Welcome to the Mariners Church Life Group Leader Podcast. This weekly conversation is designed to equip and resource you to build a healthy life group community that studies God's word, practices spiritual rhythms, and changes the world together. Hello and welcome to the Life Group Leader Podcast. My name is Kirby Wood, and I'm the groups pastor here at Mariners Church, helping you guys prepare for your life group discussion this week.
Today I have with me the incredible, the one and only, Linda Vino, our mayor. I'm one and only. Truly, I'm one and only. I know it's so unique and such a great name.
So we collect a call you a Boujnov as well. Yes. If you don't know, we like to have fun here at Mariners Church, but Linda is our marriage pastor, and we've got some incredible things happening this weekend, right? Yes, we have marriage matters happening after the 530 service.
So bring your life groups. Yes. And if you'd like to step into serving, you can be there at six o'clock and help us serve the people at Marriage Matters. Absolutely.
Welcome in new couples. You know, we're running the Life Group Finder right now for lots of people to join and have new couples join in Marriage Matters. It's a great place to do a first meetup for your new couples that you might want to be joining your group. Come help us great.
We'll be there at six o'clock. And hopefully many of you are already listening to this podcast as you start to prepare and think about the week ahead. So with that in mind, we have a great message series. Marriage Matters is after the 530.
It is right. So have your life group meet you for the 530 service and then head on down to the... Marriage Matters. Perfect.
I love it. And we're so glad. I mean, so many of those of you who are listening, I know are married leaders. I mean, almost over half of our life groups are married life groups.
So many of you hopefully this applies. If you're a single person, know that there's single summit. There's all kinds of different opportunities. We've got men's women's stuff.
But Linda's here and representing you married life group leaders. And we'd love to get some people to serve. So you're single and you're not married. Do you want to hear some great information?
Be there at six o'clock. Great. So you can have a volunteer huddle. I love that.
I love that. So guys, as we think about the services ahead and what you'll be hearing this weekend, man, have I been loving this sermon series? What do you think? It's amazing.
It's just there's something for everybody. And if it's not for you, it's for someone you know. Absolutely. So it's an easy invite.
It really is. It feels super applicable to our daily lives. And especially with all the new people that are coming to our church. If you're in a life group that's been together for a long time, you might not see.
But look around on the church this weekend. There are so many new people. Say hi to a new face and know that these kind of topics are really bringing in. A lot of people are from our community that are hungry to hear what God has to say about some of the hard things that are happening in their lives.
So this one's a heavy one this weekend, but I still think there's a beautiful invitation for all of us to reflect on where in our lives we might be placing and finding idols. So this week's discussion is on addiction. And it says the title being I am addicted, but God is the conqueror. So with those things in addictions in our lives, whether that be as serious as alcohol or drug or maybe even smaller when it comes to just money or a shopping or exercise, there's so many things we can put too much time into.
So true. So true. So let's really try as life group leaders to keep this conversation, not just about the one person who's struggling with that crazy hard thing, but allow each person to you know, introspectively allow each person who introspectively or allow each person to think introspectively about themselves and what things in their life they might be wrestling with and struggling with. So let's jump in here right now as we look at lean in and as we're talking about a heavy topic, we still want to start small and fun and silly.
So what's the question here? We got that. What is something you can't go a day without? Is it coffee, social media, chocolate, chogging, honestly, everything listed here is me.
Right. Let's be realized. I need coffee every day. Unfortunately, I am one of the many millennials of the world that are very much addicted to social media and I need to lay that before the Lord and of course, chocolate, because that's, that's like a caffeine in the latter half of the day.
Mine coffee for sure. Yeah. I, I wake up and I'm just in awe of my cup of black coffee. Just love it.
So I know you're in, you do straight black, don't you? Yeah. And I almost missed a flight because I was waiting in line for coffee. I was bad.
That's a true addiction. It is. It was so bad. They called my name over the, over the intercom.
