Series Title – Not Just Sunday
Sermon title – Surrender Your Control
Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
Luke 9:23 NIV
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Greek word for Deny: Aparneomai = to reject, to disown, to let go of
A lot of us want a Savior but we don’t want a Lord.
If we want to be true disciples of Jesus, it requires surrender.
Surrender is not relinquishing responsibility.
Surrender is choosing God's will over your feelings, your plans, and your understanding - even when its hard, unclear, or uncomfortable.
Surrendering to the Lord is choosing God's way, over your way, everyday.
Genesis 15:5 NLT
5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
Genesis 16:1-2 NIV
16 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
Genesis 16:3-4 NIV
3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress.
Control is dangerous.
Whenever you try to control things that you weren’t meant to control, it will always lead you to a place, where God never intended for you to be.
God’s plans for your life are far greater than your plans for your life.
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Ephesians 3:20 NIV
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Whenever you try to control things that you weren’t meant to control, it will always lead you to a place, where God never intended for you to be.
When you step in and take control, you are actually stepping outside of God's perfect will for your life.
Talk It Over Questions
1. When you hear the word “surrender,” what honestly comes to mind for you—and why do you think that is?
2. What’s the difference between surrendering to God and being passive or doing nothing? How do you personally balance trust and responsibility?
3. In what area of your life do you find it hardest to trust God right now? What makes that area so difficult to release?
4. Why do you think we tend to want Jesus as Savior, but struggle to fully submit to Him as Lord in our daily lives?
5. Read Proverbs 3:5–6 together. What does it practically look like to “lean not on your own understanding” in your current season?
6. How does holding onto control impact your peace, relationships, and decision-making?
7. How can surrender actually lead to freedom rather than restriction? Have you experienced that in your life before?
8. What would it look like for you to choose “God’s way over your way” this week in a practical, everyday situation?
Ask Your Kids
1. Why does God care about our words?
2. How were these three items used in our lesson today- Horse and Bit, Boat Rudder, Forest Fire?
3.How can our words lead others to Jesus?
