The Bible 20/20 - Week 8: "Run your Race"

We are all on our own personal journeys of faith, and often we forget that we are a part of a bigger picture of God’s plans. In the beginning of Deuteronomy, we learn about Moses’ time as the leader of Israel coming to an end. His journey with these people was a difficult and rocky road, but Moses wanted to remind the people of the legacy left by the generations before them, how to navigate the obstacles ahead of them, and how to maintain success and avoid complacency. These are lessons that Jesus also restates when He is tempted in the wilderness. This week, we learned about these lessons and why it is so important to run our own race with intention and diligently looking to the Lord for our guidance. Key Verses: Deut. 3:2,28, 4:1-2, 9, 31 Matt. 4:1-10, 8:2-5, Deut. 6:13-19 Sermon questions: 1. Do you agree that one of the most important transitions in your life was when your faith changed from the faith of your parent’s or a spiritual leader into your own? Talk about your own personal transition. How did that journey look for you and what happened in your life to initiate that change? 2. What are some important lessons you have learned from the generations of faith before you? What are some things you wanted to do differently (remember to not speak in a negative way about others or name them), and how can you learn from the things you didn’t want to repeat, but avoid swinging too far in the other direction? 3. The three temptations that Jesus faced in the wilderness were dealing with the lust of the flesh (be careful what you eat), pride of life (be careful whose opinions you worry about), and lust of the eyes (be careful what you worship), is there one of these temptations that you feel you most regularly struggle with? Give some examples of how you have seen these types of temptations in your life, and how have you either overcome them or learned from your mistakes with them. Bible Reading questions/discussion prompts: 1. Have a member of the group summarize one key story from the reading until you have covered them all for the week: who are the main characters, where does the story take place, what are they doing, and why. 2. What does this week’s reading teach you about God? 3. What does it teach you about mankind? 4. How does this reading point to Jesus or our need for Him? 5. What did you learn this week about God or about the Bible that you didn’t know before? 6. What did you learn from the sermon that you maybe missed or didn’t know from the reading? 7. What lessons can you take from this reading and apply to your own life today? 8. What remaining questions do you have about this passage?