Overcoming Temptation

Goals for this Week’s Study:

  1. Review Sunday Morning’s Message.
  2. Help everyone build a plan to overcome Temptation.
  3. Encourage everyone to continue finish their reading plan. Help them to realize that even if they’ve missed a few days, to pick right back up and keep going!

Getting Started:

Open your group with prayer.

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

DISCUSS: How does it make you feel to know that Jesus was tempted by the same things we are tempted with?

Study Questions

1 John 2:16

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

1. The passage above assures us that God is never the source of temptation. How does knowing this change your thought process about your ability to overcome temptation?

1 John 2:16 outlines for us the 3 types of temptation we will face; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We also know that while God never tempts us, He will test us. Pastor Daniel told us the way to distinguish between temptation and testing is to look at the destination. Temptation leads to sin, Testing presents an opportunity to trust God.

2. Which of the 3 types of temptation do you struggle with the most?

3. Are there things going on in your life that you thought were temptations that you now see are really God testing you? How does this change your response to the situation?

Pastor Daniel told us that temptation comes from 3 different sources: the world, the flesh, and the enemy.

4. How do you think recognizing the source of temptation will help you overcome it?

READ the following passages to discover the methods prescribed for overcoming temptation based on where it originates from:

The World

1 John 5:4

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
  • To overcome temptation that comes from the WORLD we need to apply _________ (FAITH).

We must trust that God is enough and that what God’s Word say is true. It trumps our circumstances and even our feelings!

The Flesh

1 Corinthians 6:18

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
  • To overcome temptation that comes from the flesh we must _________ ! (FLEE)

You are not now and will never be strong enough to overcome this type of temptation on your own. This ability should not be the goal…do NOT mess around with it…RUN AWAY!

The Enemy

James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
  • To overcome temptation that comes from the devil we must _________ ! (FIGHT)

The best way to fight our enemy is to first SUBMIT yourself to God, then use the only offensive weapon we have been given. This is the Sword of the Sprit which is God’s WORD!

IF you have time remaining at the end of these questions, work though that day’s SOAP study with your group.

S.O.A.P.

Explain to everyone that in today’s group we are going to study God’s Word using the SOAP method. This series is all about getting back to the basics and helping people STUDY and APPLY God’s Word!

S – Scripture

O – Observation

A – Application

P – Prayer

Click HERE for an article that describes the SOAP method in greater detail. I would encourage you to print it off or send the link out to your group members.

Scripture:

Look below to determine what scripture you will use for your group (feel free to use another day’s scripture based on the needs of your group members).

Sunday/Monday (Day 11) – John 15:1 – 17

Tuesday (Day 12) – John 17:1 – 26

Wednesday (Day 13) – John 19:28 – 42

Thursday (Day 14) – John 20:1 – 31

Friday/Saturday (Day 15) – John 21:1 – 25

Read the scripture aloud. You can read the entire selection out loud, ask different ones to read, ask everyone to read silently, or whatever feels most natural in your setting.

Observation:

After reading the day’s scripture, ask the following questions to “observe” the text.

NOTE: Not all questions may be able to be answered about every passage.

  1. WHO is present in the scripture?
  2. WHAT is happening in the scripture?
  3. WHEN is this happening?
  4. WHERE is this taking place?
  5. WHY is this taking place?
  6. HOW is this taking place?
  7. After answering the above questions, make an observation statement. Ask group members to share if they are comfortable.

Application:

For application, there is only question:

8.  What do you need to do NOW to apply what you’ve learned to life?

Prayer:

Take some time to allow group members to share how they are going to apply these truths to their life. Pray for strength to take these steps and to build a plan to OVERCOME and not submit to temptation.

Adam Eldridge