WHAT ARE YOU CARRYING? Series: Bad Spirits Primary Scripture: 1 Peter 1-5 ------------------------- What good & bad spirits are you currently carrying? Fear. Anger. Resentment. Insecurity. Jealousy. Hopelessness. Some of these things have been with us for so long that we've started treating them like part of our identity. We blame our upbringing, our circumstances, our exhaustion, or the people who have hurt us. But at what point do we stop allowing the things that wounded us to determine who we're becoming? In this message of BAD SPIRITS, we're examining how destructive patterns take root, how unhealed wounds can grow into something far worse, & what it actually takes to confront the things we've allowed to live within us. ------------------------- Throughout Scripture, Jesus confronts evil directly. He names it, speaks against it, & refuses to allow it to remain unchallenged. And as followers of Christ, we're called to take seriously the things growing in our own lives. Through 1 Peter, we're reminded that Jesus hasn't simply forgiven our old lives. He's given us new birth, a living hope, & an entirely new identity. We weren't created to spend the rest of our lives making excuses for bitterness, pride, anger, division, or sin. We were created to become holy, to love one another deeply, & to reflect the character of Jesus Christ. So how do we fight & overcome these bad spirits? 1. NAME & FACE THEM through daily, weekly, & communal times of reflection. 2. INTENTIONALLY STARVE THEM by building rhythms of life that don't give evil room to grow. 3. LIVE, THINK, & BREATHE AS A NEW CREATION, becoming the holy people Christ has called us to be. Your past may explain some of what you're carrying, but it doesn't have to determine what you become. You don't have to keep living as the person you used to be. It's time to let the old life go. ------------------------- REFLECTION QUESTION What bad spirit, destructive habit, or part of your old identity have you continued allowing to live within you, & what would it look like to finally surrender it to Christ? ------------------------- DAILY SCRIPTURE READINGS & REFLECTION QUESTIONS MONDAY MORNING | PSALM 139:23-24 What good & bad things are growing in you right now that need to be honestly named before God? MONDAY NIGHT | GENESIS 4:1-10 What wound, jealousy, anger, or resentment is “crouching at your door” that you need to address before it grows? TUESDAY MORNING | EPHESIANS 4:17-32 What anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, or destructive habit are you allowing to remain long enough to gain a foothold? TUESDAY NIGHT | JAMES 4:6-10 What would submitting to God, resisting evil, & drawing near to Him actually look like tonight? WEDNESDAY MORNING | 2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5 What thought, accusation, fear, or lie needs to be taken captive & made obedient to Christ? WEDNESDAY NIGHT | GALATIANS 5:13-26 Which fruit are you feeding most right now: the works of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit? THURSDAY MORNING | COLOSSIANS 3:1-17 What old pattern needs to be put to death, & what new Christlike quality needs to take its place? THURSDAY NIGHT | ROMANS 12:1-2 What daily rhythm, environment, relationship, or habit needs to change so your mind can actually be renewed? FRIDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 1:13-25 Where are you still conforming to the person you used to be instead of becoming holy in the way you now live? FRIDAY NIGHT | 1 PETER 2:1-12 What malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander needs to be removed so you can keep growing in your salvation? SATURDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 3:8-17 Where could you repay evil with blessing, pursue peace, & respond with gentleness instead of retaliation? SATURDAY NIGHT | 1 PETER 4:1-11 What have you spent enough time doing that no longer belongs in the life God is creating in you? SUNDAY MORNING | 1 PETER 5:5-11 What anxiety do you need to cast on God, & what spiritual threat do you need to resist by standing firm in faith? SUNDAY NIGHT | 2 CORINTHIANS 5:14-21 If you really are a new creation in Christ, what part of the old you needs to stop being treated like the real you?
