Character Reclaiming Six Endangered Qualities

Character Copyright © 1997 by Willow Creek Association Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 ISBN-10: 0-310-26602-5 ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26602-0 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other- except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Interior design by Rick Devon & Michelle Espinoza Printed in the United States of America 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 /?DCI/ 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you. SESSION 1 CHARACTER COURAGE THE BIG PICTURE My dad fought in World War II, so I grew up listening to war stories. His stories about human courage in the face of fear and struggle had a magnetic effect on me-I could not pull away from his side when he told them. My father was sort of an eccentric person. He once bought a sailboat in Ireland and sailed it across the Atlantic Ocean, enduring a five-day hurricane and facing many other challenges on the open sea. Before he set sail he collected and read a small library of books on sailing, so he had some idea what he was in for. But it was still a trip to be remembered for a lifetime. Over the years I think I have read every book my dad collected in anticipation of that journey. He had books about ocean crossings, shipping disasters, the sinking of the Titanic, and all sorts of other ocean adventures. Whenever I would get to the part where the ship was going down and there weren't enough life jackets, my heart would start to race and my throat would get dry. When some guy said bravely, "Take my life jacket," committing himself to the cold, shark-infested waters of the ocean, something happened inside of me. Every time I read an account of someone saying, "Take my seat in the life boat. I'll go down," my breath would get short and my pulse would start to race. This was real-life courage! The truth is, anytime I hear about someone demonstrating courage rather than cowardliness, something happens inside of me. I find myself saying, "That's what I want to be like. I wish I had more of that in my life. I don't want my life debilitated by fear. I don't want to live life paralyzed by worry. I don't want to compromise my convictions. I don't want to quit when I face difficult challenges. I don't want to be a coward. I want to be a person of courage!" A W I D E A N G L E V I E W 1. Describe an act of courage you have witnessed. What are some of the ordinary, day-to-day acts of courage that people perform without ever being noticed? A B I B L I C A L P O R T R A I T 2. The apostle Paul exhibits a spirit of courage and deep commitment in this passage. What seems to drive or motivate him to remain courageous? How does the example of Paul challenge or move you to want to be more courageous? 3. This passage says God does not put a spirit of "timidity" or cowardice in His followers. Illustrate what you think a spirit of timidity looks like in one of these areas: - In a marriage - In a friendship - In the marketplace - In raising children S H A R P E N I N G T H E F O C U S Read Snapshot "Spiritual Courage" 4. Respond to this statement: Christianity is for cowards; it is a crutch for the weak! How did you exercise courage when you first became aHybels, Bill is the author of 'Character Reclaiming Six Endangered Qualities', published 2005 under ISBN 9780310266020 and ISBN 0310266025.