Fighting Fear (part 1): Tentacles
TO START:
When was the last time you were really, honestly scared? If you have a good story, you simply must tell it.
DISCUSSION:
Is fear something you struggle with? Give yourself a fearful ranking from 1 to 10. Count to three and have everyone show their number by holding up that number of fingers.
How does fear (when you experience it) make you feel? Do you feel like fear is holding you back? What from?
Do you feel like (or have you felt like) fear is a “little” sin in comparison to other things? DO you think that’s true? Why or why not?
What kinds of unhealthy behaviors and attitudes can fear drive us toward/stir inside us? Give an example.
What sorts of things are you afraid of? List the little things (spiders, heights) and the big things. Keep track of these fears so you can pray about them together as a group.
We said on Sunday that people who’re afraid:
1. Believe a lie
-AND/OR-
2. Worship an idol
Consider some common, everyday fears. Make a list of ten or so and then look at each one individually.
- What lies might lead you to have that fear?
- What might you be idolizing if you have that fear?
SCRIPTURE READING:
Consider the following passages in which people express fear. What are they afraid of? What lie are they believing OR what idol are they worshiping?
Genesis 3: 10
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 26:7
When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”
Exodus 2:15
The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.”
Judges 6:27
So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
I Samuel 7:7
When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines.
Acts 9:26
When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.
PRAYER:
Make a list of idols and lies (If you made one earlier, come back around to it).. What are we believing or worshipping that we shouldn’t be?
Have each group member take a lie or an idol and ask God to remove it from our hearts.
FOR FUN AND KNOWLEDGE:
Have group members guess the ten most common fears of Americans in 2015. Give them three minutes to write down ten fears in any order.
Now read the top ten fears in the infographic below. Give members two points for every one of the real top ten they included in their list. Now read fears 11-20. Members get one point for every one of those on their list.
Have a prize for the winner. Make it good. :)
11. Gun Control
12. War
13. Obamacare
14. Illness
15. Pandemic Natural Disasters
16. Nuclear Attack
17. Reptiles
18. Meltdown
19. Civil Unrest
20. Tornado Natural Disasters