You're Not The Boss Of Me: The Heart Of The Matter

1. Share a time when you have said to someone or had someone say to you: “you’re not the boss of me.”

2. The message opened with the question: What’s driving you right now—fear, anger, guilt, sadness? Take a moment to reflect and share what emotion or thought tends to take the wheel in your life most often.

3. Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” We’ve all had those moments: “Why did I say that?” or “Where did that come from?” What’s an example of a time when something slipped out that surprised even you? Looking back, what do you think was going on in your heart that led to that moment?

4. Garry said, “We don’t deal with emotions by stuffing them—we deal with them by submitting them.” How have you typically handled difficult emotions? By stuffing, venting, avoiding, or submitting? What would submitting emotions to God look like for you in a real-life situation?

5. 2 Corinthians 10:5 challenges us to “take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.” What’s a lie or negative thought you’ve struggled to believe about yourself or God? What’s a truth from Scripture you could use or have used to replace it?

This week, emotions will try to jump into the driver’s seat. But instead of stuffing them, or letting them steer, pause and pay attention. Ask, “Is this emotion leading me toward Jesus…or away from Him?” Then take that thought captive. Hold it up to the truth and guard your heart—because everything flows from it.