#2 Excuses are No Excuse
Table of Contents
Intro Session Overview Podcast (35 Min)
Leader’s Session Tips Video (1 Min)
Have you let excuses keep you from walking out God’s calling? Can you remember a time when you turned down an opportunity for fear of failure? Where was your focus when you made those excuses?
In this episode, Jeremy and Emily discuss the importance of putting your excuses behind you to follow what God has planned for you. They discuss examples in the Bible of people that made excuses in order to help you move past your excuses and move towards willingness.
Movies can be motivating, especially when they revolve around a person or group of people who step up to a greater challenge. Consider for example how movies like Rocky or Braveheart can move us! I recently rewatched The Hunger Games, a story in which Katniss, this ordinary girl from a forgotten district, inspires her entire nation to revolt against the oppressive government tyrannizing them. Katniss never asked to be chosen for this role; in fact, she did not want it. I was reminded of OM, and how, just like this ordinary young woman, we too are commissioned to impact the world around us. As the story unfolds, Katniss has plenty of excuses and even valid reasons to discontinue her journey, but she is driven by something much greater than her excuses: A belief. A conviction. A calling.
What if your life were a movie? Would it inspire? Would the main character step up or find an excuse to walk away? Your next session asks this very question. We often allow ourselves to focus on our own abilities—or lack thereof—when it comes to following God’s instruction. The main point of this session is that excuses focus on our ability to accomplish the calling, whereas willingness focuses on God’s ability to work through us.
Leader Tip: UTILIZE PRAYER POINTS
There are Prayer Points at the end of each session. Use these as you close in prayer and encourage the men to use them throughout the week. Take time for the men to choose who they will be praying for over the next two weeks and remind group members to contact those they are praying for during the week.
