Monthly Practice:
Fasting
Jan 1
-
January 28, 2023
Overview
"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."
1 Corinthians 9:27
Fasting is when we cut out something that we need for a period of time so that we can intentionally and willingly experience a greater dependence and desperation toward God.
Fasting teaches us to put aside our desires (both good and bad) for a season so that we can experience something better. We learn to hunger for the things of God more than what our flesh wants. It prepares us to fight temptation and strengthens our spiritual resolve. We refrain from eating (or consuming things like tv, social media, news, etc.) for set periods of time throughout the year to hear God’s voice more clearly and renew our spiritual hunger for His purposes in our lives.
Overview Video
Weekly Guides
Week 1
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Make sure you have access to the overview video and are able to play that for the group.
- Review the weekly Big Idea for your reference. These are intended to give you context for the week. You can choose to start with these and use them for discussion or bring them up as applicable during your Group practice time
- Read through the Group and Individual Practices ahead of time.
BIG IDEA: Fasting deepens our desire for God.
- We leverage physical hunger and weakness to develop our spiritual hunger and maturity by redirecting our appetites toward God.
- Every time you feel an unmet need, you can invite God to support and strengthen you.
- Jesus taught that fasting enables us to receive the new things God wants to do in our lives.
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Application - 40 Minutes
Group practice - do this together in Group
- WATCH the overview video together, then engage in discussion.
- REVIEW the Discussion Highlights for this week.
- ASK: Have you ever fasted before? If so, what did you fast, and how did it affect you?
- READ Matthew 9:14-17 together.
- ASK: What are some new things you are asking God for in this season?
- ASK: What are some new things that you think God wants to do in your heart?
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Individual practice - to do on your own throughout the week
- Spend some time one day this week thinking through what fasting might look like for you sometime this month. Consider your habits, tendencies, and any comforts you have become reliant on or used to. Barring legitimate health concerns or limitations, also consider some form of food fast. Return to this list a couple more times throughout the week, praying through what the best and wisest way for you to fast will be in this season.
Pray - 10 Minutes
Week 2
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Make sure you have access to the overview video and are able to play that for the group.
- Review the weekly Big Idea for your reference. These are intended to give you context for the week. You can choose to start with these and use them for discussion or bring them up as applicable during your Group practice time
- Read through the Group and Individual Practices ahead of time.
BIG IDEA: Fasting produces humility.
- We experience weakness and longing when we fast, and it reminds us that we need God.
- It is hard to realize how much we need God, and how well he can satisfy us, until we are in need.
- The limitations that fasting introduces help us see the condition of our souls more clearly.
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Application - 40 Minutes
Group practice - do this together in Group
- WATCH the overview video together, then engage in discussion.
- REVIEW the Discussion Highlights for this week.
- DISCUSS your individual fasting plans together, and whether or not you’d like to fast together as a group in some way.
- ASK: We all try to make up for our weaknesses in some way. How do you tend to hide or make up for your weaknesses?
- ASK: How do you hope fasting will help you embrace humility personally?
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Individual practice - to do on your own throughout the week
- If you haven’t already, start practicing your fast this week. Journal or take notes each day, keeping track of how you feel (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually).
Pray - 10 Minutes
Week 3
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Make sure you have access to the overview video and are able to play that for the group.
- Review the weekly Big Idea for your reference. These are intended to give you context for the week. You can choose to start with these and use them for discussion or bring them up as applicable during your Group practice time
- Read through the Group and Individual Practices ahead of time.
BIG IDEA: Fasting increases our compassion.
- God pays attention to the needy and broken.
- Experiencing greater need for a moment or season helps us to understand his heart and have compassion on those who are in constant need of help.
- Fasting increases our compassion by connecting our hearts to God and to the people in our lives who need him.
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Application - 40 Minutes
Group practice - do this together in Group
- WATCH the overview video together, then engage in discussion.
- REVIEW the Discussion Highlights for this week.
- ASK: How often do you feel that your spiritual practices cause you to look outward toward others?
- ASK: What has been the most difficult part of fasting for you? What person or group of people might experience that challenge regularly, and how can you start praying for them consistently?
- DISCUSS how your group can do something together to help someone else. This could be a Serve First project, a service project on your own, a collective gift of money or meals for someone in need, or whatever else fits the heart of your group.
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Individual practice - to do on your own throughout the week
- As a response to your fasting experience this month, do a random act of kindness for someone this week. It could be buying someone else’s meal, paying for the person behind you in a drive-thru, offering to watch someone’s children, or whatever comes to mind.
Pray - 10 Minutes
Week 4
PRE-MEETING PREPARATION
- Decide in advance what you will do this week for the Group Practice. This can be anything that builds community and relationships. If your group missed a week, you can also use this week to make up for previous content.
Connection Time - 20 Minutes
Sermon Review - 20 Minutes
(Guides are updated weekly on the Community webpage.)
Group Time - 40 Minutes
- REVIEW the previous week’s individual practice.
- In addition to the usual connection time and sermon review, use this week’s meeting to foster community and deepen relationships.
- REVIEW the memory verse and other resources for the month.
Pray - 10 Minutes
MONTHLY PRACTICE SUMMARY
Fasting deepens our desire for God, produces humility, and increases compassion.
RESOURCES
Memory Verse
"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs."
Matthew 5:3
Definition Sermons
Books
- Awakening, Stovall Weems.
- Hunger for God, John Piper.
- Fasting, Jentzen Franklin.
- Think and Eat Yourself Smart, Caroline Leaf.
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