The Cause Community Church Life Groups: Summer Quarter 2012 (May-July)

MOMENTUM FITNESS

Session 4: “Get Up and Move”

Session Summary:

The purpose of this session is to encourage people to exercise. Exercise benefits our physical, emotional, and mental health! This session will motivate people to get moving!

Be Sure to Bring:

  • OPTIONAL: Copies of Life Group Study Guide 4 for each member of your Life Group (these are provided to help group members follow the discussion, take notes, and have all of the additional content that would be helpful for them)
  • Pens
  • Life Group DVD
  • Bible
  • Life Group Edition DESCRIPTION OF POINTS
  • Life Group Edition SCORECARD (yellow card)
  • Listing of Momentum Fitness Workshops: free exercise classes and food/health classes (included at the end of this discussion)

Additional Helpful Resources:

  • = our church website lists info about Momentum Fitness, including the Saturday Workshops. Go to:
  • website created by Saddleback Church (Pastor Rick Warren’s church) that is full of helpful resources related to health, eating, and exercise.[1] Suggested references for this discussion:

Type the titles below into the “Search” tool in the upper right hand corner of to view the articles below:

  • How to Exercise
  • Burst Training
  • Workout Routine, Part 2 and 3
  • Pump Iron to Stay Young
  • Stretching
  • Training with Pastor Rick
  • Putting the Play Back in Exercise
  • There is an interview with Pastor Rick Warren and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who designed “The Daniel Plan.” The interview is about how to take care of your heart, fat, and weight loss. You may want to play this for your Life Group.

Go to

Go halfway down the page, click on the orange drop down box (it is above the small screen), scroll down to “Session 4”, then click the play button on the small screen.

The duration of the interview is from:

6:52-17:34

Reminders:

  • This is a guide. Adjust the content used based on the needs of your group. You do NOT have to use the entire discussion and ask every question.
  • Take attendance and report to Kristyna Brusby ( or 714.255.0930).
  • Special notes/reminders for H.O.S.T.s are in italics.

I. Group Welcome/Icebreaker, if needed (Suggested Time: 3-5 min.)

II. Life Sharing (Suggested Time: 10-15 min.)

Allow each individual or couple to share about how they are doing personally.

III. DVD Lesson (Approximately 20 min.)

Play the “Momentum Fitness” DVD Lesson (Discussion 4).

IV. Discussion Questions (Suggested Time: 30-45 min.)

What stood out to you from the DVD?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.

  • We discussed this passage last session. What jumps out to you as read it this time?

Below are 3 additional truths about your body from this passage:[1]

  1. My body is connected to the body of Christ (v. 15 and 18).
  1. The Holy Spirit lives in my body (v. 19).
  • If you saw someone vandalizing the church, what would you do?
  • We vandalize the temple of God every day! When we don’t get enough sleep, when we’re not in shape, when we don’t eat right, when we fill it with the wrong things, when we are overly stressed…we are vandalizing the temple of God!
  • What helps you bridge the gap between seeing your body as just flesh and blood and seeing your body as a temple (dwelling place) of God’s Spirit?
  1. Jesus bought my body on the cross (v. 20).
  • If you owned a million dollar racehorse, would you feed it junk food?
  • No! Of course not. You are worth far more than a racehorse, yet we often feed ourselves food that isn’t healthy.
  • In what ways could you remind yourself throughout the day of how significantly God values your body?

Pastor Rick Warren: “God created my body. Jesus died for my body. The Holy Spirit lives in my body. One day I will have a resurrected body. I am expected to take care of my body because one day I will be accountable for it.”[2]

  • Have you ever thought about health from this perspective before?

Read Romans 12:1.

  • What is the difference for you between worshiping your body, and caring for your body out of a sense of worship toward God?
  • Pastor Rick Warren: “Physical health is a spiritual discipline. Getting healthy and staying healthy is an expression of worship.”[3]
  • Have you ever viewed physical health as a spiritual discipline? Why or why not?
  • Have you found that thinking about your health through the eyes of faith increases your thoughts toward God through the day?
  • If so, in what ways do you see this happening?

Read Mark 12:30.

