BOTTOM LINE: Owning my faith is the difference between dead faith and powerful faith.

1. Popular opinion can't be trusted.

2. Jesus wants me to own my faith.

3. Ownership requires boldness and clarity.

4. Hearing from God for myself is personal faith. Only hearing about God from someone else is their faith - not mine.

5. Personal faith in Jesus makes me part of an unstoppable movement.

Start Talking

When have you experienced the difference between owning something you did versus riding the coat tails of someone else doing it? Maybe it was a project in school, a job opportunity, or an experience you've had. When did you have the opposite experience, and how were they different?

Start Thinking

Read Matthew 16:13-14. Why do you think Jesus started with this question instead of going straight into the personal question? If this question was asked today about the people who you are around the most, what would some of the answers be?

Read Matthew 16:15. What are the personal experiences that Peter had with Jesus that led him to so boldly and clearly respond to Jesus' question? What do you think his response might have been if he didn't have the personal experience?

Read Matthew 16:16-18. What is the main point Jesus is making in verse 16, and why do you think it is so important to him to make this point? If he was saying this to you today, what might His words be to you if you were able to answer boldly and clearly who Jesus is?

Start Sharing

When have the popular opinions of people around you become the substitute for you experiencing Jesus on a personal level? How does or will owning your faith allow you to exist in a world with so many different opinions without you losing your boldness and clarity on who Jesus is to you?

How does living in a very churched culture where hearing about God rather than hearing from God for yourself could open the door for it to become the substitute for owning your faith? What or who are you most tempted or most likely to hear from instead of hearing directly from God? How can the two work together for you to grow your faith and own your faith personally?

What did you experience on a personal level in times that your faith has gone from being impersonal to personal, and/or from personal faith that you owned to being more of what you hear about God instead of from Him? What helped you to see and notice the difference?

If Jesus asked you, "Who do you say that I am?" what would be your answer?

Start Doing

What can you do this week to take specific steps to own your faith personally?

How can you own your faith in a way that impacts the people around you when you have conversations with them?

How can we encourage each other and help each other to own our faith on a personal level without becoming each other's substitute for owning our faith?

Start Praying

Pray for each other by name to own their faith and to take the specific steps