Kyle Idleman - AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything

PART 1

SUDDEN AWAKENING

He came to his senses

PART 2

BRUTAL HONESTY

He said to himself

PART 3

IMMEDIATE ACTION

So he got up

STUDY QUESTIONS

CHAPTER 1THE DISTANT COUNTRY

1. Have you been to a Distant Country, or are you there now? What led you there?

2. What is your view of God? What are five to ten words you would use to describe how you honestly feel about Him?

3. When was that last time you simply said, God, I need your help?

PART 1SUDDEN AWAKENING

CHAPTER 2COMING TO YOUR SENSES

1. Why is it so difficult for us to hear and respond to the early warning alarms God puts in our lives?

2. Can you think of a time when you ignored an alarm and faced consequences later? Looking back, what should you have done to wake up instead of pressing Snooze?

3. Is there an alarm sounding in your life right now? What step(s) do you need to take to make sure you dont ignore it?

4. Pray for God to open your eyes to the ways He is trying to get your attention.

CHAPTER 3A DESPERATE MOMENT

1. Have you ever hit rock bottom? What happened?

2. How have you responded to difficult circumstances in your life? Have they driven you away from God or drawn you to God?

3. Complete this sentence: I stopped running from God when

CHAPTER 4A STARTLING REALIZATION

1. Have you had a moment of realization when you suddenly saw what had been right in front of you for a long time?

2. How much silence and solitude do you have in your life? How can you get more of that kind of time?

3. Do you have someone in your life who has your permission to flip the switch, to tell you that last 5 percent of truth?

PART 2BRUTAL HONESTY

CHAPTER 5TALKING TO YOURSELF

1. When you look into the spiritual mirror, what do you see that no one else sees? What has kept you from bringing it into the light?

2. When you think about confession, what comes to mind?

3. Do you have someone in your life who asks you the hard questions and to whom you confess sin? What would it take for you to develop that kind of relationship?

4. What would change in your life if you were willing to regularly do the hard, uncomfortable work of confession?

CHAPTER 6DENIAL: IF I IGNORE IT, MAYBE IT WILL GO AWAY

1. What happens to us when we live in denial?

2. When we are faced with uncomfortable truth, what are the emotions we experience that lead us to denial? How can we confront them rather than give in to them?

3. Read John 8:3136. How does this relate to denial and confession?

CHAPTER 7PROJECTION: ITS NOT MY FAULT, SO ITS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY

1. Who or what do you tend to blame when you find yourself in the pigpen?

2. Why is it so difficult for us to accept faultwith no ifs, ands, or buts?

3. Is there someone you need to admit fault to right now? Write out what you need to say to them, and watch for projection and subtle ways you try to excuse yourself. Then go to them and read what youve written.

CHAPTER 8MINIMIZE: ITS NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL

1. How do you see minimization in your life?

2. What is the connection between denial, projection, and minimization? Why do we so easily give in to these?

3. What can the response of the Ninevites in Jonah 3 teach us about a proper response to conviction?

4. The Prodigal Son realized that his decisions had caused significant relational damage that needed to be mended. Take a few minutes to honestly assess the relational consequences of your actionseven the actions that dont seem like that big of a deal. What can you start working on to mend those relationships?

PART 3IMMEDIATE ACTION

CHAPTER 9TIME TO GET UP

1. What are the barriers between brutal honesty and immediate action? Why is it so difficult to pass through them?

2. Why is there often such a difference between public beliefs, private beliefs, and core beliefs? How can we begin to develop consistency?

3. As youve read through this book so far, maybe youve had a sudden awakening, and maybe even been brutally honest with yourself. In light of that, what action do you need to take?

4. What is standing between you and that necessary action?

CHAPTER 10PASSIVITY: IM SURE EVERYTHING WILL WORK ITSELF OUT

1. It seems so natural to choose the path of least resistance, but thats not what will lead us to AHA. How does the hard work of immediate action bring changes that the path of least resistance never could?

2. Passivity happens when we honor something over God. We rarely, if ever, intend for that to happen, so what leads us to honoring things like family, money, and comfort above God?

3. Whats your first step? How will you act on it?

CHAPTER 11PROCRASTINATION: ILL GET TO IT LATER

1. What are the areas of life where you procrastinate?

2. If you look back honestly, what has procrastination cost you?

3. How do you see putting off the pain, prolonging the pleasure, and/or planning it to perfection playing a role in your procrastination?

4. Can you think back to some here and now moments youve experienced in the past? What led to those moments, and what changes came out of them?

CHAPTER 12DEFEATISM: ITS TOO LATE NOW

1. Do you feel, or have you felt, that its too late for you? Why?

2. When has your life been like trying to plug up the hole in the bottom of a poolthe more you try to fix something, the worse it gets?

3. Have you tried to make changes before that either didnt work or didnt last long? Look back through the list of questions on pages 189 and 190. Were any of those true of you?

4. What needs to be different this time if youre truly going to experience AHA?

CHAPTER 13LOST IN THE FATHERS HOUSE: THE FINAL AHA

1. Do you find it easy or difficult to accept prodigals when they return home?

2. Knowing what we know about the older brother from the end of the story, can you understand his response to his brothers actions?

3. From what weve learned about AHA, what are the next steps the older brother needs to take in order to experience AHA?

4. Whether you are more of a younger brother or an older brother right now, what are your next steps toward experiencing AHA?

Contents

AHA

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