Slaying Dragons: Gluttony (Maybe With a Little Self-Control)

1. Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt like you were giving in to gluttony? What happened?

2. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

In the message, we heard “How do you fight the dragon of gluttony? Maybe with a little self-control”. What do you think about the idea that the “way out” God might be providing to a tempting situation is to exercise some self-control?

3. Revisit these verses from 2 Peter 1:3-9 (it’s a long one!):

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 

–What do you think about the idea of “adding-on” something like self-control to help you live a godly life?

4. The challenge from this message is: This week, choose to exercise a little self-control. What would it look like for you to take up that challenge this week?

5. The extra challenge from this message is: Maybe give up something for Lent. What do you think about the idea of giving up something (like chips or chocolate or coffee) for the forty days of Lent as a way of exercising some self-control and to show that you love God more than those things?