The Danger of God’s Greatness
July 31, 2022
Greatness never precedes the work. The level of work determines the level of greatness. Most of us spend our lives trying to chase and achieve a desired outcomes that are never realized. We sense we are designed for something great, but often feel as though we keep falling short. Throughout the story of God, we find that GOD’S WORK (italicized) determines your greatness.
If we aren’t careful though, God’s work becomes YOUR (italicized) greatness. We can so easily forget the work God began in us, is His work, not our work. Arrogance and ego settle in and we lose sight that He (God) must become more, and we must become less.
God’s greatness is revealed through your discomfort. We all face seasons of testing and difficulty; those moments are meant to unveil the goodness, power, authority, and beauty of God who loves and moves in miraculous ways. He must become more, we must become less.
Questions for Individuals/Connect Groups:
This past weekend, Brad begins to speak to us about how we can often confuse our greatness with God’s greatness. Can you think of someone you have met before that has this narrative as part of their story? Who is someone you know that constantly is looking to increase their greatness (without God’s presence)?
In verse 25 of 2 Chronicles, it states that Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him. The original Hebrew word for proud, gabah. It means to lift oneself up. How was him not responding to the kindness a way to lift himself up?
Think back over your life. Think of times of success. When has it been easy for you to lift yourself up? How did you handle that and what would you do differently after studying this passage?
Brad continues talking about circumstances that make us smaller and God bigger. When has this been true in your life? What are some examples where you can think about how God grew in importance? What was your perspective before verses after?
This week we talked about Nehemiah and how he did God’s work. Sometimes doing God’s work can be hard to understand. What are some things you think this might mean? Can you give me examples of what that looks like?
They also taught us that doing God’s work makes you stronger. How do you think doing this is something that can make you stronger?
When we do work for God we can be certain that He sees us doing it. Sometimes people want to get all the credit for doing the work and forget to thank God for the opportunity to show his light. What should we do when we do something good that no one sees?
This week is Hope Week. We get to go serve our community and help others have a better day because of it. Look over our church website and talk about some things you and your family might be excited to do. https://behope.church/hopeunleashedweek/
Questions for Families:
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SET LIST
LIFE IS NOT MEANT TO BE LIVED ALONE. YOU WERE CREATED TO EXPERIENCE LIFE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.