No way. And I'm running with my coffee while I was going, what kind of jerk is late for their flight? That's me. That's kind of the hope that we see and we're hoping for you guys in your life group discussions that it's lighthearted and silly.
We don't have to go deep into like some really thick things right now, but what are some of those guilty pleasures and moments that just kind of allow us to really connect with one another and see, see ourselves and each other. So that's kind of the intent behind this question. And also we know that these questions do connect to the, the larger, harder conversation. Yeah.
That we're about to have. So it's just kind of setting the stage, breaking down some walls, getting things right. So then we look down at the scripture and it's Hebrews four, 12 through 16. And we get to kind of point out how is Jesus with us in our struggles and temptations?
What do you think that people are going to highlight in this conversation? Well, I just think it's important to know as a Christ follower that Jesus was tempted. And so when we get in those situations, it's not coming from a biblical perspective of someone who has no idea. Yeah.
Right. So we get to walk people through that too, that Jesus knows the difficulty and gets to share with us how that could be a trap and how to get out of it. Absolutely. That there's always solutions.
Yeah. Absolutely. I think so often, especially like we were kind of talking about the beginning of this conversation, even like it's so easy for people to think of addiction as just one person has that problem or and it's not something that everyone has struggled with. And even if there's someone you're group who's really struggling with addiction, they might experience a deep sense of like, I'm alone in this and I can't get over this.
Right. Nobody else is doing experiencing this. Yeah. But yet we see Jesus himself, you know, he has committed and he has spoken the truth and the promise is what the word I'm looking for.
He has promised us that he's with us in our struggles and he too has experienced temptation. Right. And I think the thing I love most about scripture is that he provides an exit. Yes.
When we get in those situations regardless of of the temptation, he does provide the exit which is so valuable. Oh, thank you, Lord. Praise God. Yes.
Praise God. And so hopefully and really truly you guys, we can say this even to ourselves right even now and talking with one another, but we believe that scripture is even stronger. That scripture is what transforms us. It's beyond just our own advice.
But when we read scripture together, we really together, but also just for ourselves, we read God's word, we could be really transformed and renewed through this. So do not hesitate and know that we can summarize scripture all day long, but reading it out loud over ourselves is where it will really speak to our hearts and to our lives. It's it's the defense that we have against the enemy. Amen.
Sure. Come on. I love that. And then as we look out and we look at other people, because now we're trying to say, okay, what does temptation or what does addiction really look like?
Right. What, how do we see when people are really addicted? And it's actually oftentimes through masking and through seeking out, you know, having outlets in other places. So the question here is where do people turn to mass their pain?
What do you think is going to come out of that question there, Linda? I think the basics, alcohol, shopping, internet searching for things on the internet because we all thirst for something. And if we're not making, if we're not quenching our thirst with Jesus, then then we're going to find something else to quench that thirst. Yeah.
And I super encourage really allowing space for this conversation. You know, you think that the answers might come pretty quickly and they should. But as we kind of hear from one another, we might be illuminated something new. Like I just thought like, I might not have said work, right?
Oh, sure. But maybe somebody else might say work. Right. And then when they say work, it's like, Oh, crap.
Have I been using that to mask? You know, like when we get to listen and hear the other things that people are saying as they answer these questions, it can illuminate new things in our lives that we didn't realize that we may have been addicted to, right? So yeah, even shopping, someone's like, Oh, I didn't realize that being on Amazon all day and having a new package at my door every day was like bad. You know, like, that could be addictive.
Yeah, that could be a form of addiction. Yeah. So definitely create space in your group this week for law. Oh, as many people as we can to really share so we can kind of hear from each other.
Next up is look in. What are the temptations God is helping you overcome? Oh, I love this because we're starting with a positive, right? We're not.
We just pointed out other people's problems and then instead of being so what's yours, you know, we couldn't jump right to that, which is there no harm there. And probably people will now naturally gravitate that. But let's celebrate. Let's start.
