Week 5 - Shame & Fear

INTRODUCTION
Shame and fear are powerful emotions that are universally
experienced by humankind. As we live our lives, we have all found
ourselves in situations where we’ve been ashamed and been afraid
that someone, somewhere would know about it. So, we make
every effort to hide our shame or, if someone does know about it,
make sure everyone understands that it’s not our fault. This has a
devastating effect on our relationship with God.
It wasn’t always this way. In this session, we will learn about how
shame and fear entered into the Garden of Eden. Understanding
these emotions and our reactions to them will help us to recognize
the ways we hinder our own relationship with God. We’ll learn
how the love of God, through Jesus, frees us to draw near to Him,
confess our sin, receive His forgiveness, and grow in relationship
with Him!

THEME
Understanding how shame and fear lead us to hiding from or
blaming God and others for our own sin, and how God’s grace and
forgiveness through Jesus frees us to take responsibility for it and
grow closer to Him!

OUTCOMES
- To understand the four universal emotional stages - shame, fear,
hiding, blame.
- To recognize how the four universal emotional stages hinder our
relationship with God and with other people.
- To recognize how God, through Jesus, has made a way for man to
be reconciled to Him.
- To recognize that we can now draw into closer and closer
relationship with Him.

OPENING THOUGHT
Our reactions to shame and fear can make us hold God and others at
a distance. Have you ever felt like something was coming between
you and somebody else - as if some sort of barrier existed in your
relationship? What did you do to overcome it?

POST VIDEO QUESTIONS
- What are some ways that people attempt to hide? Can you think of
some real life situations where someone may try to hide their shame?
- Are there things in your past that have caused you to want to hide
from God? Why did you feel like you needed to hide from Him?
- Have you ever blamed someone else or your circumstances for
something that you know you were responsible for? How did it make
you feel? Did it solve the problem?

ACTIVATION
Read Romans 8:1-2. Next spend some time with the group and ask each person in silent prayer and
reflection to ask God the following:
- Am I hiding my pain, the situation I am facing, or my sin from others?
- Is there anyone I am blaming for my pain, the situation I am facing, or my sin?
- In what ways have I fallen into this pattern of shame, fear, hiding, and blame?
- Is there one area in the four universal emotional stages that I struggle with more than the others?
Write the truth the Lord reveals to you about this pattern of shame, fear, hiding, and blame. Write any
feelings, situations, or sin you want to take responsibility for.
Read 1 John 1:9 aloud to the group.

PRAYER
Father, I thank You that Your perfect love casts out fear. With an
act of my will, I choose to walk in love. Help me to break down the
walls of shame and fear. I choose to come out of hiding. I choose
to accept responsibility for my own sin. Give me the courage to be
vulnerable. I confess these to you and ask for your forgiveness. I
receive your mercy through the blood of Jesus, who died for my
transgressions. Thank You for always loving me and never shaming
me. Help me to recognize the freedom from sin which you have
offered to me through Your Son, and to fully engage in the process
of freedom. Amen.