  • How can improving your strength help you love God more?

Read 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:17.

  • What are you being challenged to do in your health for the glory of God this week?
  • Is it possible to exercise for the glory of God?
  • If so, how?
  • Do you think taking the focus off of yourself and putting it on God will help motivate you to exercise?

Remind your group about the Saturday Momentum Fitness Workshops and give them the details for the workout classes.

Dr. Mehmet Oz: “Almost everything (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.) is reversible if you start to eat healthy and lose weight.”

Read 2 Kings 7:3-8.

  • What decision did the lepers make and what was the result?
  • Although this passage is obviously not about physical exercise, what application could we make to exercise?

(Don’t just sit around and become unhealthy. Get up and move! Get your body into action in order to become healthier.)

What prevents you from exercising regularly?

  • What do you need change in your schedule or priorities in order to begin exercising regularly?

If you are not regularly exercising, would you like to make a commitment to start exercising?

  • What will you start doing for exercise between now and our next Life Group gathering?

V. Momentum Fitness Challenge (Suggested Time: 10-15 min.)

IMPORTANT: Remind everyone that Life Groups are a “guilt free” zone. People can participate in Momentum Fitness however they choose. They do NOT have to participate if they do not want to.

1. Momentum Fitness Personal Goals

Have you made any progress toward your personal fitness goal? (Allow people to share and celebrate their victories.)

2. Momentum Fitness “Partners”

How have your Momentum Fitness “Partners” been helpful to you?

If you don’t yet have any Partners, do you need help finding some? (If so, talk to them after Life Group and work with them on finding the right partners.)

3. Momentum Fitness Challenge: Life Group Edition

Refer to the Momentum Fitness Challenge: “Life Group Edition” description.

  • Discuss with your group how they would like to participate in this and make some plans – set dates, etc.

You may want to update everyone on the total number of points your Life Group has in order to motivate them.

VI. Prayer (Suggested Time: 10-15 min.)

Pray for God to give you self-control and perseverance to exercise regularly.

Pray for your Life Group as a whole to become healthier over the next few months.

Pray for any personal needs.

VII. Important Church Announcements (Suggested Time: 2-3 min.)

Encourage your Life Group members to participate in the upcoming opportunities and events at The Cause, including the Momentum Fitness Workshops.

VIII. Helpful Items from

Below are some healthy exercise tips that you may want to share with your group from :

  • Find ways to add more activity to your daily routine and overall lifestyle. A goal could be to walk 3-times per week at a good pace for 30 minutes. Then, increase the duration, speed, and frequency as time and your body allows.
  • Consider enhancing your overall mobility and flexibility with a simple stretching routine.
  • For variety and to burn more calories, try “Burst” or “Interval” training which will elevate your heart rate and enhance your endurance. Intervals are periods of high-intensity or speed, followed by periods of slower rates.
  • Strength training builds muscle, increases metabolism, and improves overall health. Regardless of your age or condition, identify exercises that include resistance.

Below is an excerpt from article “Get Moving to Get Happier” byDaniel G. Amen, MD[4]

“Have you ever heard the term “runner’s high?” Is it really possible to feel that good, just from exercise? You bet it is. Exercise can activate the same pathways in the brain as morphine and increases the release of endorphins, natural feel-good neurotransmitters. That makes exercise the closest thing to a happiness pill you will ever find.

Boost your mood. Physical exercise stimulates neurotransmitter activity—specifically norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin—which elevates mood.

Fight depression. Exercise can be as effective as prescription medicine in treating depression. One of the reasons why exercise can be so useful is because it increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

Ease anxiety. Although the research on the effects of exercise on anxiety isn’t quite as voluminous as the evidence on exercise and depression, it does show that physical activity of just about any kind and at any intensity level can soothe anxiety. In particular, high-intensity activity has been shown to reduce the incidence of panic attacks.”

1

Copyright: The Cause Community Church 2012.

[1] Adapted from “The Daniel Plan: Session 4”,

[2] “The Daniel Plan: Session 4”,

[3] “The Daniel Plan: Session 4”,

[4]

[1] “The Daniel Plan” Small Group curriculum was used as a reference for this study.