Community Group Resources

1. How has your week been? What has gone well? What’s been hard? 
2. Have someone in your group give a brief recap of Sunday’s message, highlighting the primary Scripture points and the main idea of the message. Was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you? Did you learn anything new about God or yourself this week?
3. Why do you think spiritual “highs” can sometimes be followed by vulnerability or failure? 
4. The Valley of Achor became a visible reminder of sin’s cost. What “warning signs” does God graciously use today to expose sin before it causes greater damage? 
5. Are there any ways you’re tempted to “paint the tank brown” - to hide, minimize or manage sin instead of dealing with it honestly? 
6. Where have you seen God redeem something that once felt like a dead end? How does the cross redefine what “success” and ‘failure” mean in the Christian life? 
7. Interact with this statement: “Our sin, our defeat, our past doesn’t define us - Jesus does.” What competes most strongly with Jesus for defining your identity? 
8. What action step do you need to take in response to this week’s message? How can your group hold you accountable to this step?

Action Steps

1. Name the rock pile: identify one past failure or sin you still carry shame over. Write it down, then write beside it how Jesus has paid for it. 
2. Spend time in confession this week - first alone, and then with a trusted believer. Refuse to hide what God already knows. Confess sin, confess what you’re believing about yourself, or about God, and then choose repentance.