Discussion Questions for Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist
1. Are there still marriages of convenience today? In America? 2. What exactly are we committing to when we say "I do." 3. When the better becomes worse, the richer becomes poorer, the health becomes sickness and we are simply too tired to deal with it anymore, what is the ripple effect when we walk out the door? Who and what is effected by an ending of a marriage? (Be careful not to gossip here.) 4. What is the ripple effect if we stay married? Is it worth it? 5. What characters in the Bible experienced circumstances so overwhelming they wanted to give up? (Make a list so you can use them for questions 6 & 7) 6. Of the characters that wanted to give up, but didn't: What might have happened if they HAD given up? 7. Of the characters that wanted to give up and did: What might have happened if they HAD NOT given up? 8. What are illustrations in the Bible where all hope is gone, yet God salvaged the situation(s) or the person(s)? Can God still do that today? 9. Drew could only be released from his fear of losing his loved ones when he released those loved ones to Christ. How can giving Christ permission to take away our loved ones be freedom? 10. If you were to go home tonight and give your spouse, your child(ren), your parents, your siblings to God, what exactly would that mean? What are you doing now that would have to change were you to do that ... I mean really do that? 11. Fear was an idol for Drew. He lived in it, wallowed in it, served it. What are some of the less obvious idols we have? (Something other than power, money, influence, approval, success)? Make a list for later use. 12. What lies does Satan perpetrate about our idols? They look so appealing on the surface, yet when we give into them, we become enslaved by them. List examples and illustrations (be careful not to gossip, this is to be a hypothetical discussion). 13. Look again at question #11. Are the things on your list sinful? Is it sinful to be rich? Is it a sin to want to be rich? When does a desire of our heart become a sin? (No short pat answers, like "when it becomes an idol." Duh. I'm looking for that point in which it shifts from a desire to a sin.) 14. On a piece of paper that you won't share with anyone, list your 5 top priorities (the things in your life that are most important to you) from greatest to least. Be brutally honest. 15. On that same piece of paper, make a pie graph illustrating how you spend your time in 12 hour day. 16. In the silence of your mind, compare your actions with your list of what's most important to you. Do you have idols that you didn't realize you had? (No need to share your answer. This one's for you and God.) 17. How can we today in everyday life place God first in all we do? Does that mean we have to be perfect? Is it possible to place God first? What are some everyday applications of putting God first?
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