Introduction:

As you get started, catch up on how y’all are doing since you last met. Celebrate how God has been at work in your lives. Using the Galatians 5 passage from last week, take time to practice confession of sin. How did it go in uprooting these areas from your lives?

Biblical Foundations:

God doesn't just call us to stop sinful patterns—He wants to grow godly virtues and behaviors in their place. If confession and repentance are about removing the weeds of sin from our lives, replace is about feeding ourselves with new truth, new healing, new grace and new actions. The Christian life isn't merely about what we avoid but about what we embrace.

Romans 6.11-14 In the same way, count yourselves ___________ but _____________ in Christ Jesus. Therefore ____________ in your mortal body so that you ________ its evil desires. Do not ______________ as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who ____________________; and offer every part of yourself to him ________________________. For sin shall no longer __________________ because you are not under the law, but under _______________.

Titus 2.11-14 For the _____________ has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to __________________________, and to live ______________________________ lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to __________________ from all _________________ and _________________ for himself a people that are his very own, _________________ what is good.

Ephesians 4:22-24 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to _________ off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to _________ _________ the new self, created to be like God in true ______________ and __________________."

Colossians 3:12-14 "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, _________ _________ compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues _____________, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Questions for Discussion: What stands out to you from these verses? How would you contrast confession and repentance with replacement?

Modeling:

For the Leader: Share your own experience with the principle of replacement. Describe how you've learned to not just avoid sin but to actively cultivate godly virtues and habits in its place.

Practice:

Here are a few tools that God uses to replacing a lifestyle of sin with a lifestyle of holiness and love. One of them is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

Underneath our sin patterns are often places where we are brokenhearted by the pain done to us or those we love, fears, lies or other anxieties. When we confess and repent of our sin, Jesus wants to replace it with healing for our broken hearts (Luke 4.18).

Use this guided prayer to help you identify the pain, fear, lie or anxiety that is driving you to the sin.

“Jesus, thank you that you see my pain, fears, lies I have believed and my anxieties. You want to heal me. As I confess and repent of my sin, I open up my heart and life to you in a fresh way and ask for you to heal my heart. Would you show me the pain, fears, lies and anxieties that I am walking in and would you minister to those places with your healing presence and truth.”

Take time to sit in silence for 1-2 minutes and listen to the Lord. Pay attention to what you sense the Holy Spirit doing in you and speaking to you during this time. After a minute or two have each person in the group share what they sense the Spirit speaking or doing in them.