Total Surrender – DNOW / Retreat Study

What We Want Students to Learn: That all of us have tried to replace God’s Lordship in our life with our own sinful desires.

Scripture: Mark 10:17-22; Genesis 3:1-13; 2 Kings 17:29; Job 40:1-5; Matthew 22:37-40

Session Snapshot: Every decision we make will, in turn, make a statement about what holds the highest authority in our lives. Students will be encouraged to look at their own lives and examine their allegiances. Most often, the highest authority in our lives is our flesh and its desires. As people born into sin, this is a default setting for us. But life changes when we totally surrender to God and allow Him to be the highest authority in our life.

What We Want Students to Learn: That we are incapable of being righteous in our own power. Jesus is the only way that we can have a right relationship with God.

Scripture: Ephesians 2:4-9; Romans 3:23-26; Romans 5:10; John 14:6

Session Snapshot: Students are so often encouraged by the world to take the matter of their life solely into their own hands. The idea of working for what you want is so ingrained into the culture that we expect hard work to always produce rewards. This is not a good mindset to use when it comes to salvation, though. To truly experience the salvation offered in Jesus Christ, we must surrender the efforts and ideas that we can save ourselves from the penalty of sin.

What We Want Students to Learn: That giving our lives to God means that we are no longer our own. Everything that we do with our minds and bodies should now strive to be aligned with Scripture.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Hebrews 12:11-15; Luke 9:23; Galatians 5:22-23

Session Snapshot: Following Christ is a daily occurrence and one that requires both discipline and sacrifice. Part of true spiritual change in our lives is surrendering to the mental and physical changes that God calls us to in His Word. There are things that we must stop doing, as well as things we must start doing. This session is an honest look at what it means to surrender our whole self- mind, body, and soul – to the Lord.

What We Want Students to Learn: That we no longer have to live in shame over our past mistakes. We can surrender our pasts to the Lord and accept His forgiveness. He has so much more for our futures than we could have ever planned for ourselves.

Scripture: Luke 7:47-50; Isaiah 54:4; Isaiah 61:7; Exodus 32

Session Snapshot: In this final session, students will find applications to their past, present, and future. Surrendering to God is about giving up the decisions of our past, leaning into Him in the present, and following Him in the future. This is what it looks like to totally surrender.