July 26, 2026
Assigned Scripture
Exodus 20:17
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Matthew 6:19-24
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
22 “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Philippians 4:10-13
10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.13 For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength.
Group Response
Discussion Questions
1. Read James 1:13-15 aloud. Talk about the sequence from desire to temptation to sin to death. What observations can you make about the relationship between desire in your life?
2. What’s the difference between “good” desires and “bad” desires? What are some examples of each in your life?
3. Think about the triangulation of desire, or how we learn to desire what already belongs to another. Do you see evidence of this in your life? What does that teach you about your own desires?
4. How do you “constrain” your errant desires? How do you keep them from wandering off, from doing what’s improper?
5. What is one thing God will need to do for you – that only God can do – toward the sanctification of your desire?