"Words to Live By" with Craig Groeschel - Life.Church

Words to Live By

Scripture References

• Romans 8:5-6
• Romans 12:2
• 2 Corinthians 10:3

Overview

Craig Groeschel opens the new year with one core conviction: your life always follows your strongest thoughts. If you change the way you think, God will change the way you live. Drawing from Romans and 2 Corinthians, he shows how to capture toxic thoughts, demolish mental strongholds, and replace them with daily, spoken declarations of God’s truth—“words to live by.” This single discipline, he says, transformed his hardest year of ministry into his best.

Context

• A new-year setting: people are choosing fresh habits and resolutions.
• Craig shares his long-standing practice of adding one new discipline each year.
• He testifies that last year—though busier than ever—was his healthiest because of the way he learned to think.

Main Points

Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts

• “Your posture right now tells us so much about the direction of your life.”
• Faith-filled thoughts lead toward Christlikeness; negative, polluted thoughts lead to defeat.
• Romans 8 contrasts minds set on the flesh with minds led by the Spirit, which produce “life and peace.”

Identify the dialogue in your head

• Two inner-dialogue examples: a God-centered morning (“My God is with me…”) versus a negative one (“Here we go again…stupid job…”).
• Diagnostic question: “Are you excited about the direction your thoughts are taking you?”
• Craig admitted his default tape loop: “I’ve got too much to do; I can’t keep this up.”

Let God transform you by renewing your mind

• Romans 12:2: God, not self-effort, does the inner transformation as we align our thoughts with His truth.
• “Stress is not about how much you have to do; it’s how you think about what you have to do.”

Demolish mental strongholds

• 2 Corinthians 10:3—believers fight with spiritual weapons that have “divine power to demolish strongholds.”
• Stronghold (Greek akamōra): a prisoner locked by deception.
• Story: Executive pastor Kevin hid in a closet for hours during an office game, unaware the door was unlocked—an illustration of people believing lies while freedom is within reach.

Capture and teach rebellious thoughts

• “We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.”
• New Living wording: “Capture the rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
• If a thought says, “You’ll never change,” arrest it and subject it to Scripture.

Two self-diagnosis questions

1. What negative thoughts regularly dominate your mind?
2. What biblical truth can demolish each stronghold?

The discipline: Words to Live By

• Daily rhythm: seek God first, read Scripture, then speak specific, personalized statements aloud.
• Speaking truth repeatedly moves it from forced confession to natural belief—like the moment Craig began thinking and speaking French without mental translation.

Sample declarations

• Worried: “Because of Christ I’m not anxious about anything…”
• Lacking direction: “My life belongs to God; daily He directs my steps.”
• Lacking confidence: “Christ in me is more than enough.”
• Inconsistent with God: “Prayer is as important to me as breathing; His word nourishes my soul.”

Craig’s personal “Words to Live By” (condensed extract)

• Jesus is first; I exist to serve and glorify Him.
• I love my wife and children and will empower them for God’s purpose.
• I am disciplined; Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me.
• I am anointed, empowered, equipped, and called to reach people far from God.
• I bring my best and then some; the world will be different because I serve Jesus today.

Invitation to act

• Craft 5–10 biblical statements that confront your recurring lies.
• Declare them aloud every day until the “switch flips” and your mind is renewed.
• Life groups are the ideal place to refine and reinforce these truths.

Key Truths

• Your inner monologue is steering your life more than your circumstances are.
• God transforms people by first transforming their thinking.
• A stronghold is any lie that keeps you acting like a prisoner when the door is already open.
• Spiritual weapons—Scripture, prayer, fasting—have divine power to demolish those lies.
• Consistently spoken truth rewires the mind and releases Spirit-led life and peace.

Response

• Examine your most common negative thoughts and write them down.
• Search Scripture for specific truths that directly contradict each lie.
• Compose daily “words to live by” and speak them aloud every morning.
• Share your declarations with a trusted friend or life group for accountability.
• Persist—declare truth until believing becomes automatic and visible in your actions.

Closing

Craig charged the congregation not merely to hear the idea but to practice it. Hundreds raised hands committing to start the discipline. He reminded them that while good intentions fade, Jesus—the Author and Finisher of faith—empowers perseverance.

“Satan is the father of lies. Jesus is the author of truth. When you know the truth, the truth will set you free.”

Prayer

Craig thanked God for exposing destructive thought patterns and asked the Spirit to renew minds, empower believers to craft life-giving declarations, and lead them into the freedom of Christ. He also invited those far from God to confess Jesus as Lord, receive forgiveness, and begin a new life in Him.