The Purpose Driven Life:

Small Group: Week 1 (Purpose):

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the Water that sends out its roots to the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

Rick Warren says most of the time we Christians are answering the wrong questions. Bottom line, the central question for ourselves and the world should be, "What on earth am I here for?" In other words, what is the purpose for my life?

The writer of Ecclesiastes describes three negative effects of not knowing the purpose of your life:

• Life seems tiresome, a treadmill that doesn't go anywhere;
• Life seems unfulfilling, with nothing new and satisfying;
• Life seems uncontrollable; we can't change what's crooked.

We have two options. We can make up our own purpose to life, perhaps by throwing ourselves into our work or a hobby. Or we can seek to discover what God created us for. To do so, we must begin with God. When we know God's purpose for us:

• Life has focus, with incredible power, like a laser;
• Life is simpler; we have time to do what God designed us for;
• Life has motivation; we see need, which increases determination;
• Life is but preparation for eternity, a short prelude to forever!

Rev. Warren says, when our time on earth is over, God will ask us two questions:

1. "What did you do with my son Jesus Christ?"
2. "What did you do with your life?"

If you are trying to answer either question, now is a good time to join a 40 Days of Purpose small group as we seek together to better understand God's purpose for our lives. You may have missed the introductory week, but the five most important weeks are still ahead.

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