Margin – Week 4

Pastor Craig is going to close out the Margin sermon series this weekend by discussing the importance of creating moral margin in our lives. While there are many different facets of morality, Craig has chosen to focus on sexual immorality in this message due to the fact that sexual sin impacts so many people and typically has long-lasting effects.

In this message, we are going to learn the way to create moral margin is to simply put distance between ourselves and temptation. Craig will be using a number of scriptures in his sermon including James 1:13-15 and 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. You might consider studying these passages to help you as your prepare to lead your LifeGroup through this message.

Also, because of this week’s subject matter of sexual immorality, I want to encourage you to be very sensitive as you discuss this topic with your LifeGroup. Be prepared as some people will feel led to share the pain that sexual sin has caused in their lives, while others will open up and confess areas of sexual immorality that they are struggling with. If you lead a LifeGroup that consists of married couples, dating couples or mixed singles, feel free to split the men and women up during your meeting time. Sometimes when it comes to this topic, it is easier for men to be more open with other men and women to be more open with other women. Just use your best judgement in how to handle this topic and be sure and spend time in prayer asking God to guide you and give you wisdom and discernment while you lead your LifeGroup.

Finally, here are a few of the questions that you can expect to find in this week’s Talk It Over study guide that will help you in preparing to lead your LifeGroup.

• Why do you think sexual sin is such an easy trap for most people to fall into?
• In what ways does the world’s view of morality conflict with God’s view?
• What are some of the defenses and safeguards you have in place that help put distance between you and sexual immorality?
• In what areas of your life are you lacking moral margin? How can you go about creating that margin?