BETWEEN-SESSIONS PERSONAL STUDY
You are invited to further explore the themes of Unashamed by engaging in any or all of the following between-sessions activity options. Any time you invest will be well spent; let God use it to draw you closer to him. And, as time allows, share with the group what you are learning when you gather next.
Shame Hunt
Take time in the coming week to survey your life: your relationships, your thoughts, your motives and attitudes. Where is shame hiding? Where has it made a home in your heart? What is driving and growing your shame? Be honest and humble. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you eyes to see, even if seeing the shame in your life is painful. Write down two places of shame that you identify.
One place of shame I identified:
How is this shame impacting how I see myself?
[Your Response Here]
How is this shame shaping how I relate with others?
[Your Response Here]
How is this shame causing me to run from God and not toward him?
[Your Response Here]
How might this shame poison and damage my life if I don’t face it and deal with it?
[Your Response Here]
Another place of shame I identified:
How is this shame impacting how I see myself?
[Your Response Here]
How is this shame shaping how I relate with others?
[Your Response Here]
How is this shame causing me to run from God and not toward him?
[Your Response Here]
How might this shame poison and damage my life if I don’t face it and deal with it?
[Your Response Here]
Shame makes us feel unworthy. We end up running from God instead of running to God. And we run from each other rather than helping one another.
Social Media Evaluation
Reflect on your engagement in the world of social media (or media in general). Commit to pay attention to what you view, what you share with others, and how this might be a source of shame.
What social media do you participate in?
[Your Response Here]
How much time do you spend watching media (TV, movies, online)?
[Your Response Here]
What are some of the primary messages you are receiving from viewing social media and other forms of media? (Write down five messages below.)
Message:
[Your Response Here]
Message:
[Your Response Here]
Message:
[Your Response Here]
Message:
[Your Response Here]
Message:
[Your Response Here]
How might these messages be creating a place for shame to take root and impact your life?
[Your Response Here]
Shame makes us feel unworthy, like we are not enough.
If you have concerns about the messages you are receiving or sending through media, consider doing a media fast for a week—eliminating or cutting back as much as possible. See if this impacts you in a positive way. If you do this, share the results with your group when you meet for the next session.
Start Running
If you have been avoiding God because of an area of shame in your life, commit to run to God in the coming days and weeks. Choose one or more of the “Run to God” exercises from the checklist below, and then use the journal section or a separate notebook to write about what God is teaching you through the exercises you’ve chosen.
- Run to God #1: Make a decision to be with your group at every session of the Unashamed study, even when you feel tempted to avoid it because the process might be getting difficult for you.
- Run to God #2: Commit to attend church weekly while you are walking through this study and seek to engage your heart, mind, and body fully in worship, even when you might feel some measure of shame and unworthiness.
- Run to God #3: Read a portion of the Bible each day and invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you, teach you, and minister to you as you read.
- Run to God #4: Begin a journal in which you write down three prayers of praise each day: one for God’s love, grace, and goodness; another for someone in your life who is a blessing and joy; and a third for something about who God has made you and what he wants to do in and through you as his beloved child.
- Run to God #5: Read Psalm 139 each day for the next week. Slow down and meditate on verses 13 and 14, and say them out loud. Thank God that you are fearfully and wonderfully made!
When that shadow of shame lurks in the corners of our hearts, it holds us back from the fullness of all that God has for us. . . . You can leave your guilt and your shame at the cross and you can move past your past.
Journal
Use the space provided below to write some reflections on any of the following topics:
- How have you experienced both the grace and discipline of God, and how has this combination revealed God’s fatherly love for you?
- Where have you too closely connected who you are (your “who”) with what you have done in the past, or what you are doing right now (your “do”)? What consequences might result if you can’t separate your “who” and “do” in this area of your life?
- When you think of honestly sharing your places of shame with God and the members of your group, what will get in the way and tempt you to keep running from God and the people in your life?
- What are some possible results if you stop running and really face your shame?
- What are some possible consequences if you keep running from your shame and refuse to face it?
[Your Response Here]
God can and does redeem anything, and he is able to turn all things around to work together for good.
Recommended Reading
This week as you reflect on what God is teaching you through this session, read chapters 1–2 of Unashamed by Christine Caine. In preparation for your next session, you might want to read chapters 3–5.