EXTRA! Ideas for Adults – Thrive: Living on Purpose – Session 4

Date: September 22, 2024

Purpose Lived

The Point: We live out our purpose as we are led and filled with the Spirit.  

Get Into the Study

Before reading the opening question, share the following:

Archaeologists have recently reviewed the assembly of the Menga dolmen in Spain and made remarkable discoveries. This ancient structure, centuries old, “was one of the largest megalithic monuments of Ancient Europe. And, according to an analysis published in the journal Science Advances last week, it was constructed with an extraordinary level of scientific understanding.”

The chamber is a brilliant configuration for an 82-foot-long chamber. It is built within the ground but consists of 32 massive stone slabs. The combined weight of those stones is 1,140 tons, which is “heavier than two Boeing 747 airplanes loaded with passengers.”

Considering the distance that the slabs had to be transported and how they had to be erected, it would require an immense amount of scientific genius before even a thing would be communicated. Garcia Sanjuan said, “We’ve never talked about Neolithic science before, only because we are too arrogant to think that these people could do science the way we do it. If any engineer today tried to build Menga with the resources that existed 6,000 years ago, I don’t think they could do it.”

When you consider ancient people completing such a feat, our attempts at construction seem discouragingly simple, even if they remain challenging for us. We often get those pieces of furniture in boxes that say, “some assembly required.” If those are that challenging to us, can you imagine trying to accomplish what they did in the past?

Allow for discussion of the icebreaker question and continue with the directions in the Leader Guide.

For more information, visit https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/colossal-stone-monument-build-1000-years-before-stonehenge-shows-neolithic-engineers-understood-science-180984975/.

Study the Bible

Before asking Question #3, share the following:

Kanye West typically makes the headlines for either well-received hip-hop music or some bizarre antics. The famous rapper has many incidents that seem uncharacteristically odd. The culture almost holds its collective breath when he has an audience.

His chief of staff recently has an excuse for some of his words and behaviors. Milo Yiannopoulos has pressed charges against dentist Thomas P. Connelly for giving Kanye an illegal, recreational nitrous gas. She “filed the affidavit along with a complaint to the California Dental Board where he claimed Connelly was participating in ‘reckless, unethical, dishonest, explorative and, upon information and belief, illegal conduct.’” He earned more than $50,000 a month for the service to help Kanye cope with some issues, but many believe that the usage has exasperated his mental condition.

The argument is that the process gave West “self-destructive consequences of dependence, showing indifference or worse to the prospect of permanent damage and brain and body.” Yiannopoulos believes that the dentist took money from West, knowing he was “in a confused, dependent, weakened and addicted state.”

While the case is just beginning, it provides context for a more extensive discussion. Did such a treatment change West or just amplify what was already there? We often avoid wanting to take the blame for self-destructive patterns in our lives. But when we allow ourselves to enjoy things in the flesh and let them remain unchallenged, things can get out of control quickly.

For more information, visit: https://okmagazine.com/p/kanye-west-ex-chief-staff-self-destructive-nitrous-gas-celeb-dentist/.

Travis Agnew is a disciple of Jesus, husband to Amanda, dad to the Agnew 3, and Lead Pastor or Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. He loves writing about faith and family at travisagnew.org.

Additional Questions

Icebreaker

• Why is God-given purpose far more valuable than earthly goals?
• What’s your reaction to “some assembly required”?
• What’s a gift that you were most surprised to be given?
• What’s your most memorable “some assembly required” experience?
• When was a time you realized you might have taken an energy source for granted? (BG)
• What’s a family or community treasure you value?

Galatians 5:16-18 

• In your own words, describe what it means to “walk by the Spirit.”
• What can you do to allow the Spirit to control increasingly more of your actions?
• What is required of a person in order for the Spirit to help them overcome their flesh or sinful ways?
• What does walking by the Spirit look like?
• How can we know whether we’re being guided by the Holy Spirit or by our flesh?

Galatians 5:19-21 

• Why is our sinful nature – or flesh – so strong and so seemingly difficult to overpower?
• Knowing the destructive results of living according to the flesh, why do people keep doing it?
• How does our culture view the different “works of the flesh” listed in these verses?
• What are some consequences of allowing these “works of the flesh” in our lives?
• How does walking in the flesh keep us from fulfilling our purpose in life?

Galatians 5:22-26 

• What are the benefits to society when Christians live by the Spirit and produce the Spirit’s fruit?
• What are some habits that help you crucify the flesh?
• What does it mean to walk by the Spirit?
• How has the Holy Spirit helped you to live like Jesus?
• What has helped you maintain a Spirit-directed lifestyle?
• What are some things that cause us to get out of step with the Spirit?
• Which aspects of the fruit of the Spirit do you find most challenging to live out?

For Those in Your Group

Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought:

What Does Faithfulness Look Like?

Podcast

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