Lighthouse Baptist Church
and Christian Academy

Practice giving preference to others

The Lord sneers at those who sneer at him, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.

Proverbs 3:34 (CEV)

• What is the advantage to practicing humility?
• Have you ever experienced God's displeasure by acting in a self-centered manner?
• What can you start practicing to think of others more?

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 12:10 (NIV)

• How should we view the members of our church family?
• What can you do to practice humility in our church family?

Fellowship (Membership) – Your heavenly Father's goal is for you to mature and develop the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, many Christians never mature. They only grow older. Spiritual growth is not automatic. It takes commitment and intentional work. Is there an area in your life where you need to stop thinking your way and start thinking God's way?

Practice learning from others

Conceited people do not like to be corrected and they never ask for advice.

Proverbs 15:12 (GN)

• How do you normally behave when someone close to you corrects you?
• How would someone close to you answer the first question "You are normally conceited, you are sometimes conceited, you are never conceited?"

If you reject criticism, you only harm yourself, but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.

Proverbs 15:32 (NLT)

• What is the effect of rejecting constructive criticism?
• What is the benefit of accepting the lessons learned from others?

Discipleship (Maturity) – Benjamin Franklin said "experience keeps a dear school, but a fool will learn no other." Loners have no choice, they must learn by experience. Consider joining one of our small groups to bond with other believers and learn from their lessons of life.

Practice admitting you're wrong.

Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.

James 5:16, (Msg)

• What has God promised?
• What can you do to develop this as a common practice?

If you don't confess your sins, you will be a failure. But God will be merciful if you confess your sins and give them up.

Proverbs 28:13 (CEV)

• What's the advantage to confess your sins to someone else?
• What's the difference between confessing your sins and giving them up?
• How does refusing to give up your sin affect your worship?

Worship (Magnification) – Offering yourself to God is what worship is all about. Focusing on God is loving your relationship with Him. It's impossible to love God and harbor sin. The Bible says:

Focusing on yourself is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, and ends up thinking more about self than God.

Rom. 8:7 (Msg)

Practice surrendering your plans to God.

This is what the Lord requires from you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to live humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 (GW)

• What is more important to you, completing your tasks or being available to be used by God for His purpose?
• Why is humility an important ingredient in planning your day?
• What three things do you need to do today satisfy what God requires of you?

All who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace.

Psalm 37:11 (LB)

• What are the benefits of including God in your daily planning?
• Is there an area in your life where you are missing God's wonderful peace?

Service (Ministry) – Pray:

Turn me away from wanting any other plan than Yours.

Psalm 119:37 (LB)

Today, if you have already planned-out your day, stop and ask God how His will for your life fits with your schedule? Someone may need your help and God's plan may include you ministering to the hurts and pains of a friend. You must be willing to be interrupted. Kindness doesn't happen on your schedule. It happens on their schedule. That's why they need kindness. At that moment, you've got to drop everything you've got.

Practice real love

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love.

1 John 3:18 (Msg)

• What does it mean to practice anything i.e. piano, football, sports, humility?
• What's the difference between talking about love and practicing real love?
• What are some possible ways that you can express humility to others?

Evangelism (Mission) – Since you are one of God's children, you need to practice real love. God loves people and relationships. Shift from self-centered to other-centered thinking. The only way you can make this paradigm switch is by a moment-by-moment dependence on God. Every journey begins with a single step. What steps can you take to deepen your humility?

Personal Application and Commitment

Anytime you get disconnected from Jesus Christ, you're going to get under stress. And every time you get reconnected to Jesus Christ under His yoke, the stress level is going to go down in your life. He says, "My yoke is easy." Most of you are thinking, "My yoke isn't easy. I've got a heavy schedule. I can't even tell you all the stuff I have to get done this next week. It's a heavy load." Is your life a heavy load? It's your yoke, and not God's. You're following your plans for your life, which God never intended for you to do, instead of His plans.

Humility is giving up control of your life to God your creator who made you. That's the ultimate act of humility. "God, You call the shots. You're in charge. I'm yoking up with You. I'm connecting to You."

Which of these four habits do you need to work on this week? How quickly do you adjust to the needs of others around you? Do you give deference to their preference? How eager are you to listen and to learn from correction? Do you get defensive? How quickly do you admit it when you are wrong? Have you ever done that? It takes courage to be humble. How willing are you to surrender your plans to God? God says, "The people that I treasure the most are the humble.