Learning Objective: Recognize what is holding you back from the true transformation that God desires for you. Explore what fear, wound or place of control may be blocking you from connecting to how God desires to transform your life at this time.
Scriptures:
Genesis: 18, 21, 22 and 24
Romans 12:1-2
Romans 10:17
Prayer: Dear Lord, how do you want to transform my life at this time and reveal to me what habit, thought, belief or past pain is holding me back from entering into the transformation you want for me.
Previous Podcast in this series by Lauren: When Gossip Becomes Counterfeit Connection
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your Word and for the reminder that our lives can easily become distracted by what is happening around us.
As we begin our study of 2 Chronicles, help us understand what it means to keep You at the center of our lives.
Teach us to recognize when our hearts have become distracted.
Show us the places where our priorities have shifted.
Help us understand that spiritual renewal often begins with a decision to return to You.
Give us wisdom to recognize the difference between activity and true worship.
Give us humility to receive correction.
Give us courage to make changes when You reveal something that needs to change.
Help us seek You—not simply when we need something, but because You are worthy of being sought.
Teach us to respond to Your presence with humility, obedience, prayer, and worship.
When life becomes complicated, when we become discouraged and when we make mistakes , remind us that repentance opens the door to restoration.
May our lives continually point back to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Learning Objective: Recognize how gossip can become a counterfeit source of self-esteem and connection, identify its impact on relationships, and choose direct, respectful, and biblically grounded communication that protects dignity and promotes reconciliation.
Scriptures:
Matthew 18: 15-20
Romans 13:8-10
Prayer: Dear Lord delivery me from the tendency to share another person’s story many times because of my own insecurities. Help me to rejoice in the success of others over my own and ground my sense of worth and value in you, an unshakable anchor of identity.
Aquinas’s discussion includes sorrow over another’s good, pleasure in another’s misfortune, and attempts to damage someone’s reputation.
Tale-bearing
Carrying stories between people in ways that create conflict, division, or mistrust. Tale-bearing does not simply damage a reputation; it can damage a relationship.
Detraction
Sharing another person’s faults or failures—even when the information is true—when there is no legitimate need for others to know it. Before speaking, ask: Is it true—and does this truth need to be shared with this person?
Delight in another person’s misfortune
Feeling secretly pleased when someone fails, loses influence, or experiences difficulty because it makes us feel better about ourselves.
Sorrow over another person’s good fortune
Feeling diminished, resentful, or threatened when someone else succeeds, receives recognition, or experiences something good.
By the end of this podcast and Bible study, participants will be able to:
Understand the biblical context and major themes of 1 Chronicles, including identity, remembrance, leadership, worship, covenant, preparation, service, and spiritual legacy.
Recognize how remembering God’s faithfulness can strengthen our identity and help us remain grounded during seasons of change.
Identify behaviors, attitudes, and priorities that can either strengthen or weaken our relationship with God and our ability to fulfill what He has entrusted to us.
Apply the EIC (Encounter–Identified Behavior–Course Correct) Framework to examine their relationship with God, their priorities, leadership, service, and preparation for what God is calling them to do.
Develop greater spiritual confidence, intentionality, humility, and faithfulness as they seek to build lives that honor God and positively influence others.
Three key areas of understanding:
Remember Your Story
Your Assignment Does Not Have to Look Like Someone Else’s
Thank You for Your Word and for the reminder that our lives are part of a story much greater than ourselves.
As we begin our study of 1 Chronicles, help us understand the importance of remembering where we have come from, recognizing who we are in You, and understanding what You have entrusted to us. Teach us to value preparation as much as accomplishment. Help us understand that sometimes You call us to build, and sometimes You call us to prepare someone else to build.
Give us the humility to serve when we are not receiving recognition.
Give us the wisdom to prepare when the results are not yet visible.
Give us the courage to lead with integrity and the discipline to remain faithful in the small things.
Help us remember Your faithfulness in our past so that we can trust You with our future. Show us anything in our lives that needs to be realigned.
Help us place You at the center of our priorities, our relationships, our work, our leadership, and our purpose.
May our lives become an offering of worship to You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
