Relationship Goals Small Group Questions: Week 3

Week 3 – “Devil-Kicking” Relationship Goals

Overview

The third goal of the series calls every follower of Jesus to be “devil-kicking.” Relationships thrive when we recognize that conflict, temptation, and distraction are often spiritual attacks, not merely bad circumstances. By exposing where we are currently distracted, admitting our greatest points of vulnerability, and building wise boundaries now, we resist the enemy and keep our homes, friendships, and marriages Christ-centered and mission-driven.

Context

• Series: “Relationship Goals” – Christ-centered, mission-driven, devil-kicking, and (next week) covenant-keeping.
• Setting: LifeGroups are meeting in week three; questions grow tougher each week to push toward honesty, breakthrough, and prayer.

Main Points

We are in a real spiritual battle

• Paul describes a war “not against flesh and blood” but against dark spiritual forces.
• Relational tension is not just personalities clashing; an enemy strategizes to divide, distract, and destroy.
• Therefore, followers of Jesus must stay alert, aware, and prepared.

Identify recent distractions

• Anything—good or bad—can pull us off a Christ-centered, mission-driven course: yard work, appearance, kids’ schedules, tests, demanding bosses, finances, health issues, etc.
• Honest self-examination over the past seven days reveals what the enemy used to divert our focus.
• Breakthrough begins with naming the distraction out loud.

Expose current points of spiritual vulnerability

• “Sin grows best in the dark.” Bringing temptations into the light weakens their power.
• Possible areas: comparison, sexual temptation (“not even a hint of immorality”), envy, or unhealthy escapes.
• Gender-specific breakouts may foster deeper honesty when needed.
• Sharing where we are weakest shows the precise ground the group should cover in prayer.

Eliminate future temptation today

“Why would we resist a temptation in the future that we have the power to eliminate today?”

• Foresight plus wise systems protect tomorrow’s integrity.
• Illustration: The speaker keeps extensive safeguards—shared passwords, transparent finances, phone filters, travel companions, and predetermined schedules—so that even if he never plans to fail, failure becomes far harder.
• Each person can design boundaries tailored to their known weak spots:
  • Limit alone time in certain contexts.
  • Hand device access to trusted friends or spouse.
  • Pre-decide giving patterns to curb materialism.
  • Schedule spiritual practices that crowd out apathy.
• The goal is not legalism but strategic love: removing stumbling blocks before they trip us.

Fight with spiritual weapons—together

• After honest conversation, the group prays because the real fight is “in heavenly places.”
• God’s weapons have “divine power to demolish strongholds.”
• Openness plus prayer births breakthrough.

Key Truths

• An unseen enemy targets every meaningful relationship.
• Naming distractions exposes one of the enemy’s favorite tactics.
• Hidden sin thrives; confessed vulnerability begins healing.
• Boundaries built today spare us battles tomorrow.
• Corporate prayer wields God’s power against spiritual strongholds.

Response

• Examine the past week and write down one distraction that pulled you from Jesus’ mission.
• Confess to a trusted believer where you feel most spiritually vulnerable right now.
• Design one practical boundary or system that removes that temptation’s power.
• Pray boldly with others, asking God to demolish strongholds and guard each relationship.
• Keep the conversation alive: revisit these areas next week to celebrate progress or recalibrate plans.

Closing

The session ends with a call to honesty, intentionality, and prayer. Recognizing the reality of spiritual warfare, we refuse to fight alone or unarmed. Together we drag hidden struggles into the light, set up wise protections, and seek God’s mighty power so that our relationships stay Christ-centered, mission-driven, and genuinely devil-kicking.