Lesson Seven: Uncommon Growth
We have had a house in our neighborhood that some speculated was a drug house. The front yard was full of neglected long grass and overgrown bushes. The paint was peeling and the roof was leaking. It was just a mess.
Then a couple of years ago the house was sold. There was a transfer of ownership as the title changed hands. The new owner got busy on his property. He redid the entire yard and house. He put in a new lawn with new bushes and a new driveway and sidewalks. He replaced rotting windows, painted the outside of the house and put on a new roof. Inside, he painted everything and replaced cabinets, carpets, fixtures and floors. It was a complete transformation. Today, thankfully, the house is unrecognizable as the mess it had formerly been. Everything changed.
Men, the moment we put our faith in Christ He becomes our new owner. He takes title to our life. To make us ready for His use, he starts cleaning and changing things. He works from the inside out changing our desires, affections, attitudes, goals, thinking, behavior, speech. He transforms them all. That is what God is in the business of doing. There is absolutely nothing more exhilarating than to see a life transformed by God. In this lesson you will begin to discover what God has in mind for you.
Goals for the Lesson
● To better understand how transformation works
● To put together a plan to cooperate with God’s work in your life
Warm Up
Each man share one blessing from the past week and one challenge they are facing in the coming week.
Bible Study
Today our study is of one of my all-time favorite passages, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. In this passage the apostle Paul provides some very practical things we can do to grow our in our faith.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Discussion Questions
1. How is running a race similar to /different from the Christian life?
2. How does the metaphor of a physical workout plan aimed at winning a contest help us understand what Christian growth is all about?
3. How does one go about building spiritual muscle? What might a spiritual workout look like?
4. Each man share an application from the study.
Talk by Jeff Manion
Listen to the message by Jeff Manion that was given at the 2020 No Regrets Men’s conference. The talk is called: “Dream Big, Think Small” and it can be found on the No Regrets app, under Conference Media/ 2020 Platform talks.
Jeff Manion is the senior pastor of multi-campus Ada Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for over thirty years. He is the author of The Land Between, Satisfied and his most recent book, Dream Big, Think Small. His great joy is digging deeply into Scripture and passionately teaching the story of the Bible in a clear and relevant way. Jeff enjoys running, cycling and hiking. He and his wife, Chris, have three adult children and are proud grandparents.
Notes from talk
Discussion Questions
- Most of us are striving for a life of significance; we look for great things to do because we want to have great lives. In living like this, Jeff Manion suggests, we could be missing a lot of opportunities to do good. Can you think of some opportunities for doing good that you may have let pass by on your quest for significance?
- It’s a mistake if we think that biblical characters lived lives of one exciting moment after another. Jeff highlighted the usefulness of patterns of repetition when he talked about the judges and the prophet Samual who traveled a yearly circuit between three towns in order to serve the people of Israel. What is something you do repetitively that is good and life giving for others (regardless of how it feels to you)?
- Which of these disciplines/circuits would encourage your spiritual growth?
- Daily Bible reading (reading a chapter a day, reading the gospels)
- Daily journaling about three blessings from that day
- Regular giving of a certain percentage of your income to godly ministries
- Weekly date, for conversation, with one of your children or your wife
- Daily thank you note to someone
- Jeff started and ended his presentation discussing Fred Rogers. Mr Rogers repeated a ritual at the close of each show that reversed how he had started the show and included a song reminding kids he would be back tomorrow. Manion ended with a challenge. Where in your life do you need to renew a discipline you have let fade? Or renew the statement “I’ll be back” regarding some life practice or regarding your presence in some relationship?
Sharing and Prayer Time
Thinking back to the opening story, where do you need transforming work? How can the guys pray for you as you commit to cooperate with some work you know God is up to in your life?
Assignment for next week
For next week you will be listening to a talk given by Gary Haugen at the 2020 No Regrets Men’s Conference. Gary closed out the conference with a talk entitled: “Courage in the face of Fear” and it can be found on the No Regrets app, under Conference Media/ 2020 Platform speakers. There is a place for notes in Lesson Eight.
Important - The app will not necessarily save your fill-in notes. Please click on “EMAIL” and email this devotional (with your notes) to yourself.