Key Bible Passage(s):

Heb.10:19-39;

Tier 1:

Spiritual growth is the result of a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. It can be hard to measure progress in an objective way, but we also have to be careful about a merely subjective sense of making or losing ground. Both can be illusory. But as we build a Rule of Life into busy and pressured lives we can find that life becomes more ordered than you thought possible, and your capacity to respond to the complexity and challenges of life in a way that is godly is massively increased.  But it takes time. And that takes patience and perseverance.

Tier 2:

As we grow in building the Spiritual Disciplines into our lives, there is a strange temptation to withdraw from other Christians who we begin to deem less ‘spiritual’ than we are. There would be few greater tragedies in the Christian life. We are God’s gift to each other, and it is our responsibility to share life, to watch over each other, encourage each other and to support each other and spur each on towards Christlikeness.  Few things bring us closer to the heart of the Spirit than our shared life together, and the encouragement it brings.

Tier 3:

As the old saying goes: the Christian life is a marathon not a sprint. The Bible’s vision is that we finish strong. But there are temptations waiting for us in even the closing stages of our discipleship. When we are tired, tired of the struggle and the battle and the sacrifice (especially when others don’t seem to share our passion to grow), we can find ourselves almost unconsciously slipping into a less challenging way of being a Christian. But ‘we must not ‘grow weary and lose heart’ (Heb.12:3).  Jesus commends those who ‘have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary’ (Rev.2:3).

We are able to persevere only because God works within us, within our free wills. And because God is at work in us, we are certain to persevere. The decrees of God concerning election are immutable. They do not change, because He does not change. All whom He justifies He glorifies. None of the elect has ever been lost.

R.C. Sproul

Group Discussion:

Do you think you can measure spiritual growth in ‘objective’ ways?  What might that look like?

What do you want and need from others to help you grow as a Christian?

How can you genuinely encourage someone else in their growth as a disciple?

and later in the session:

Read Heb.10:19-31

Why do we start with remembering what Christ has achieved for us?  According to this passage, what has He achieved (vv.19-22)?  What does it enable us to do?

How does God’s character shape our character, and our relationship with each other?

How should we encourage one another?  What does that look like in daily discipleship?

Take a look at vv.26-27.  How is that not a recipe for despair?  What is being taught here?

v.29: How do we ensure we aren’t complacent about the grace of God?

Does vv.30-31 reflect the way you think about God?

and then later again:

Read Heb.10:32-39

How do you think Christians who suffer persecution keep going?

What will our rich reward (v.35) and our receiving what He has promised (v.36) be like?  Do you find that a compelling reason to keep going when it feels like an uphill struggle?

In the light of Heb.10:19-39, how does feel about those who don’t persevere?  What happens to them?  

How does the certainty of Christ’s return (vv.25 & 37) inspire our perseverance?

How can the writer of Hebrews be so confident in v.39?  Can we share that confidence?

Homework:

Over this half-term we have been working to memorise Matthew 5:38-42. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-37, Matt.6:5-34 and Matt.7:1-28 whilst you do this.

(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the 3 years of DTP)

If you are planning to have a meal together to finish the term next session, then have people prepare for that.