The heart of a Rust City Group is to care for people and carry the culture of Rust City Church.
You don’t have to follow this guide like a script! Use discernment from the Holy Spirit as you lead your group discussion.
If you notice that someone in your group needs additional care or support that’s beyond your capacity, please let a pastor know.
ICEBREAKER QUESTION OPTION:
Spiced apple cider, or hot chocolate with marshmallows? Be honest.
I’m Fine: Pt. 5
SPEAKER: Pastor Wes Washington
Scriptures—
Mark 1:40-45; Jeremiah 17:9; Leviticus 13:45–46
Key Takeaways—
Core Theme - I’m Fine If Everything Goes My Way
Bring Your Whole Self to Jesus: We must stop pretending that we’re fine and bring our true, messy selves to Jesus. Healing often requires confessing our struggles to both God and a trusted brother or sister in Christ.
Surrender Desires to Direction: Our emotions are not reliable guides for our decisions. We must prioritize Jesus’s direction over the how we feel in the moment.
Reverence Dictates Response: Developing a healthy reverence for God serves as a necessary boundary in our lives, ensuring our responses are rooted in faith rather than fleeting feelings.
God Can Overrule Our Errors: When we screw up and act on our feelings rather than godly direction, God can still set things right. Jesus has much more power than our mistakes and sins.
Discussion Questions—
How does the act of bringing our "whole self" to Jesus change how we relate with Him?
Why is it often harder to share our struggles with a person than with God?
Why is it dangerous to rely on our emotions as a compass for life decisions?
Are there areas of your life where you need to cultivate a deeper reverence for God and His direction for you—in spite of your feelings?
How can you practice letting your faith—rather than your feelings—determine your response to conflict or difficult circumstances?
Practical application—
Consider implementing one of the following this week:
Option 1: Practice Feeling, Then Filtering
The next time you face a challenge, identify the raw emotion you feel, but pause to filter it through God’s word before you react. Use your Bible or the Bible app to find scriptures that address what you’re facing and feeling and follow their guidance.
Option 2: Find a Trusted Confidant
Reach out to a more spiritually mature believer in your life this week to share a struggle you have been keeping hidden. If you don’t know someone like that, ask around.
option 3: Conduct an “Instead” Audit
Identify one area in your life where you are currently saying "instead of" (doing your own thing despite knowing God's instruction) and commit to one step of obedience today. Enlist an accountability partner to help you follow through.
Closing Prayer—
Jesus,
Thank You for meeting us in our mess and for Your willingness to make us clean. Help us to stop relying on our own understanding and the deceitful compass of our emotions.
Give us the courage to bring our whole, authentic selves to You and to trusted brothers and sisters. Build in us a deep reverence for Your sovereignty, that our responses might always be rooted in faith and aligned with Your direction.
In your name we pray,
Amen.