have and what we do. We need to make a decision to trust God and we will find peace and contentment.

III.

The Fruit of a Joy-filled Life How do we live a fruitful life full of joy? Only in the power of the Holy Spirit! It is only through walking closely with God that we can truly live with joy. Only God can satisfy our deepest longings and heal our deepest hurts. God wants our lives to be abundant and fruitful. He has given us His Spirit so that we might experience this fruitfulness. Galatians 5:22-23aThe fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control This session is focused on joy, but intertwined in the joy message you will also find touches of the other fruit that is spoken of in this verse! I challenge you to choose one of these characteristics and seek to grow in it this session! Love When we know How Much we are loved, we can pour out that love into the lives of others. This is a fruit we experience personally and a fruit we can share. We all have times when we feel unlovable, but we need to be reminded by the Spirit (and this song) of this: That lie is so not true! Take the depths of the deepest ocean and go deeper. Take the top of the tallest tower and go higher. Take the best day that you ever had and try to imagine better than thatand it still dont come close to how much you are loved. Gods love for us is immeasurable. In the song Hope Now we are reminded that Gods love has set us free. A life that is free in Christ is a fruitful life! Joy See theme #1 Peace Peace comes from knowing who we are in Christand that our true Beauty comes from within. We dont have to make it. We dont have to fake it. You can have peace when you know that you are more than your size, more than your smile, more than the things you try to hide. Youre more than your scars, more than your fearsyoure beautiful! Peace comes from knowing that God is our Rock, our fortress our refuge in the storm. Peace comes from knowing that we are In the Hands of God. There we find Rest for the restless and the weary, hope for the sinner. We find deliverance and freedomand peace!

Patience Have you been up and down, almost crushed to the ground?(from the song You) If so, you have been developing the fruit of patience. It is at those times when we have to wait on the Lord, that we need to cling to Him as our joy, our strength, our deliverance If we are patient, we will make it through the valleywith Him! He does not forsake the righteous! Goodness We need to Broadcast that He is God and He is good! As we study and embrace Gods goodness we, too will experience the fruit of goodness in our own lives. When we are good people we reflect that to the world! Kindness Gods kindness leads us to repentance and as we develop the fruit of kindness toward others in our lives we will reflect His kindness to the world and draw people to repentance, too! Salvation is here and it lives in me! As God leads, live kindness, show kindness, express kindness, and show the world what a kind God we have who loves them dearly! Gentleness We all need to develop this fruit. How do we speak the truth in love? How do we live a life of gentleness? By drawing Closer to God. We need to be on our knees, crying out, asking Him to draw us closer to Him so that we can be more like Him. Only then can we gently help others to Get Up and get going in their lives. Theres no such thing as Perfect People, but we can be changed by a perfect God. He can make us more like Him, more gentlein the power of the Holy Spirit! Faith/Faithfulness In different Bible versions we see this word translated both ways faith and faithfulness. Both are great fruit to develop in our lives. We need to develop our faith and exhibit faithfulness! We need to have faith and be able to say I will not be afraid, for You are With Me, knowing that He is the one who will move the mountains in our lives. We need to get Movin and let our faith help us walk it out now as that song says we dont have to wait any more. We can step though the door walking by faith! As the song Hope Now says Everything rides on faith somehow. We also need to grow in the fruit of faithfulness. What an important quality to develop in our livesfaithfulness to do what we say we will do. Faithfulness to the people we love. Faithfulness to follow through, trusting in God to guide us one step at a time. Self Control We need to Brace Up, developing the fruit of self control, to get in control of the things that pull us away from the spiritual fruit we desire in our lives. We need to Brace Up in our mind, our heart and our bodyexerting the self control that is available to us through the Holy Spirit! We need to break away from apathy, laziness, and the craziness of this world and not let it get the best of us!

IV.

