You Are What You Eat

We all gotta eat! But what’s the best way to navigate our relationship with food? There are endless approaches to feasting and fasting, but if we are not careful, we can miss the beautiful simplicity of God’s gift of food. In this second message in our BE WELL series, we’ll explore the connection between food and faith and see how Jesus not only invites himself to our meals but wants to be the source of our ultimate nourishment! Watch Full Service You Are What You Eat Groups Discussion Guide To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here. To view a .docx version of this guide, click here. Introduction  Last week we talked about evaluating how everyone is doing with their wellness and asking everyone to take an honest look at themselves. This week let’s start by following up on that conversation: How has the last week helped you recognize aspects of your wellness that you have needed to address? Take a few minutes with your group to talk about this and ask people to share, if they are willing.  After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.   Key Verse for the Week   *Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week.  1 Corinthians 10:31   “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  **When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us.  Connect    What is your relationship with food like currently?   Take a moment to reflect on your life in relation to food and health. Where do you think your perspective on food came from originally?   How has this caused you to react positively or negatively to the idea of what nutritional health looks like?  What else in your life influences your perspective on food? Why are these so influential in your life?  Opening Thought   Food is something that we all need in our lives but people have different views on it. Some people see it as something you should be careful about using too much while others see it as something you should indulge in however much you want. Either way, sometimes we can attach too much meaning (positive or negative) to food while ignoring what God says about it. Food is one more way God draws us near to him.  This leads us to our big idea for this week:   Big Idea for the WeekWe can enjoy food as a good gift from Jesus  Unpack  Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions.  The first verses we are about to read comes right after the Jewish people (referred to as ‘Hebrews’ or ‘the people of Israel’ at this time in history) were delivered out of slavery in Egypt. As you read, pay attention to the way the people of Israel interactions happening in this story.  Read   Exodus 16:1-12  Unpack  What do you think these verses say about how God cares for his people?   How often do you believe that God will provide for you in your physical needs? Does your life reflect this?  What could this say about God’s desire for us to trust him with our wellness?   Read  Romans 12:1  1 Timothy 4:4-5  Unpack   In what ways do you view your body as a living and holy (meaning “set apart”, unique, or separate) sacrifice to God?   Why does this matter when thinking about food wellness?    How can eating food be a form of worship and gratitude to God? How could thinking this way influence how you view and interact with food?  Read   Mark 7:14-20  John 6:35  Matthew 4:4  Unpack  How does having a healthy understanding of God’s gift of food help guide you to look for nourishment in Jesus?   How can viewing food with this in mind help you become a more mature follower of Jesus? What should be done when you become more mature in following Jesus?   Apply  Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be:  How will you take steps to remind yourself that food is a good gift from God this week?  What is one way you will look to be nourished by Jesus this week? How will you take steps to work out this nourishment?  How will we, as a community, support each other in how we take care of ourselves?  Closing  Read the first section with your group, then move to the Prayer and Verses section:  When we remember that food is a good gift meant to lead us to God, we can see one more aspect of this world that God uses to show us he loves us and desires for us to be with him. This week, try to place God at the center of how you view and interact with food. Spend time with him when you eat and remember that Jesus is good and wants us to follow him so we can have, as Jesus said, “a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10). Let’s try to begin taking steps towards this kind of life this week together.   Prayer and Verses  Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group.  Daily Devotional Verses   Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below.  Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned.  Day 1: Matthew 6:25  Day 2: Matthew 5:6  Day 3: Psalm 107:9  Day 4: 2 Corinthians 9:10  Day 5: 1 Corinthians 6:12  Day 6: Psalm 145:15-16  Key Verse for the Week  1 Corinthians 10:31   “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  The post You Are What You Eat appeared first on Journey of Faith.