What temptations have you seen or what temptations are you currently experiencing that God is helping you overcome? And I love starting with a positive here. Yeah. Yeah.
I just I love how it presents itself to sure that doesn't put people on defense of her make them to say feel shame. Yeah. That everybody's going to be able to share something that they're struggling with that they'd like to overcome. Yeah.
Whatever that looks like. Absolutely. And I think it really does kind of trigger us to have a more deep a more deep and like thoughtful conversation than just like, how do I mask? How do people mask their pain?
How do I mask my pain? It's like, no, let's really process through this. No, there are things in your life that God is already doing that is already working and it doesn't have to be every life group session. Doesn't have to be where do I need to grow?
You know, where do I need to be better? It's like, no, how do I celebrate what God's doing in my life? And how do I receive the grace that God's given me? Not just how do I work harder, do better.
You know, how do we receive grace and celebrate what God is doing in our lives? So I think to looking back, you can go back to your childhood or your teen years, your college days and then find things that you really were able to fill those gaps with that were fulfilling. Yeah. Right.
So it doesn't need to be something currently. You could also be something that you've overcome in the past that you can be truthful about. So good. And then we kind of pull into another, then we get to the more personal, the more maybe negative or kind of maybe just identifying some of the addictions that we ourselves are struggling with.
And what is the unhealthy pattern you need to break today? And this is so specific. It says pattern, not patterns, right? And then that you need to break today.
So, you know, there might be a lot of things going on in people's lives. There might be tons of, you know, problems or issues or things that they've been working on forever. But what is God speaking to each individual person for today? What is coming up?
Well, I think too, if you don't want to go deep like that or people don't feel like they're talking, you can flip that around and say what healthy pattern do you want to implement? Sure. That's good. I think that would be an implement.
Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. To do to do better at life, right?
What healthy pattern do you want to implement? I think that's so good. And as you guys see this very naturally moves into a repentance conversation, which is the freedom from strongholds, which to your point, Linda, is where we identify a lie that we've been believing and we replace it with a truth of God. So as you guys repent so that the practice is, this is something that I have sinned, I have fallen short and I really need help here.
Yeah. Yeah. Cardicism or judgment or? Yeah.
Yeah. Absolutely. And this is a rhythm of rooted. Yes, it is.
It is. And so you guys are familiar with this process, hopefully, with freedom from strongholds. But this is a way that we engage in it. And it doesn't have to be as like, you know, super intensive and two hours long, but it still is a natural practice that we want to be consistent and engaging in with our groups, which is repentance and saying, okay, we, we as individuals know, and if, you know, maybe you might just want to spend some time, hey, let's all write down on a piece of paper the addiction that we're wrestling.
I think that's right. You know, maybe not everybody wants to say it out loud in this moment, but let's everybody identify. It was the unhealthy pattern. Everyone write it down.
Then then after everybody writes it down, then you're like, okay, now who wants to share, you know, like, where are we today? And then let's speak the truth over the lies. And so I love that the scripture was already used by Eric this weekend, but first Corinthians 10, 12 through 13 is really a freedom scripture that he really shows that God is our conqueror. He is the one that we turn to.
So after you guys identify those strongholds, or yeah, maybe it's a stronghold or just an addiction that you really want to repent of, you know, right on the opposite side. What are you wanting to implement that? Maybe that positive pattern and then read the scripture out loud. Have everybody read it together to really solidify who God is amidst that, um, amidst that temptation or addiction.
Yeah. Perfect. Hope for you guys. Would you do anything else to add Linda as they think about this in the conversation?
How might they end this week, you think? Just I would, I would just as you normally pray through things, just encourage people to take that stronghold to God every day. Absolutely. Maybe send them a text reminder that you're praying for them.
Absolutely. And to remember that repentance should be part of our daily walk with God. Amen. Not just in our life groups.
That's so good. That's so true. And you guys were praying for you. We hope that this conversation goes well and we hope that we see many of you at marriage matters.
God bless.