What defines you? When you meet someone new what do you share about yourself? What do people say about you when they introduce you to others? Is it about who you are connected with the wife ofthe mother of the grandmother of? Is it about your rolesyour occupation, your ministrythe fact that you are a Body & Soul Instructor? What do you want to define you? What is most important of all? You are a child of God! You are one of His chosen ones! Be joyful! As Mandisa sings in the song Definition of Me, Everybody has an opinion of what they want me to be. Everybodys got a condition that I may never meet I want the love, I want the light, I want the beauty on the insideI want the One they cant see to be the definition of me. More than the face, more than the girl, more than the voice, more than the worldI want the truth that I believe to be the definition of me. What about you? Do you want that to define you, too? Take time this session to consider what defines you. If you need to make some changes, start now! You are a Superstar! In Gods eyes, thats what He made you to be. Thats what His definition is of you. Shine for Him! You know what you area Superstar! II Corinthians 5:17 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.

V.

Who is in Control? This is a big issue in todays world. We want to be in control, especially when things seem out of controlas they often do! It is comforting to know, really know, that God is in control. Personally, it helps me to have peace with world issues and the daily news when I remind myself of the big picture, of Gods ultimate plan for eternal life with Him. If you are like that, too, you may want to read the book by Dr. David Jeremiah What in the World is Going On? It has given me perspectives on understanding world events which have helped me to fight back against the joy robber of worry! Many songs in this session will remind you that God is in control! The Lord Reigns, Let the people shout. He reigns in righteousness. Let the heavens be glad, let the earth rejoice. Let the people clap their hands, angels shout. The redeemed have come to dance, to celebrate He reigns! Let all the people sing of your awesome power in all the earth. Let darkness tremble at your name. Why do the nations rage, when the King is on His throne? Now and forever You will reign! God is our Rock, our fortress, our refuge in the storm. My strength, my friend that I depend on. He is solid, unshakeable, ageless, unchangeable, constant, faithful, steadfast and unbreakable. He is all that we need. In the song Broadcast it says this: I know the One who has conquered the enemy. He is the King of life and liberty Shake this ground with the victory sound. Our God reigns and were shouting it loud. Were gonna broadcast all over the world that you are God and You are good. In the Hands of God we stand tall. He is mighty to deliver, giving us freedom. He is the only One who can calm the storm inside our souls. Its gonna be alright cause I know my God saved the day and I

know His word never fails and I know my God made a way for me.Salvation is Here and it lives in me. We have Power straight from the Father, making me stronger There are days when circumstances spin out of control in ways I just cant understand. Its as if my best intentions have conspired to reveal how powerless I am. But there is One whose voice alone brings me peace, and when on high, He hears my cry, He gives me Power. Glory Glory Hallelujah! He Reigns! and the powers of darkness tremble and cant drown out a single word when we praise Him! John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

VI.

The Hope/Joy Connection What is the most important survival tool we can have in this world? I think it is hope. When I am living with hope, it fills me with true joy. When I am feeling joyful it overflows into hope. There is a hope/joy connection that works in our lives in different ways for each of us, but in all cases it flows from our God, the only source of our hope. In Never Gonna Steal my Joy Mandisa says: out of a hopeless situation there came a song of redemption. The joy of the Lord is our strength! In With Me Chris Tomlin sings Ive seen enough to know that Youre my only hope. Truly God is the only source of hope that is real. The Newsboys say: In the Hands of God there is hope for the sinner. 21:03 says that God is my hope, my strength, my deliverance. The Hillsong team calls Him God above all my hopes and fears in Salvation is Here. And Addison Road says Everything rides on Hope Now. Consider the hope/joy connection in your own life and plan to dialogue about it in your class. Whether you have students who are Christ Followers or Seekers, or a mixture of both, I am sure that they all want joy and hope in their livesand you know the source of real joy and hope! Share it this session and dont let anything steal YOUR joy! Romans 12:11-12 Never be lacking zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Never Steal My Joy

Questions to Stimulate Spiritual Discussion Fall 2009 The following questions are just a start to get you thinking about the message in the songs of this session. Use some or all of them as you have discussions with class members one-on-one or in a small group at the end of class. Listen as the Lord brings more questions and ideas to your mind. Determine to make this session a time of personal growth in your life and pass it on to the students God brings to you in your classes!

