4 weeks helping students with big decisions. The older we grow, the more complicated life seems to grow around us, and it can be pretty difficult to know how to navigate it all the right way as a Christian. But what if we’re going about our decision-making process the wrong way? What if, when we’re faced with BIG life choices, God is actually after something small? Something better? In this series, we’re going to look at decision-making through the lens of the gospel in the hopes that we’ll find more peace and greater confidence when we’re faced with split decisions.
Video Messages Included
Intro: The older we get, the weightier our decisions become. And the question we’re left grappling with is “what’s the right choice?”
Truth: Paul understood the weight of big decisions, but he also understood that God was usually after something else in the life’s decisions. God’s primary goal is that we would become more like Jesus, and seeing through that lens has to affect the way we see our decision-making process.
The Point: God values redemption over results.
Intro: Some decisions in life feel like definitive “right or wrong” situation. But others feel more like a “Would You Rather” situation. Those can be tricky to navigate because there probably is a best choice, but it’s difficult to know which choice it is!
Truth: Abram encountered a difficult situation like that when he and Sarai were waiting on God’s promise of a son. But this decision-making process was important in Abram’s development as a man of God because it exposed his heart’s core belief that he had to take things into his own hands. God knew that from the beginning, but this decision-making process exposed it, and that led to Abram’s growth as a man of faith.
The Point: Expose in your heart what God’s known from the start.
Intro: While some obsession we have can be pretty temporary, sometimes we actually stumble into something that sticks long term. They become part of us. They start to define us. And that’s what makes it so difficult when we encounter decisions that threaten to force us to let them go.
Truth: Abraham faced that when God prompted him to sacrifice his long-awaited son, Isaac. But Abraham had faith in God’s character, and his identity was rooted more so in his relationship with God than his relationship with his son. That’s why Abraham was obedient. And, ultimately, cementing Abraham’s sense of spiritual identity was what God was really after all along.
The Point: The foundation of you isn’t found in what you have or do.
Intro: It’s frustrating when it feels like the odds are stacked against you in a game, but it feels a whole lot worse when it feels like you’re rigged to lose when it comes to meaningful friendships, your passions, or your future. When your decisions feel like a lose-lose, it can be pretty difficult to figure out how to navigate.
Truth: Jesus was faced with a lose-lose situation created by the Pharisees. But when faced with a situation that felt rigged, He stopped and pondered the gospel and its implications. While that ultimately led Him to a nifty third option, the point for us is more so that lose-lose scenarios in life present us with a chance to grapple with the gospel.
The Point: Grapple with the gospel.