Sermon Summary

Winning starts long before the battle does. When your thoughts are grounded in God’s truth, fear loses its hold and peace takes its place. You walk in victory when you let God’s Word shape how you see your situation.

Sermon Highlights

• The Christian life is not a dance; it’s a battle. 

• You don’t change your life by changing your life. You change your life by changing your mind.

• God wants you to win on the inside before you ever see a win on the outside.

• Don’t let what you see shake what you know.

• Faith doesn’t deny what you see, it’s just confidence in what you already know.

• Don’t let your worry be louder than God’s Word.

• What you repeat in peace will become your reflex under pressure.

• If you don’t train in the Word, you won’t triumph in the wilderness.

• Pressure doesn’t remove what’s inside of you, it reveals what’s inside of you.

• Don’t let your anxiety overthrow your order. Order is the antidote to anxiety.

• It’s not just about enduring life; it’s about enjoying it. 

• If you’ll face it, God will fight with you.

Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 20:1-8 – Moses gives a battle briefing

• Matthew 4:1-11 – Jesus is tempted in the wilderness 

Sermon Discussion

Conversation Starter 

• Pastor Rich told us how his son overcame his fear of riding Space Mountain at Disney World. What’s something you didn't like as a kid that you eventually grew to love?

Discussion Questions

• “If you’ll face it, God will fight with you.” Share a time that God showed up when you faced something you’d been avoiding — and how it strengthened your faith. 

• “If you don’t train in the Word, you won’t triumph in the wilderness.” What’s one practical way you can “train in the Word” this week, not just by reading it, but by applying it? 

Additional Questions

• “Don’t let your anxiety overthrow your order. Order is the antidote to anxiety.” When have you noticed your peace start to slip because your priorities got out of order?

• “You don’t change your life by changing your life. You change your life by changing your mind.” What’s one mindset God is currently renewing in you?

Prayer Prompt

Ask your eGroup if they have any prayer requests or praise reports they’d like to share, and include them in your closing prayer. 

Pray this prayer over your eGroup to close, and/or send it to them throughout the week to let them know you’re praying for them!  

Lord, thank you for our eGroup. We’re so grateful we get to walk through life alongside each other. Please help us prioritize our relationship with You so that your Word is louder than our worries this week. Teach us how to order our priorities so we can experience peace, and remind us that we never face any challenge alone. Thank you for all the things you’ve given us to enjoy, especially our relationships with You and each other. We love you! In Jesus’ Name we pray, amen.