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Becoming Real With God

Becoming real with God…

Starts with a desire to stop playing pretend

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 1 CORINTHIANS 13:11 ESV

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. MATTHEW 23:27-28 NLT

And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life. ROMANS 2:16 NLT

Changes the way I want to worship

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. LUKE 18:9-14 NLT

The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth. PSALM 145:18 NLT

Creates a desire to be real with other Christians

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” MARK 2:17 NLT

We confess our sins to God to be forgiven

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 JOHN 1:9 NLT

… faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. JAMES 2:17 NIV

We confess our sins to each other so we can heal and change

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. JAMES 5:16 NLT

We get real so we can heal

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a quiet place that will help you listen to whatever God may want to say to you. Let your thoughts and feelings become still. Take some deep breaths or go for a walk if you think it will help you to clear your heart and mind so that they become calm. When you are ready, pray that God will guide your time with Him. What are your thoughts and feelings about being real with God and not being a hypocrite? What do they reveal about how authentic you believe your relationship with God is? Ask God to show you what hinders you from being more honest with Him. How does participating in communion at church help you to trust in the safety of opening up to Him? Next, reflect on how being real with God has helped you to become more honest with others. How has that enabled you to heal and grow as a person? Pray and ask God to help you identify any sin that you need to confess, both to Him (for forgiveness) and to someone else (for healing). Ask Him to show you who would be safe to confess to, then ask God for His help and courage to actually confess. Close your time by asking God to show you an area in your life where you are not being real with Him. What is something you can do that will help you grow in this area and then take that action? Commit to utilizing God’s help to grow in this area. Thank Him for your time together, writing any reflections in the space below.

Discussion Questions

Choose a couple of the following questions from each section that best fit your group. Or, have everyone read the questions, choosing which one(s) from each section that they feel led to respond to. *For this week, be sure to leave plenty of time for question 7.

  1. START HERE: If you could be the main character in any movie, which would you choose?
  2. START HERE: What was your experience of church growing up?
  3. START HERE: How has playing pretend at Church in the past kept you from a deeper relationship with God?
  4. KEEP GOING: Read Luke 18:9-14 (NLT) — It’s easy to pick on the pride of the Pharisees but take a moment to examine your heart. Where do you find yourself acting like them, even if only in your thoughts and in your heart?
  5. KEEP GOING: Recall someone in your past with whom it was not safe to be real. How do you wish their response had been different in order for you to feel safe?
  6. KEEP GOING: Why do you think God cares so much about you being real with him if he already knows the truth?
  7. LIVE IT OUT: Read James 5:16 (NLT). We confess our sins to God to be forgiven, but we confess our sins to each other, so we can heal and change. Gather into smaller groups of 2-3 (same gender), and practice a time of confession with each other. (NOTE: While someone is sharing, remain a safe space for them by offering them the grace and love of God. This is not a time to correct, excuse sin, or give advice, but a time to love people by listening well. After each person confesses, pray God’s forgiveness and healing over that person, and then create space for the next person to share.)
  8. LIVE IT OUT: After confession, come back together as a group. Without sharing the details of what was confessed in private, what did you experience during this time of confession?