Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.  - Joshua 1:9
 
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever… - Hebrews 13:8
 
Often, we fear and think God isn’t with us.
 
How would we live if we really believed that we had nothing to fear and God was always with us?
 
Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:13b-14
 
All the things that were thought to be such a gain to me, I now see them as a liability.
 
[For Christ] I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him…- Philippians 3:8c-9a

This is the primary pursuit of the life that I live; knowing Christ!
 
These [rituals] are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.  - Colossians 2:17
 
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves.
- Hebrews 10:1
 
The Lord longs to lead us out of the shadow and into the reality.
 
Are you willing to destroy anything and everything getting in the way of a deeper relationship with Christ?

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Sermon Discussion Questions Printable Copy
 
 
1.    What are some of the thoughts you’re thinking when you are questioning and/or fearing the truth of God’s abiding presence?  Would you be willing to share some of your “inner dialogue” with your Connect Group?  What scriptures come to your mind on the topic of fear? How about the topic of God’s presence being with us?
 
2.    What would change about your life if you were able to conquer your greatest fear? Or, how about if you really believed that God was always with you?
 
3.    What can you identify in your life that you thought was gain, only to realize, later, that it was actually a liability? Something you were pursuing? Something you owned? A relationship? An occupation? A gift? What did you do when you came to that realization? Please share with your group.
 
4.     Read Philippians 3:8c-9a.  Is there something which you had to suffer the loss of in order to gain a more meaningful relationship with Christ? Go deeper in your discipleship with Christ?
 
5.     What “religious shadows” have ever gotten in the way of the “relationship reality” that God longs for you to experience? Today, in this season of your life, are you willing to destroy anything/everything that gets in the way of a deeper relationship with Christ?
Can you tell your Connect Group what that would look like? Does anything come to mind?