Facing our Challenges, Conquering our Fears

Get Out of the Boat

Leaders’ Guide / Lesson Plan

Get Out of the Boat: Session Four, “Facing Our Challenges, Conquering Our Fears”

Key Points of Session Four:

1. Key for this lesson is considering how Peter’s exhilarating walk was interrupted by “seeing the wind.” Fear takes over, and he begins to sink.

2. How do we choose to water-walk, even when fear is taking over?

I. -Introduce the topic for the week --- Welcome everybody and introduce the topic of “fear, faith, and our walk with God.”

-Welcome everybody and make any group announcements

-Prayer time --- invite joys and concerns and then offer an opening prayer. It’s great to let someone from the group say the prayer if you’ve talked about this with them beforehand. Don’t put anybody on the spot to pray.

-Starter Questions: Ask your group a couple of the following questions to get the conversation ball rolling:

1. What are your expectations of God when you launch into a new adventure with Him? Do you think that God might launch a new adventure in your life? What roles do obstacles and challenges play in your life with God?

2. What is God’s most common command in the Bible? Answer, “Fear Not.” 366 times. Wow.

3. How can being fearful be helpful? How can it hurt us?

4. Do you believe that God deliberately asks us to do things that expose us to harm and cause us to be afraid? If not, why not? If yes, what is his purpose?

II. Play the Video

Talk about the Video –

1. Talk about Lewis and Clark thinking the worst was over, only to find the biggest challenges ahead. How do situations like that affect your trust in God?

2. How does our faith become vulnerable to temptation when our lives don’t turn out as planned?

3. How does Joseph demonstrate what it’s like to not only survive, but to grow through challenges?

III. Bible Study: Choosing Trust, not Fear

No small groups this time --- whole group together --

1. Re-read the story of Peter’s water-walking in Matthew 14

a. When Peter starts to water-walk, sees the wind, gets afraid and starts to sink, what is Jesus’ immediate reaction?

b. Note that Jesus does catch him, but also asks why he doubted.

c. Since most of us aren’t literally stepping out of boats and walk on water, what kinds of things are “wind” for us – keeping us afraid and causing us to lose faith?

d. 366 commands in scripture to be “not afraid.” These are backed by the power and love of God. What do the following passages reveal about choosing to trust God rather than fearing challenges?

Psalm 23:4 “God is our shepherd, with us”

Psalm 27:1 “God is our light, salvation and stronghold”

Isaiah 43:1-4 “God has redeemed us”

Hebrews 13:5-6 “God is our helper”

IV. Final Questions for Discussion / Wrap –Up

“The High Cost of Fear”

1. Ask the group ---- “What does it cost to be afraid?” “What is its price?”
2. This section of the session is SO IMPORTANT. I think that this information and really thinking about what fear does to our relationship to God is key, critical to the entirety of what this lesson is about. Fear and Trust are opposites. We need to be aware of the consequences of fear, and how choosing fear over trust always makes it easier to choose fear the next time.

Some ideas:

Fear can strike when it is not helplful or wanted.

Fear is paralyzing, not motivating

Fear can cease to be occasional and become habitual, with us all the time

Fear threatens to keep us from trusting and obeying God

Fear that causes us to avoid a difficult situation kills personal growth. IF we take easy ways out, we feel badly about ourselves and believe that we can’t cope with challenges

Living in fear keeps us from experiencing our God-given potential

Living in fear destroys our joy and robs us of life’s delights.

Living in fear causes us to focus on the negative.

Living in fear causes us to focus on the negative.

Living in fear creates a loss of intimacy between us and other people. We become afraid to say what we think or feel, afraid of the pain of conflict.

Living in fear causes us to believe that God can’t or won’t take care of us

Fear limits hopes, dreams and callings.

3. John Ortberg writes, “Growth happens when you seek or exert control where you are able to rather than giving up in difficult circumstances. It happens when you decide to be wholly faithful in a situation that you do not like and cannot understand. It happens when you keep walking even though you see the wind. Then you discover that, somehow, you are not alone. As he was with Joseph, the Lord is also with you.”

4. For next time --- I’d encourage leaving the group with this challenge for the next session: Identify the areas in which you would like to step out in faith and trust God. What real steps do you need to begin taking to accomplish this goal?

Some will not feel comfortable sharing this the next time, and though it would be good for some to consider sharing, make sure that everyone knows they will not be forced to share this with the group --- BUT, covenant together that everyone will do this exercise this week.

What encouragement does this offer you?

V. Prayer

Prayers that acknowledge our fear and ask God for the gift of presence and faith are a great way to end this session.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK YOU’RE DOING FOR JESUS, AND SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS!!!!!!!!