We all want ‘wellness’ in our lives, but it is easy for us to find ourselves at two extremes. We either idolize wellness by making our personal self-betterment the most important part of life or we villainize wellness, seeing it as something counter to putting Jesus first. In this first message in our BE WELL series, we explore the topic of biblical wellness by going behind a question Jesus asked a man who looking for healing: “Would you like to get well?”

Groups Discussion Guide

To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.|
To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Take a few minutes with your group connecting about how they’ve been applying what they learned in the last series and how it’s going. How is everyone doing right now? 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Key Verse for the Week  

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

Matthew 6:33 

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Connect 

• Which areas of your life do you feel like you are doing well in? Which areas of your life could you do better in? 
• What causes you to put these categories of your life in either the “win” or “work on” area? 
• What is your typical approach to wellness/trying to get or be healthy? What strategy do you typically take? 
• How has this worked throughout your life? What results have you seen? 
• What relationship do you think spiritual wellness has in regard to general wellness?  

Opening Thought

The culture we live in usually has a healthy understanding that to do well, you need to be well. Many times this is seen in two perspectives: over-emphasis OR apathy. Both extremes are not the best reaction so balancing these perspectives is important to do in order to live healthy lives. Furthermore, for followers of Jesus, a problem occurs when the focus on either perspective of wellness doesn’t match up to what God says because Jesus calls us to be well with and through him! To live a life of true wellness, we must begin by rooting our spiritual wellness in Jesus, which will help us grow in the other areas of our lives.  

This leads us to our big idea for this week:  

Big Idea for the Week
We can experience true wellness through Jesus. 

Unpack 

Go around your group and have someone read each of the following verses, then discuss the connected questions. 

Read  

Romans 12:1-2 

1 Peter 5:7 

1 Corinthians 4:20 

Unpack 

• What do you think a life lived as a holy sacrifice to God looks like?  
  • In light of your answers, why does it matter that we should try to pursue wellness in our lives?  
• What barriers do you have to seeking wellness? How long do you think you’ve had these barriers and how have they affected your life so far? 

Read  

Hebrews 6:18-19 

Psalms 103:1-6  

John 8:12 

Unpack  

• Why do you think God cares about our health? How has your life reflected this? 

The verses in the book of Psalms we just read talks about the author wanting every part of their lives to be an instrument of praise to God as a result of how God has worked in his life. 

• How often have you had this same perspective? How can we each make all of ourselves instruments of praise to God when it comes to how we pursue all forms of our health? 
• What do you think following Jesus by pursuing health could look like? How could this help spread the name of Jesus to others in your overall community? 

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• How will you invite Jesus to help you with one of your barriers to seeking wellness during the next few weeks? 
• What is one realistic wellness goal you will make between now and Easter (aka the season of Lent)? 
• How can we actively support each other in these goals? 

Closing 

Read the first section to your group, then read the verse out loud to the group, and finally, move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

When we look at the topic of becoming healthy in all aspects of our lives, we have to make sure we are putting God at the center of our efforts. We can do all these things by ourselves but without listening to the way God is leading you, we miss out on where he is wanting us to walk and miss out on the most crucial aspect of the wellness he wants for us: our connection and relationship with him. Let’s move forward during this time of Lent, the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, with these things in mind. Let’s do our best to try to put practices in place that will continue into the rest of the year and will allow us to walk with Jesus even better from now on. 

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Key Verse for the Week and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Daily Devotional Verses  

Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: Isaiah 41:10 

Day 2: 1 Peter 2:21 

Day 3: John 15:7 

Day 4: 1 Corinthians 3:17 

Day 5: Psalm 73:26 

Day 6: Proverbs 3:5 

Key Verse for the Week  

Matthew 6:33 

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”