I QUIT: LYING. LifeGroup Study. Sunday, April 10 th

Transcription

1 I QUIT: LYING LifeGroup Study Sunday, April 10 th Welcome back to our 4-week LifeGroup series called, I Quit!. The goal of this series is to look at how to gain victory in 4 areas of our life that can cause us trouble in our relationship with God and others. Our topic this week is lying. There are realities in our circumstances and our character that push us toward lying. God wants us to be truth tellers. In this week s study we re going to explore some of the ways we lie. We re going to be challenged to give up those actions and choose instead to tell the truth. ICEBREAKER: Remember what is was like to tell a lie as a kid? Share an experience you had of telling a lie when you were young. How did the lie impact who you told it to? How did the lie impact you? PLAY VIDEO: STUDY: Webster s dictionary defines a lie as this: 1) A false statement or action especially made with the intent to deceive 2) Anything that gives or is meant to give a false impression. With that definition in mind, take a look at 10 ways we lie. After you read each definition, come up with an example scenario of when or how this kind of lie can happen. Which of these lies do you think is easiest to commit? Which might have the potential to do the most harm?

2 10 WAYS WE LIE: Source - Stephani Ericson: Utne Reader 1. THE WHITE LIE: The white lie assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth. A man who won t lie to a woman has very little consideration for her feelings. Bergen Evans 2. FACADES: A superficial appearance or illusion of something. READ about a time King David puts on a façade in 1 Samuel 21: IGNORING THE PLAIN FACTS: Hurting others through covering up for someone or something by refusing to acknowledge the evidence. 4. DEFLECTING: Any good liar knows that the way to perpetuate an untruth is to deflect attention from it. When you have no basis for an argument, abuse the plaintiff. Cicero 5. OMISSION: Omission involves telling most of the truth minus one or two key facts whose absence changes the story completely. The crudest lies are often told in silence. R. L. Stevenson 6. STEREOTYPES AND CLICHES: The stereotype explains a situation with just enough truth to seem unquestionable. Where opinion does not exist, the status quo becomes stereotyped and all originality is discouraged. Bertrand Russell 7. GROUPTHINK: A psychological phenomenon within decision-making groups in which loyalty to the group has become more important than any other value, with the result that dissent an appraisal of alternatives are suppressed. Who is more foolish, a child afraid of the dark, of the man afraid of the light? Maurice Freehill 8. OUT-AND-OUT LIES: The bald-faced lie doesn t toy with my perceptions it argues with them. It doesn t try to refashion reality, it tries to refute it. 9. DISMISSAL: Dismissing feelings, perceptions, or even the raw facts of a situation. In many cases of mental disorders, there has been a deliberate, staunch dismissal of the person s perceptions from a very early age. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. I am the Great Oz! The Wizard of Oz 10. DELUSION: The tendency to see excuses as facts, filtering out information that contradicts what we want to believe.

3 We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves. Eric Hoffer PLAY VIDEO The Family Legacy of Lying The Old Testament account of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his sons gives us a clear picture of the kind of damage that can be done when we lie. For this next part of our study we ll trace how lying becomes a pattern in Abraham s family. Take some time as a group to read each of these stories, then talk about the questions that follow. Abraham Lies to Pharaoh and the Egyptians READ Genesis 12: Using the 10 categories of lies we talked about in the first part of this study, identify what kind of lie Abraham tells to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. - How were Pharaoh and the Egyptians affected by his lie? - What was the ultimate outcome of his lie? Isaac Lies to Abimelech and the Philistines READ Genesis 26: Do you think fear is the biggest reason why we lie? Why or why not? v. 7 - Why do you think Isaac might have told the same kind of lie that his father had? - What does Abimelech say about where this lie could have led? v. 10 Jacob Lies to His Father READ Genesis 27: Using our Ways We Lie list, identify what kinds of lies Jacob tells. - How does this story teach us that lying can circumvent God s best for our lives? - How were people impacted by Jacob s lie?

4 Jacob s Sons Lie about Joseph READ Genesis 37: Using our Ways We Lie list, what kinds of lies do Jacob s sons tell him about Joseph? (vv ) - Who is impacted by their lie? - What do these stories teach us about the legacy of lies that can carry through family generations? Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7 PLAY VIDEO BECOMING A TRUTH TELLER READ Ephesians 4:21-25 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off you old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God truly righteous and holy. Stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbours the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. - Underline or circle the words or phrases in the passage that teach us about truth telling. - According to this passage, why is it important that we tell the truth? v What does Paul say is at the source of our urge to lie? - What does it mean to allow God s Spirit to renew our thoughts and attitudes?

5 READ Colossians 3:9-10 Don t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. - How does choosing to be a truth teller help us know God more? - Why is it important that we always associate telling the truth to our relationship with God? - How does telling the truth demonstrate your trust in God s sovereignty? - How does telling the truth impact other people? READ 2 Timothy 2:15-19 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behaviour. This kind of talk spreads like cancer, as in the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus. The have left the path of truth, claiming that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; in this way, they have turned some people away from the faith. But God s truth stands firm like a foundation stone with this inscription: The LORD knows those who are his, and All who belong to the LORD must turn away from evil. - What insights does this passage give us on how to be a truth teller? - What areas of life do you find can pull you away from telling the truth? - What has been a key learning for you from this session? PRAYER: Pair up with one or two other people in your group to pray. How would you like to see God grow you in giving up lying and becoming a truth teller? What would you like to see God do in your life and circumstances this week? CREEKSIDE PRAYER SUMMIT Join us for our next Prayer Summit on Sunday, May 1 st at 6:00 pm at Creekside. Mark your calendar!