Message Series // Empty Part 1
Message Date // May 10, 2020 (Scotty Priest)
Big Idea
Over the past couple months, life has been turned upside down for almost all of us. The pandemic has led to a season that has required things of us we never expected. Parents have had to adjust to a life of managing homeschooling and work. Business has changed, leading to new work environments, and even potential job loss. For some life has ramped up, and for others life has come a boring halt. We have been living differently, and in a lot of ways we are tired. We are feeling dry, depleted…EMPTY. Along with all the empty streets, stadiums, schools, offices, and bank accounts…our souls are empty too. The weight of uncertainty and the mundane of the messy middle has left us depleted. We had plans, we were motivated…but days have turned into weeks and weeks have turned into months…and we’ve grown tired…EMPTY. Where do we go from here?
“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand. Then you will be made complete with all fullness of life and power that comes from God.” – Ephesians 3:19
Discussion
As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months during this pandemic season, how have you really been feeling in this time? What areas in your life do you feel like you are running on empty?
Read John 4:4-26. In this story, we are read about an encounter Jesus has with a “woman at the well”. In what ways has this woman been trying to fill the emptiness in her soul? In all humility, we are often like her…trying different things to fill us up when we are running on empty. What are some different ways our culture tries to “fill up” that aren’t healthy?
When we are running on empty, what we fill our lives up with matters. Different healthy ways we can take care of ourselves are…
- DETOX and DETACH – Take a break from or give something up for a while. (1 Peter 2:11)
- DECLARE the CHARACTER of God and the BLESSINGS of God – Developing a posture of thinking about and vocalizing who God is and what He has done for you. (Psalm 107:9)
- DEVOUR God’s Word – Read the Bible and apply it to how you are living. (Jeremiah 15:16)
- DO something for someone – There is nothing that can fill you up more than when you serve someone else.
(John 4:34)
Of these 4 healthy ways to approach our emptiness, which one have you tended to lean on the most in the past? What healthy approach is tougher for you to do that would be huge for you to start incorporating in your life?
Next Steps
Even when we feel empty, it is important that we have the strength to take next steps toward filling ourselves up in healthy ways. What is something you have been doing to fill the emptiness that hasn’t been healthy? What is one next step you can take to steer that toward a more healthy way God desires of you? How can your small group help you take this step?
