APPLICATION

Phase 4

In the application phase, we will continue to dive deeper into how the Word speaks to various areas of our life and ministry. As you move forward in your walk with Jesus, consider what it might look like to continue to intentionally pursue your spiritual growth and prioritize becoming a self-led learner.

Lesson 1: Prayer Life // Praying the Bible

Lesson 2: Missions//The Bible as a Missions Story

Lesson 3: Hearing the Music of the Gospel

Lesson 4: Stewardship

Lesson 5: Spiritual Gifts

Lesson 6: Conflict Resolution

Lesson 7: Lament

Lesson 8: Mental Health

Lesson 1:
Prayer Life // Praying the Bible

This session will help us form a deeper habit of prayer by weaving it into our daily and weekly rhythms. We’ll explore how to pray using Scripture—letting God speak first through His Word, and then responding by letting His truth guide and shape our prayers, both privately and in community.

Desired Outcomes

To form a habit of prayer in our daily and weekly rhythms
To incorporate God’s Word into our prayers, both privately and corporately, while also letting Scripture guide our prayers.

Guiding Questions

Think through these briefly before going into the main resource (5 minutes or less).

What keeps you from praying more?
How is prayer both speaking and listening?
What kinds of prayer come more naturally to you? What kinds are more uncomfortable? How could praying the Bible help you?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

This short blog offers a guide for how and why to pray the Bible.

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

Use these Bible passages to guide your prayers this week - privately and corporately
- Adoration
  - Psalm 139
  - Colossians 1:15-22
- Confession
  - Psalm 32
  - 1 John 1:9
- Thanksgiving
  - Psalm 23
  - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
- Supplication
  - Psalm 86
  - John 15
Practice Lament:
- When something sad happens personally or in the news, use a Psalm of Lament to pray your hurt, sorrow or even anger to the Lord, who wants you to come to Him honestly. (Psalm 6, 10, 38, 130)
30 day challenge:
- Every day set an alarm to pray for 5 minutes. Do the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and let the Holy Spirit bring attention to one line (eg: “Your Kingdom come”) to focus your prayer time.

Additional Resources

Tim Keller Sermon on the Psalms as a guide for how to pray, focusing on the idea that we can be friends with God, and friendship must be a two-way street of dialogue
Book: “Praying the Bible” – Donald Whitney

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Lesson 2:
Missions//The Bible as a Missions Story

This session will help us see the Bible not just as a book that mentions missions—but as a story about God’s mission from beginning to end. We’ll explore how being part of that mission isn’t just for a few people—it’s central to following Jesus, and God is inviting each of us to play a role.

Desired Outcomes

Come to see involvement in missions as an integral part of being a Christian. It’s a central theme of the Bible, and God invites us into it.

Guiding Questions

Think through these briefly before going into the main resource (5 minutes or less).

After reviewing the resource, discuss the following:
- The Traveling Team says, “Mission is not something the Bible merely speaks about—mission is what the Bible is about.” What arguments did they make about the Bible being a missions story? Did you find it convincing?
- What new Bible stories, passages or characters did you learn about? How did these shape a new view of God’s Word and God’s heart for you?
- The most common thing that holds us back from obedience is some kind of idolatry: worshiping something other than God. What is one thing that the Holy Spirit might be saying to you that you’re holding onto too tightly, that might keep you back from having fully open hands with God?

Go through the following resource together.

Resources

The Bible as a Missions Story (Traveling Team)

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

Pray with your discipler, a friend in Cru or another committed Christ follower. Ask God together how He might be inviting you to be involved in missions (sacrificially going or sacrificially sending)
What’s the next step of obedience for you?
- If you’ve never shared your faith, look for an opportunity to do so.
- If you’ve never given sacrificially to help send someone else on a mission trip, do so.
- If you’ve never gone on a mission trip of any kind (even stateside), consider doing it.
- If you’ve never gone on an overseas mission trip, pray about any invitations to do so.
Look at the Cru Summer Missions website and pray about your college summers. It’s OK if you don’t go on a summer mission - it’s just important to keep your hands open to the Lord with everything He puts in your life.

Additional Resources

History of Salvation (ESV.org: create an account to see this content)
Cru Summer Missions (info & application)

* Just remember, not all opportunities to give or go are created equal - all trips should involve some kind of gospel proclamation, even when service is involved.

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Lesson 3:
Hearing the Music of the Gospel

The Christian life is like a ballerina dancing to beautiful music. Instead of relying on our own strength, we should move in response to the beauty of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit, just as a ballerina moves in time with the rhythm.

Desired Outcomes

That we would live our lives in response to the beauty of the Gospel, not trying to “perform” the Christian life in our own strength.

Guiding Questions

Think through these briefly before going into the main resource (5 minutes or less).

What is the danger of merely imitating the “actions” of the Christian life? Do you see yourself doing this at times? If so, how?
How might your character, thoughts, and actions be different if you truly lived in the freedom of the Gospel?

Go through the following resource together.

Resource

Article (pdf): Hearing the Music of the Gospel
- This article has several great things to say about the freedom of the Gospel and how our brokenness points us to Christ. Since it’s quite lengthy, you may choose specific sections to talk through together or cover it in its entirety in 3-4 discipleship appointments.

If you have time, go over some of these practical steps. If not, go over them on your own this week to chat about when you meet next.

Practical Steps

This week, during your time in the Word, answer these two questions from the article and discuss together:
- How does the passage I am reading expose my brokenness and need for Christ?
- How does it point my heart to the Savior?
At the end of each day for a week, take a moment to stop and reflect with the Lord on your day. Ask him to show you the ways in which you were trying to imitate the “dance steps” of the Christian life, versus truly living out of the freedom Christ offers?

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