Becoming Resilient Disciples: The Joy That Gets You Through || Bible Study: Hebrews 12:1-11

Описание: Hebrews 12 meets us in the very real question many of us carry: If God is for us, if Jesus is for my joy, why is life so hard sometimes? The writer doesn’t deny the complexity — instead, he shows us how ordinary disciples keep going, keep growing, and even thrive in places we’d least expect. Life is pictured as a race we’re invited to run, and we persevere not by gritting our teeth, but by fixing our eyes on Jesus. As we explore this passage together, we’ll see how resilience grows when we recognise the race we’re in, reframe the stories shaping us, remove what hinders, and refocus on Jesus — the source of the joy that gets us through.

Group Leader One-Pager

🧭 This Week’s Focus

Growing resilient faith by understanding the race we’re in, the stories shaping us, and the joy that keeps us going — all by fixing our eyes on Jesus as Hebrews 12 invites us.

👟 Primer Question

(Share beforehand or discuss as people arrive.)

If you had to describe your current season as a “race,” what would you call it — and why?

📖 Key Verse

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”

— Hebrews 12:7

❤️ Key Gospel Reminder

Jesus doesn’t ask us to run a race he hasn’t run himself. He endured the cross “for the joy set before him” — and that joy was us. His love, not our effort, is what carries us.

🔑 Main Teaching Points — The Four R’s

A simple framework drawn from your talk.

1. Recognise the Race

Life is full of moments that matter. Hebrews frames the Christian life as a race we actually can run — not alone, but surrounded, supported, and cheered on (Hebrews 12:1; Luke 15:10).

2. Reframe the Stories

We are shaped by the stories we live in. Some help us endure (Hebrews 11); some quietly limit us. Being immersed in God’s stories helps us live God’s way.

3. Remove What Hinders

Not everything that hinders is “sin.” Some things are good but heavy. We lay down what entangles so we can say yes to the race God has marked out (Hebrews 12:1).

4. Refocus on Jesus

Jesus is both pioneer and perfecter. His joy, his endurance, and his love shape how we face hardship and how we grow through it (Hebrews 12:2–11).

💬 Discussion Questions

Discussion Break 1 — Name the Race

Q. If you had to name the race you are in right now - what would you call it?‘the race marked out for us’ v1

Q. What are the ‘stories’ or ‘scripts’ that have shaped how you think about running this race?‘surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses’ v1

Discussion Break 2 — Reframe & Remove

Q. What are the things that make this race particularly challenging?‘throw off everything that hinders’ v1

Q. What is the joy that makes this race worth running?‘for the joy set before him’ v2

Discussion Break 3 —Refocus

Q. Where might God be coaching you in this season?‘treat hardship as discipline’ v7

Q. What does it look like to fix you eyes on Jesus?‘fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ v2

📝 Leader Tips

Normalise struggle. Hebrews assumes life is difficult; your group won’t be surprised if you say the same.

Gently redirect. If conversation drifts only to “what’s hard,” bring the group back to the joy and the purpose of the race.

Invite mutual support. Encourage people to name an area where they’d welcome prayer or accountability.