Discovery Time: Persevering in My Faith

Objective:

Based on what you have learned from “Attaining perseverance” and “How to maintain your faith” you will come up words of God to encourage yourself should you encounter challenges or temptations in you life.

·         Your counselor will divide you into small groups of two or three members each.

·         Read through each situation below that you may encounter during your lifetime. Discuss with your partner which Bible verse(s) that can best help you to persevere in your faith at the time of challenge/temptation.

·         Determine what kind of attitude you need to have to overcome the thought of giving up on God.

Scenarios:

1.       Recently, you heard indirectly how people were spreading really bad rumors about you. At first, you did not care that much about people’s talk because your conscience is clear. However, the rumors are starting to bother your family. You feel sorry for your parents, terrible for being judged wrongly, and angry at a couple of church members for making such untrue remarks about yourself. You wonder why is God allowing this thing to happen to you?

2.       Your best friend and spiritual companion since elementary years had just passed away in an accident. You are totally shocked and bewildered that God should take your friend away just like that. Of all the young people you know, there is no one more Christ like than this friend of yours. Where is God?

3.       You thought you could handle being on your own away from church, but now you have noticed how far God seems to you. Now that you are working hours away from any TJC, you are beginning to pray less and less. You don’t feel motivated to read the Bible or listen to the sermon tapes the church sent you. In fact, you don’t feel any different from those unbelievers around you at work. What’s happening to you? How can you keep up with your faith?

4.       You have always respected this worker in church. He has always been your role model whom you want to imitate. However, you have just found out recently that this worker did something very ungodly. And he eventually left the church. You are completely puzzled as to how this thing could happen to this once faithful worker of God. How can you trust any worker in the future? How are you supposed to prevent yourself from falling too?

5.       This is your last semester in college. All of your friends have already found a job, except you. You have been praying hard for God to help you find a job. You felt confident about two of the interviews but no one has given you any offer yet. What’s happening? Isn’t God listening to you?

6.       It must have been eight months since the last time you prayed. You don’t bother to pray because you think God would not listen to a terrible sinner like yourself. You knew too well that you had no one else to blame except yourself for the mistake you made. It is just so much easier to stay away from the church and those “holy” people so no one would have to ask you why you were not coming to church like before. But then, that emptiness in your heart is getting so great that you don’t know how to fill it. You know you don’t want to continue to sin but how are you supposed to get back to God?