Never Steal My Joy What is Joy? What brings you joy? What is the#1 joy robber in your life? How are
you going to fight back?

beautiful? Do you believe that true beauty is underneath? How does that work?

Beauty What is true beauty? Who do you know who you consider to be truly beautiful? Why is she The Lord Reigns Who reigns in your life? What/who controls your decisions/attitudes/
emotions/thoughts?

with you? How does that give you peace?

With Me Is fear an issue in your life? What are you afraid of? What does it feel like to know God is Rock What does the image of God as your rock and fortress look like/feel like to you? When we

describe God as sovereign what does that mean? Have you ever experienced God as your shelter in the storm? Tell us about that.

Your Word What is Gods Word? What power does it have? Can you tell a difference when you have
sought God in His Word for decisions/about concerns? What does that feel like?

Broadcast What does broadcast mean? What do you broadcast about God? As a group of Body &
Soul students what do we want to broadcast about our class experience?

SuperstarDo you ever care what they think about you? Do you believe that you can be a superstar in
Gods eyes? How can you develop that kind of thinking? Do you believe that God made you to be a superstar? What does that look like for you? Do you understand that the bigger plan includes you?

Brace Up ? What does it mean to you to brace up in your family? In your job? Do you think that apathy
is a problem today? Does apathy sometimes get the best of you? What can you do about that?

Feelin so Fly Can you remember a time when you were so full of joy that you were really feelin fly?

A time when your joy was so abundant that it was overflowing and you just couldnt keep it in? Share that with someone today and encourage them that joy is real!

Dance Dance Dance Have you had something that had you down but is over now? How did it go

away? What did you do to get over it? What did God do to help you get over it? Does it make you want to dance with joy when you get past a hard thing in your life?

Movin What do you need to get movin about? Do you feel like you are on a mission to do

something in your life? Do you understand what it means that you dont have to wait anymore? that you can step through the door? how does faith get you movin?

In the H ands of God Who calms the storms inside your soul? How does God give rest for the restless
and the weary; hope for the hopeless? Share something amazing that God has done in your life.

You Share a story of how you made it with God. Why is it that nobody but God can be our joy, our
peace, our happiness.

Salvation is H ere Why is it that we know that its gonna be alright? How did God save the day? Get Up What do you need to get up and do? What excuses do you make in your life for not taking
action? How can you make yourself accountable to get up and do what you know you should do?

What helped you get past that? What is it about the power of Gods love that helps us carry on even in tough times?

Cant Go on Have you ever been through a time in your life when you felt like you couldnt go on?

Power What kind of power makes us get stronger? Where does it come from? How can we tap into it? What defines you When you describe yourself what do you share that defines you? Are you ok with
that or would you like to change the definition of you? How are you going to get started?

H ow Much Describe how much God loves you. Have you ever felt unlovable? How did God help
you to change those feelings? Who else helped you along the way?

being perfect and being changed by a perfect God? Have you ever tried to pretend that you were perfect? What was that like? Have you ever shared with someone how imperfect you feel? Was it a relief to be able to be honest about that? Do you think that God expects you to be perfect?

Perfect People Do you believe that there are any perfect people? What is the difference between

acknowledges that God reigns? What does it mean that all the powers of darkness tremble at what they hear?

H e Reigns Do you know a story about someone who is in another part of the world, who

Closer What does it mean to draw closer to God? Do you desire this? Do you want Him to take you over in some area of your life? H ope Now What does it mean that Gods love has set us free? What is riding on hope now? How does everything ride on faith somehow? What do you do when the world is breaking you down? Sing for Joy How can we sing for joy in the middle of it all? Have you ever experienced a time of
darkness or heartache and still been able to sing for joy? How was that possible?