Having a better life can begin today. No matter what happened yesterday or what is happening today, there is always a hope of a better life starting right now. Better life begins with a choice. You may not have realized that it is your decision, but it is. God has given us a choice to make between a lesser life and the better life He promised to us. Why would we settle for less than God has promised to give? There’s one thing that we allow to stand between us and the better life Jesus promised to us: sin.
1. If the better life is indeed our choice to make, why is it that we often settle for the lesser life rather than the better life? When faced with a choice between life and death, why do people choose death?
2. How would you define sin? Do you now or have you ever viewed sin as an arbitrary list of do's and don'ts? Does this week's message help explain sin in light of God's desire for us to have a better life?
3. Talk about times when you have allowed sin to stand between you and a better life.
4. Paul went to great lengths in Romans 6 to remind believers that when Jesus died, a part of us died with him. When Jesus died, He died to the power of sin. When He was raised, He broke the power of sin. For those who believe in Jesus, sin and its power have been broken in our lives. Why is it important for believers to realize this truth?
5. What does it look like to live as a slave to sin?
6. What is one thing that you should set aside for Christ's sake this week that has been robbing you of better life? (It doesn't have to be a sin.)
7. The better life isn’t me living for Jesus. The better life is Jesus living in me and through me. Why is this an important distinction?
8. In this series we have talked about identity, thinking, feelings, and the actions that come from those things. What is your biggest takeaway from this series?
Write this down somewhere and say it out loud daily:
Sin is not my master. I am dead to sin but alive to God.
Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
