GUARDRAILS |WEEK 5
GUARDRAILS: THE HEART OF THE MATTER
INTRODUCTION
Guardrails keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas. We need personal guardrails so we don’t stray into areas of life that can harm us or the people we love. It’s vital to erect guardrails around our hearts. An unguarded heart can overpower our most guarded behavior. What’s done cannot be undone. What’s said cannot be unsaid. Our behavior defines the quality of our relationships and our lives.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
When have you seen someone blow up a marriage, finances, or a career when something on their inside got loose on the outside?
Read Proverbs 4:23.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
What connections do you see between what’s in your heart and the way you behave? How has what is in your heart influenced your relationships with others? How has it influenced your relationship with God?
During the message, the Pastor said “God is more bothered by how we treat others than by how we follow religious rules.
Has a religious rule ever caused you to treat someone poorly? If so, what happened?
Read Philippians 4:6–7.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being “non” and 10 being “I’m overwhelmed,” how much anxiety are you currently experiencing in life?
Does the idea of addressing your anxiety by thanking God and taking your requests to him seem realistic? Why or why not?
Do any of these emotions regularly ding your conscience—guilt (“I owe you”), anger (“you owe me”), greed (“I owe me”), or jealousy (“God owes me”)?
What is one thing you can do this week to begin to establish a guardrail around your heart?
What can you do to take a step toward confessing if you feel guilt, forgiving if you feel anger, giving if you feel greed, or celebrating if you feel jealousy?
How can this group support you?
MOVING FORWARD
Are you angry? Do you have hurt feelings? Have you recently broken a promise? Do you have secrets? Are you obsessed with something somebody did to you? Is there stuff from your past you can’t let go of? Are you celebrating someone else’s misfortune? If everything isn’t okay in your heart, it’s time to establish a guardrail. It’s time to confess, forgive, give, and celebrate.
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23