Oct 19 2023 From Thought to Action: Chapter 5
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Before we begin, remember…making disciples can be as easy as reading a chapter of The Four Priorities and discussing it with someone else. This blog series is designed to supplement your journey. Feel free to take what you need and leave the rest! And remember, please share this post with your disciple so they can subscribe, too!
KEY QUOTES from Chapter 5: Our Response to the Grace of God (Obedience)
“While God has promised to complete the spiritual renovation He began when we first trusted in Christ for salvation (Philippians 1:6), He calls us to take an active role in the work He’s doing.”
“Our response to God’s grace includes obedience to the Word of God; conversation with God in prayer; appreciation for God in worship; sacrifice to God in giving…It is important to note that all four responses to God’s grace are relational. That is, each response – every activity a Christian undertakes – is an effort to know God personally and experientially.”
“The more we respond to the Word of God, the greater our capacity to understand its mysteries. Reading without an obedient response produces nothing.”
REFLECT: As you read the chapter, your response to God’s grace includes these four areas (below). Take some time to reflect and answer each question.
- Obedience to the Word of God — What were you obedient to in God’s Word in this week?
- Conversation with God in prayer — What are you asking for from God?
- Appreciation for God in worship — What do you love about God right now?
- Sacrifice to God in giving — What is God asking you to give? What is God asking you to give up?
PRAY: We have a tendency to overcomplicate things – especially our prayers! One way to simplify your prayer life is to pick two phrases or truths from scripture and attach them to your breath pattern. As you inhale, internally say the 1st phrase. As you exhale, say the 2nd phrase.
INHALE: Teach me to obey
EXHALE: Help me live in Your love
MEMORIZE: Take this week to memorize John 15:9-10 with your household. Write it on a sticky note to place on your car dashboard, your bathroom mirror, or wherever you will view it often.
John 15:9-10 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”
WORSHIP: Listen to this song called Abide by Aaron Williams.
TABLE TALK:
- What does obey mean?
- Give a list of possible requests from the Lord (or from you as the parent) and ask the kids to respond with whether it would be easy or hard to obey. (Expect different responses!) Some examples of this would be:
- Share your favorite toy with your best friend.
- Say something nice to someone who has been mean to you.
- Invite someone to your party who didn’t invite you to theirs.
- Make a card for your sister or brother saying what you like about them.
- Share a piece of candy someone gave you with someone else instead of eating it yourself.
- Give a bigger piece of dessert to your brother or sister.
TEACH: Being obedient can be difficult sometimes. Talk with your children about how hard it can be to follow directions. Share a time when you either obeyed or disobeyed God’s leading and the consequences as a result.
PLAY:
- Play Simon Says together!
- Play follow the leader. Have one family member be the leader and the other family members follow them, doing what the leader does. You can kick it up a notch to emphasize obeying and have family members be “out” if they don’t do what the leader does. Give everyone a turn to be the leader! And, for a few times when mom or dad (or both at different times) are the followers, DON’T DO something the leader does and have “trouble” as a result. For example, if the leader steps around a chair, one of you could walk into the chair and then point out the trouble you had because you disobeyed.
- Cook together – have one family member read the instructions to the others to obey in order to make the meal!
Make a plan to get into the Scripture to understand what it says and how to live it out.
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- Example plan: Read through Psalm 119 and list all the benefits of being a man or women of the Word.
- Example plan: Read through the Gospel of John a few verses each day.
Ask these questions: What do these scriptures say about God? What do they say about Jesus? What do they imply that I should do? What will I do about it? When will I do it?
That’s it for Chapter 5!
Now…go! And make disciples!