Triggers | Kick the Habit

Main Verse:

Luke 10:27

The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Main Points:

Intentions don't accomplish anything is we don't develop the right habits.

The 5 areas of our life we need to develop healthy habits:

Heart - emotional

Soul - spiritual

Mind - mental

Body - physical

Neighbor - relational

Message Recap

We all have triggers... feelings or situations or things that pull us back into a bad habit.

Know this: you can get free and stay free!

We need to be honest about the magnitude of our emotions. Many of us try to manipulate our emotional expressions because we are afraid of being vulnerable.

There are two root triggers for most of the sins and bad habits in our lives:

GUILT & SHAME

Guilt is feeling bad about what I have done.

Shame is feeling bad about who I am.

Triggers trigger triggers.

The triggers of guilt & shame trigger other triggers in our life toward our bad habits.

In the grace of Jesus, we can set up new triggers in our life. These spiritual triggers come from God's Word and a life of conversation with God (prayer).

We need fresh revelation of God's Word in lives daily. This comes from time reading the Bible and spent in prayer asking God for clarity and guidance.

You can now have your triggers trigger new triggers toward spiritual health. New habits that are bringing your closer to God and farther from the guilt and shame.

When you say "yes" to the invitation of Jesus into His hope and life you are saved. Saved by His grace, not your works.

Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)

"8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God."

When we slip into an old habit or commit a sin, we don't need to be re-saved, we need to be REminded that we are already saved and walk in God's grace and love!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

It's never about what you need to do. It's knowing who you already are in Jesus!

There will be times of guilt and shame. We need a constant reminder of the Good News of the Gospel and God's work in our lives.

That's the new habit - set a routine of seeking God for a daily revelation of His Word through scripture.

Tip: the YouVersion Bible app has an abundance of daily Bible reading plans that include explanation and insights for life. It's a great place to start to get God's Word into a daily rhythm.

Discussion Questions

  • Which area do you struggle the most with developing good habits?

  • What does this statement mean to you?

  • Take a few moments and think about some emotional triggers in your life. Maybe some areas of guilt and shame that are felt and known. Take some time to pray for healing in your group for these emotional triggers. No one has to share the trigger(s) if they don't want to, just admit they have one or two where they need healing.

  • How do you feel when you hear about God's grace being for you?

  • How do you think God sees you?

  • What are some triggers you can set up in your life to help you develop some more healthy spiritual habits?

Amanda Majors