Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Leadership can be a difficult thing. This is made more difficult due to the fact that everyone of us is a leader. You don't think so? Well every morning, when you start your day, you must take the lead. You must decide so many things as you proceed through the day that one thing is quite clear, if nothing else, you are leading your life. Even if you turn over the leadership to someone else, there are still many times when the decision as to what you should do falls into your hands. Our thought for today is that, no matter what form of leadership you have, some things must never change.
In the church this phrase has led to all kinds of trouble which we will look at over the next couple weeks. It feels good to think that things don't change. The problem is that our subject tells us that some things don't change, not all things. Jude makes it clear that the foundation of our faith is not something that has evolved through the years. The content of our faith was 'once for all' delivered and has not changed since the apostles spelled it out. There are many who would distort our faith but the clear teaching of scripture lays out the things we should believe. It allows for differences in many ways but the foundations are strong. Among them is that salvation comes through the shed blood of Jesus and does not include human merit as many believe in this world. That the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus is coming again are two more verities that have not changed.
The problem is that there are not as many things that must not change as we think. However, it is necessary to search through our lives and make sure that, as we grow in the Lord, we are not allowing things to slip and our lives to turn back to the kind of life we led before becoming Christians. It is easy to do. Just don't give much thought to it and you will find yourself allowing for all kinds of things to crowd out your devotion to Jesus. Things like not reading your Bible or not praying as often as you can.
An interesting discussion at any point in leadership is to try and discover those things that must never change. You might be surprised, as you study scripture, how few those things are. In any event, I suggest that you take inventory of your life and mark out the things you think should never change. Be careful to not allow human tradition to dictate what those things are.
May God bless you as you take stock of that life you are living this week.
Theo
Dear Small Group Leader (or soon to be Facilitator)
Please allow everyone in your group to answer the Quick Question. It will get things started on the right foot, encouraging quieter ones to open up. Please do not require everyone to answer every question. They may not be ready to share yet. Also please allow at least 5-10 minutes at the end of your study so as many as would like to can respond to the REFLECTION question. This may be the most important time in your small group study. Thank You
SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY
Please Read: Jude 1-16
QUICK QUESTION: If you could live your life over again, what is one thing you would change?
How does Jude describe himself?
What does Jude mean by godless?
What relationship do godless people have with God's will?
What does Jude want his readers to remember about history?
To what does the writer liken godless people and why?
What can we learn from history?
What kind of things have happened in your life that have helped you get better at living it?
REFLECTION: What can you do to keep from repeating the mistakes of your own personal history?
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