Unpacking the Message

Our message-based small group meets on Wednesdays at 6:00 at the church.  Each week, we will be discussing the sermon.  Everyone is welcome!

September 14, 2025 / Shawn Lind

Verses to quote when in battle:

Colossians 2:13-15   

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 3:3  

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

2 Timothy 1:7

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Isaiah 54:17 

"No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me", says the Lord.

Small Group Questions – Matthew 4:1–11

1. Why is it important to remember that temptation itself is not sin? Have you ever felt guilt because you were tempted?

2. How might God use tests and temptations to strengthen our faith rather than weaken it?

3. In Matthew 4, Jesus responded to Satan by speaking Scripture aloud. Why do you think it’s important to speak God’s Word, not just think it?

4. Can you think of a time when a specific Bible verse helped you resist temptation or stay strong in a hard situation?

5. Read Hebrews 4:15–16. How does it encourage you to know that Jesus faced temptation just like us?

6. Have you ever felt like you were in a “wilderness season”? What did that feel like?

7. If the devil were looking for an “opportune time” in your life (Luke 4:13), where do you think he’d try to strike? Is there a season or anniversary that you feel a higher level of temptation?

8. Read 1 John 2:16. Which of the three—lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or pride of life—do you see most at work in our culture today?

9. Without shame or judgment, are there any other types of temptations do you feel most vulnerable to?

10. How can we guard against looking down on others who struggle with temptations different from our own?

11. What practical steps can we take to “kill temptation before it hatches”?

12. When you are in the middle of testing, what helps you draw near to God instead of pulling away from Him?

13. What is one verse you could memorize and speak out loud this week when temptation comes?