Ephesians 4:12-15 “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ…growing in every way more and more like Christ…” (NLT=New Living Translation)

1. Developing the Habit of Spiritual

• Identify your unhealthy habits

I John 2:15 “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you…” (NLT)
Romans12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)

• Replace unhealthy habits with healthy new ones

I Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment.” (NLT)

o The habit of daily

o The habit of

to grow in God’s word

o The habit of thinking like a

2. Developing the Habit of Spiritual

I Corinthians 9:27 “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should…” (NLT)

• Without exercise we become spiritually weak and out of shape

• Ways to spiritually train

Philippians 2:12-13 “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (NLT)

o Grow the habit of

o Grow the habit of

3. Developing the Habit of

Exodus 31:15 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord…” (NLT)
Psalm 23:2 “He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.” (NLT)

• R – Recover

• E – Examine

• S - Sleep

• T - Time

Discussion Questions:

1. How would you describe spiritual growth? How would you describe your experience with spiritual growth?
   

2. What is spiritual nutrition? What are some unhealthy spiritual nutrition habits we need to be aware of? What are the healthy habits of good spiritual nutrition?
   

3. What happens if we do not exercise spiritually? What does spiritual exercise look like? Discuss how important risk and serving are to spiritual growth. Share your own journey with this.
   

4. Why is rest so important for growth? Discuss each key word for the acronym REST. Discuss your own habit of rest or lack thereof.
   

5. What habit(s) are you going to work on developing so you can grow spiritually?