What are Sermon Notes?
Below is an outline for the sermon preached on Sunday morning. Accessing these notes allows you to take the sermon home with you. Feel free to add your own notes!
At the end of the sermon you can email yourself those notes from that day.
We hope this is a helpful resource for you as you dive deeper into the Scriptures and the messages preached at New Life Church.
The Pursuit of Wisdom: Discernment
Introduction
- How do we know when and when not to?
- Discernment
- What, why, how
What
- Discernment is ability to perceive what is not obvious
- Today, we're not talking about...
- It leads to knowing what is right and good
Why
- 1 Kings 22
- It's easy to listen to the wrong voices and see things the wrong way
- We need discernment to parse through the confusion
- Seeing what's below the surface
- Can help us minister to people well
How
- Romans 12:1-2
- Discernment is grown in us by God
- Discernment starts with the Word of God
- Spirit transforms us to think and see like God does
- Become aware
Conclusion
- Be aware of our need for discernment and begin to grow in it
Life Group Questions
- Have someone in your group read 1 Kings 22:1-28. Have someone else read Romans 12:1-2. Finally, have someone open your group in prayer.
- Discernment is a very important aspect of wisdom, as it leads us to what’s right and good. As you consider your life right now, where would you say you need discernment most?
- Pastor Brian’s definition of discernment is the ability to perceive what’s not obvious. Have you seen this before? If you have one, share a story of a time you experienced a surface-level thing being different than what the deeper-level actually was.
- In the message, we acknowledged that growing in the skill of discernment is very important, but it’s also hard and not clear. Jesus is asking us to do the long, hard work of growing in this skill. Consider how you’ve grown in this since becoming a Christian. How has your thinking changed?
- We also talked about how discernment starts with the Word of God - really chewing on and sitting in the Word so it can do the work of renewing our minds. What evidence do you see that the Bible has shaped your thinking?
- As you’ve sat with this message and considered your answers to Questions 2-5, ask yourself: where are you at with discernment? In what areas do you sense God has developed this skill for you? In what areas do you sense more growth is needed?
- Do you have an imagination for how you can step into that growth humbly, carefully and with awareness?
- End your group time in prayer. Pray that God would do His work in everyone’s hearts and minds to cultivate the skill of discernment. Pray that we would begin to become more aware of our need for discernment and to take steps towards that growth.
