Secrets :: Shame
Use the lead app to check in students and make sure any students not listed fill out a connect card digitally.
Do not move on until check-in has happened and any students not listed have filled out a connect card.
Now let’s get into it.
Spend a few moments discussing these key things from the teaching
The cycle of shame
You experience something deeply painful
You connect what happened with who you are
You become a prisoner to shame
Breaking free from shame
You cannot change the past
Jesus can change your future
Have a student read Romans 6:6; Titus 3:5-7; Hebrews 10:14; 12:23b; Colossians 3:3-4.
About God’s remedy for guilt and shame:
By what did God save us (Titus 3:5)? In other words, what did God change in us when we received Christ?
Since God no longer evaluates us based on our behavior (works), on what then are we to base our sense of identity and worth?
What aspect of who we are has been made new and perfect?
Have a student read Read Proverbs 23:7a; Romans 12:1-2; 2 Cor. 10:3-5. (Change how you think)
Why is it impossible to permanently change our behavior without changing our thinking?
Who is ultimately behind our wrong beliefs that produce shame? What are our spiritual weapons to combat this enemy?
What does it mean to make our thoughts obedient to Christ?
Have a student Read 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 17; 2 Cor. 5:16-17; Eph.4:22-24; and 1 Peter 2:6; 4:15-16. (Change how you see yourself)
Before Christ, our behavior revealed our inner condition or nature (spiritually dead to God). Now that we are in Christ, what is the basis of our true identity?
What are we told to put off? How does holding on to our old shame-based identity keep us from experiencing our new identity in Christ?
How does being “one spirit” with Christ affect our identity and self-worth ?
Call them to contemplation and action.
What are you hiding that causes you shame? What memories from your past cause you to feel ashamed?
hat are some shame-producing thoughts with which you still struggle? What is the truth about you, according to what God says?
Finish by sharing these three simple steps for them to apply:
If you are struggling with secret shame, confess it.
What shame-based thoughts do you need to recognize and take captive? What truth about your new identity will you renew your mind with this week?
Pray for those in your group who need set free from a shame-based identity.
Now pray together.
We will know we have hit our target if:
-We understand the truth about our past and our future when it comes to shame.
-Students have a grasp on the difference between "Shame on you" and "Shame off you".
-Groups get honest about their struggles.