Bible Study Lessons | Compassion Back Issues | Drug/Alcohol Bible Study Lessons

GRACE OASIS BIBLE STUDIES

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Acceptance and Serenity: The grace of God helps keep me from going crazy over the way things should be and to trust God with the way things actually are.

[AS-1] AWARENESS, ACCEPTANCE, AND ACTION: THE THREE A’S – When I go right from awareness of a problem to acting on that problem, without first accepting that problem as reality, I can really get myself messed up
[AS-2] FINDING GOD IN THE LOWEST TIMES OF MY LIFE – When I accept the painful realities of life along with the pleasant ones I discover new dimensions of God’s love for me
[AS-3] JESUS FREED ME TO BE TRULY HUMAN – If I’m going to live in serenity I need to accept all of my emotions, pleasant and unpleasant, as part of the gift of being human
[AS-4] LIVING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY SIN / LIVING IN GOD’S GRACE – Just because I’m experiencing some painful consequences from my sins it doesn’t mean I’m being punished for my sins; God’s grace can turn even these painful circumstances into a blessing
[AS-5] SERENITY AND ACCEPTANCE – What exactly is serenity, and how does it happen?
[AS-6] SERENITY WITH PAINFUL AND GUILTY MEMORIES – I used to do harmful and crazy things to try to escape my memories; now Jesus is showing me how his grace helps me live without regret
[AS-7] SLOWING DOWN MY RACING THOUGHTS – God is helping me handle my painful memories without the panicky thrashing around that I’ve gotten accustomed to
ENTIRE SET OF "ACCEPTANCE AND SERENITY" LESSONS

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Fear of Deprivation: The fear of “losing out” keeps addictions going; trusting that “the Lord will provide” helps settle me down and be content.

[FD-1] AFRAID OF DEPRIVATION? COME TO JESUS FOR THE FULL LIFE – Being sure of Jesus’ love frees me from the tyrannical fear of “losing out”
[FD-2] DON’T LIVE IN FEAR OF BEING DEPRIVED – Once I start to trust that Jesus actually wants me to have a complete and joyful life, I can quit my frantic efforts to try to have it all
[FD-3] JESUS IS LORD OF MY LOSSES – Life always includes losses; I need Jesus to keep me from unhealthy ways of dealing with loss
ENTIRE SET OF "FEAR OF DEPRIVATION" LESSONS

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Letting Go of Resentments: My life is no longer ruled by resentment and self-pity as I learn what forgiveness is really all about.

[LG-1] HOW DO I FORGIVE? – Some help from God’s word on the process of freeing myself from resentments through forgiveness
[LG-2] LOVE YOUR ENEMIES – There are people who don’t care about me and people who would like to harm me.  I need God’s help to love them and at the same time protect myself from their evil
ENTIRE SET OF "LETTING GO OF RESENTMENTS" LESSONS

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Recovery Slogans, Terms and Concepts: There is a lot of wisdom in the sayings of recovery groups, because they echo the wisdom of the Bible.

[RS-1] “BLACK AND WHITE” THINKING VS. GRACE THINKING – God’s perfect love for me frees me from the burden of perfectionism
[RS-2] CLAIMING MY ADDICTION, CLAIMING JESUS’ VICTORY – Should I simply say, “I am an addict”?  Should I say something like, “I am victorious over the power of addiction through Jesus”?  You decide!
[RS-3] “CURED”? – Achieving sobriety doesn’t mean it’s all over; my recovery is an ongoing process
[RS-4] DETACHMENT WITH LOVE – I not only need God’s help to stay free from my own insanity, I need his help to stay free from other people’s insanity
[RS-5] “FAKE IT ‘TIL YOU MAKE IT” -- The grace of God frees me to grow into faith and sincerity, instead of demanding that I be faithful and sincere already
[RS-6] H.A.L.T. – I’m inviting relapse when I let myself get hungry, angry, lonely and tired; God invites me to love and take care of myself
[RS-7] HEALING FOR TERMINAL UNIQUENESS – If I keep on assuming that I’m an exception to most rules I’ll stay insane, but there’s hope and healing when I humble myself to join the rest of the human race and receive the love God has for all people
[RS-8] “ONE DAY AT A TIME” – When I quit thinking in terms like “From now on…” and “Never again…” I can start to learn what God’s grace means for me at this moment in time
[RS-9] STAYING AWAY FROM “WET PLACES AND WET PEOPLE” – My loneliness for familiar people and places can lead me right back into my insanity; I need God’s help to find healthy people and places
[RS-10] “WE ARE NOT SAINTS” – BUT THEN AGAIN, WE ARE! – I can peacefully deal with my imperfections when I start to learn what it means to be perfect in Christ
ENTIRE SET OF "RECOVERY SLOGANS, TERMS & CONCEPTS" LESSONS

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Miscellaneous Studies: Recovery under God’s grace takes me into a lot of new territory that’s hard to classify.

[MS-1] GOD CALLS US OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES – As God restores me to sanity I start following him into new things, rather than staying with the familiar and predictable
[MS-2] GOD’S GRACE FREES ME TO BE ME – My drugs and dependencies robbed me of my real identity; Jesus is giving it back
[MS-3] GOD’S GRACE IS THE BOTTOM LINE – The pressure of thinking that my efforts are the bottom line can keep my insanity going; trust in God’s grace frees me from that pressure
[MS-4] JESUS IS HERE TO GIVE ME REST – Whenever I feel like I’m being crushed under life’s responsibilities I need to check in with Jesus and experience the relief of his love and grace
[MS-5] JESUS IS THE ANSWER TO SHAME – Shame is a driving force behind my addictions and dependencies, but shame can’t stand up to the power of Jesus’ love and forgiveness
[MS-6] JESUS SPEAKS FROM THE CROSS – Good Friday recovery meditations on the Seven Words from the cross
[MS-7] RECOVERY CALLS FOR FELLOWSHIP – I’m incomplete as a recovering person until I’m in the company of my fellow recovering people
[MS-8] UNHEALTHY JUSTIFICATION/ HEALTHY JUSTIFICATION – I stay insane when I desperately cling to the need to believe that I’m right and my attitudes and actions are right; I start to get better when I believe that I’m all right because God loves me and forgives me
[MS-9] WEARING THE “JESUS UNIFORM” – I can stress myself out trying to keep up an image of being good, or I can experience the peace of letting Jesus himself be my goodness
[MS-10] WHAT DO I REALLY NEED IN LIFE? – I come to Jesus for help with what I think I need; Jesus helps me see what my real needs are, and he fills those needs
[MS-11] WHERE’S THE ESCAPE HATCH? – When I start to see myself slipping back into my old sick and dangerous ways, what are the “emergency exits” God has provided me with?
ENTIRE SET OF "MISCELLANEOUS" LESSONS

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