No Big Deal…Until It Is – Healthy Body

(Message 3) Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should. There are unhealthy choices then there are unholy choices. Join us as we look at the difference and how caring for your body can be a spiritual pursuit. #GCNBD

Is it beneficial?

Will it enslave me?

Honoring God With Our Body:

We make progress, not perfection
We take a day off
We become a living sacrifice

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Key Scripture:

1 Corinthians 6:12 (NLT)

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

1 Corinthians 6:13–20 (NLT)

13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

Romans 12:1 (NLT)

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Start talking. Find a conversation starter for your group.

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being you are on death’s doorstep and 10 being you are ready to run a triathlon, what’s your number? Are you happy with that number? What one thing could you do this year to improve that number?

Start sharing. These questions are to help get your group thinking and to create openness.

Read 1 Corinthians 6:12. As Christians are we “allowed to do anything?” Troy mentioned 2 questions that Paul taught the Corinthians to ask. Is it beneficial? And will it enslave me? How would those 2 questions help you make decisions in some of the gray areas of your life?
Read 1 Corinthians 6:13-20. What mistake were the Corinthians making? How were they using their Christian liberty as an excuse for sin? Have you ever been guilty of that?
Do you think of your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit? If so, how does that change how you view your body?
What does it mean that “you don’t belong to yourself, for you were bought with a high price?” How does that motivate you to honor God with your body?
Read Romans 12:1. What does it look like for your body to be a living sacrifice?
Is there an area of your life where you need to make progress in honoring God with your body? What can our small group do to help you in that effort?
Do you take a weekly Sabbath day? Why is it important to do so?

Start doing. Commit to a step and live it out this week.

This week, take a sabbath day and keep it holy, just as God commands you.

Start praying. Be bold and pray with power.

Praise God that He has purchased you with such a high price, the life of Jesus Christ. Ask Him to help you to honor Him with your body, which is to become a living sacrifice.

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