Sermon Study Guide | Series: Foreign Faith | Sermon: When We Lead Ourselves |
Scripture: Exodus 32; Proverbs 14:12; Romans 1:21–23; 1 Corinthians 10:6–7
Date: August 3, 2025

CONNECT - “A Personal Reflection”

This section is designed to help you relate personally to the theme of the sermon. It encourages you to reflect on your own life experiences and how they connect to the message.

Have you ever been in a season where God felt distant and your instincts told you to take matters into your own hands? Maybe it wasn’t outright rebellion, but it was subtle—cutting corners, chasing comfort, trying to manufacture certainty. In those moments, it’s easy to forget our spiritual identity. As you reflect, consider: What do you tend to turn to when God feels silent? How do those moments shape your understanding of who you really are? Share with your group.

ENGAGE - “Exploring the Scripture”

This section invites you to dive into the biblical passage, discuss its meaning, and apply it to your life through thoughtful questions.

• Read Exodus 32:1–6 together. How do you relate to the Israelites’ impatience while waiting for Moses to return from the mountain? 
  
  • What does their response reveal about the human tendency toward control and comfort?
    
    
• Consider the phrase “Humanity is religious but not spiritual”. What “religions” (habits, identities, ideologies) do people in our culture build their lives around? 
  
  • What has been a “religion” in your own life?
    
    
• Romans 1:21–23 speaks to the tragedy of exchanging God’s glory for lesser things. What do you think it looks like today to “trade God’s presence for human progress”? 
  
  • Where are you tempted to manage God instead of follow Him?
    
    
• In 1 Corinthians 10:6–7, Paul uses the golden calf story as a warning. What does this passage teach us about the long-term cost of short-term compromise?

APPLY - “Putting the Scriptures into Action”

This section challenges us to take what we’ve learned and implement it in practical ways in our daily lives.

• Identify an area in your life where you’re tempted to lead yourself instead of trust God. Is it career, parenting, image, relationships, or something else?
  
  
• Consider this diagnostic question from the message: What are the idols of your insecurities?
  
  • Write one tangible answer—something good you’ve made ultimate—that you sense God asking you to lay down
    
• What would it look like for you to practice “waiting” well this week? Consider a habit or discipline that helps you stay still long enough to hear from God.
  
  
• Are there any subtle ways you’ve blended faith in Jesus with cultural ideals of success or self-help? What does it look like to return to surrender?
  
  
• In a world that says “take control,” what would it look like for you to choose obedience over impulse, worship over worry, and Spirit over strategy?

PRAY - “Seeking God’s Guidance”

This section offers a short prayer to help us center our hearts and invite God to work in our lives through his scripture.

God, thank You that You don’t give up on us even when we give in to lesser things. Help us to see where we’ve built altars to our own insecurities. Forgive us for leading ourselves when we should have followed You. Restore in us a right identity—not based on what we’ve achieved or what we fear, but grounded in who You say we are. May we learn to wait well. To worship in the wilderness. To remember that we are Yours. Amen.

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