DIGGING DEEPER

THE FATHER'S HEART

DISCIPLINE

Big idea: God’s discipline is His loving way of helping us grow and become who He made us to be.

Discipline includes both:

1. Proactive, formative instruction (like a coach teaching skills or parent shaping habits)
2. Reactive, corrective action (like a parent disciplining a child for disobedience)

Discipline vs. punishment:

• Discipline is a loving, forward-looking act meant to teach and shape character.
• Punishment is a reactive response focused on making someone pay for what they did wrong.

Types of Discipline:

• Verbal Communication
• Non-Verbal Cues
• Logical or natural consequences

Four Ways to Understand Trials and Adversity

1. Divine Discipline (Loving Correction)
2. Spiritual Attack (Enemy Opposition)
3. Test of Faith (Refining & Revealing)
4. Life in a Fallen World (Normal Brokenness)

How should we respond to God's discipline?

• Hebrews 3:8-13
• Hebrews 12:7-13
• James 4:6-10

Challenge: embrace God’s discipline as a sign of His love and leadership in our lives. 

What was your experience growing up with discipline, and how has that shaped your view of discipline?

How confident are you in your ability to stay on track with Jesus' way of life, and to what extent do you want or seek God’s discipline?

Read Hebrews 12:1-13 and discuss how God’s discipline is His loving way of helping us grow and become who He made us to be.

Read 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 and Amos 4:6-11. How might God use verbal, non-verbal, and tangible consequences in parenting us today?

Read Hebrews 3:8-13, Hebrews 12:7-13, and James 4:6-10. Discuss what you sense your loving Heavenly Father might be saying to you and how you plan to respond.

Looking for questions based on a past sermon?