Breaking Ground
What have you found to be the easiest thing you can do to feel better when you’re sad? Why?
The Dig
This Sunday, we began our series 12 Words, in which we will be using the 12 Steps as a tool for exploring Christ’s teachings concerning the nature of life change & spiritual transformation.
Begin by reflecting on your experience, biases, or beliefs about addiction & the 12 Step Program.
How would you define the term addiction? What do you think the 12 Step Program is? What is its goal? Who is it for? How does it work?
Next, read Romans 7:14-25. In this text, we find Paul wrestling with the nature of sin & this paradoxical experience that’s universal to all humans. Specifically, how we both possess an innate desire for what’s good, & yet, simultaneously, often can’t choose to do what’s good in our singular moments of decision-making. In this struggle, Paul expands the concept of sin, describing it more like a spiritual disease that’s alive within us than some simplistic list of concrete, immoral actions.
What stands out to you the most about Paul’s wrestling here? Do you relate to what he’s saying?
How does thinking of sin as a “spiritual disease” (as opposed to a list of bad things to avoid) impact the way we think about it, how it influences us, & how it can be dealt with? How does this understanding of sin mirror the modern concept of addiction? How might this help us better understand both concepts?
Over the course of this series, we’re going to explore how we can, like Paul, experience healing & liberation within this part of our nature through Jesus. To do so, we will rely upon three key premises:
- Addiction is a helpful name & honest description for what biblical tradition calls “sin.” As such, we are all addicted in some form. At the very least, we share the universal, human addiction to our own stinking thinking; which Richard Rohr defines as “our own habitual way of doing anything, our own defenses, &, most especially, our patterned way of thinking, or how we process reality.”
- The 12 Steps (when distilled to their most foundational, spiritual principles) mirror Jesus’ own teachings on the nature of sin, healing brokenness, & experiencing holistic salvation.
- As such, recovery can serve as a helpful metaphor for understanding Christlike life transformation & the 12 Steps can be an effective tool for anyone looking to follow Jesus into a greater experience of abundant life.
With this in mind, close by reflecting on where you might need this summer series.
How would you define abundant life or life that’s truly life? What postures, attitudes, experiences, relationships, & behaviors would you use to describe it?
Where do you keep repeating the same mental, emotional, or behavioral patterns or habits that get in the way of abundant life?
How might Paul’s writing & understanding the pattern you’ve identified as a symptom of a deeper, spiritual disease help you come to terms & name this addiction as we head into this series?
Close by praying together over what’s been shared. Provide comfort, love, & the reminder of God’s grace to each member.
Getting Out of the Hole
In this series, take time each week to reflect upon the Step & Word that we covered in the Sunday sermon.
- Read Romans 7:14-25. Where do you relate to Paul’s description of sin here? Where do you find yourself incapable of stopping some broken habit or pattern of thinking, feeling, behaving, or relating to others?
- Reflect on Paul’s description of sin as being a spiritual disease that’s infected our very nature &, thus, as needing more than just human willpower to heal. How does this help you better understand the deeper root of the pattern you identified? How about its potential solution?
- Close by reminding yourself that grace, not shame, ultimately marks the first word of Christian recovery. You are loved & there is no condemnation in Christ. Remember that naming our brokenness with openness, willingness, & self-honesty is required in order for us to begin healing from it.
Additional Resources*
TheBibleProject.com
Breathing Under Water by Richard Rohr
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill W
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
Coming Up This Week:*
Sunday, May 11th: Join us next Sunday as we continue our series 12 Words!* Please see mye3.org for details.