Week 2

• Share a time while growing up that you learned the truth of you sow what you reap?

Key Thought: Sin always costs more than you want to pay and keeps you longer than you want to stay. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

• Share one or two ways you’ve experienced the truth as an adult of you reap what you sow. What did you learn from your experiences?

Take a few minutes to read the following Scriptures: Judges 4:1-23 Key Thoughts: Beware the viscous cycle. Sin leads to pain. Sowing selflessly leads to reaping generously. God became our deliverer.  

• Is there an area of your life where you are living right now like there are no consequences to your actions? If so, how are your actions affecting you?

• What pain has sin caused in your life and in the lives of those you love?

• What are you sowing in your life right now? Are you sowing the type of things you want to reap? Why or why not?

• Jayson said the great truth about grace is that there’s

never a catch. How does that statement make you feel?

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2 (NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, (that’s what I should reap for what I’ve sown, death) but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

• What steps will take to ensure you’re sowing the right things in your life?

Final Thought: There is always a price for sin, but Jesus paid the price. He stood in our place and received the punishment that we deserved so that we could receive the free, unmerited, undeserved gift of God: His grace.

For Further Study

Open • If you wrote a song about your life, what would be the title?

Read Judges 4:1 – 5:31 Explore • Why did the Lord sell Israel into the hands of Jabin, a Canaanite king?

(4:1-2)

• Why did the Israelites cry to the Lord for help? (4:3) • What does this passage tell us about Deborah? (4:4-5) • What message from the Lord did Deborah give to Barak? (4:6-7) • How did Barak respond to the message that Deborah gave him? (4:8) • Why did Barak want Deborah to go to war with him? (4:8) • For what reason did Barak not receive the glory for his victory over

Israel’s enemy? (4:9) • What did Sisera do when he discovered that Barak had gone to Mount

Tabor? (4:13) • What encouragement did Deborah give Barak in the battle against Jabin’s

army? (4:14) • What happened when Barak led Israel against their enemy? (4:15) • What happened to Sisera when he went to Jael’s tent to escape Israel’s

troops? (4:18-21) • What is the unifying theme of Deborah’s song? (5:1-31)

• What is the purpose of Deborah’s song? (5:2-3) • What did Deborah mean by, "The stars fought . . . against Sisera"? (5:20) • How did Deborah conclude her song? (5:31) Reflect • What does this passage reveal about God’s providence?

• What does Barak’s request of Deborah reveal about his trust in God? • In what circumstance of your life has it been difficult for you to trust the

Lord? • What can we learn from Barak’s negative example? • What character traits did Deborah have? • What have you learned from this passage about God’s view of women? • With what situation in your life do you need to trust the Lord more? • What enemy are you facing? • How should we respond whenever the Lord delivers us from an enemy? • If you wrote a song about God’s work in your life, what would be its

theme?

Apply • What specific steps could you take in the next several days to entrust a

problem or enemy to the Lord?

• What could you do this week to praise the Lord for His faithfulness in your life?