Most of us have someone we keep trying to fix. A son, a spouse, a friend, a client, someone in the congregation. We explain, encourage, warn, and pray, and then we watch the person go straight back to the thing that is destroying him, and we start over.
Some things cannot be repaired from the outside.
You Can't Fix People is a practical Bible study on repentance, discipleship, and the limits of what one person can do for another. It runs on a story about repairing hand pumps for a rural water supply project in Africa, where a broken thing has no say in being repaired, and on Luke 15, where a son does. The study works through the four stages of repentance using Psalm 51, 2 Corinthians 7, Philippians 2, and Matthew 3.
The study does not offer a method for getting somebody to change, because there is not one. It says plainly that God will not override a person's will and neither can we, and it spends as much time on the reader's own unnamed sin as on the person the reader came here worried about.
This study explores:
● why nothing changes until a person stops defending what he already knows
● what changed for David when he quit explaining and named his sin
● the difference between being sorry about consequences and wanting a different life
● why the sorrow of the world produces death instead of repentance
● how hopelessness holds a person as tightly as the sin does
● what it means that God works in us both to will and to do
● why you are the tool God uses and never the mechanic
● how repentance becomes visible, and what the prodigal son did after he decided
This Bible study kit includes:
● a complete printable Bible study
● Scripture-based teaching centered on Luke 15
● a personal narrative on repairing hand pumps in Africa and the limits of fixing people
● reflection and group discussion questions
● practical application exercises
● a closing prayer
● PowerPoint teaching slides
● printable PDFs of the study and presentation
Best for:
● personal Bible study
● small groups and Sunday school
● discipleship and mentoring
● parents and spouses of someone in addiction or crisis
● recovery ministry, prison ministry, and pastoral counseling
● anyone worn out from trying to change another person
Estimated study time: 60-90 minutes for group study or 30-45 minutes for personal study.
SEO Title
You Can't Fix People | Bible Study on Repentance and Change
SEO Meta Description
A practical Bible study kit on repentance, discipleship, and the limits of helping. Four stages of repentance from Luke 15, with slides and printable PDFs.
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/you-cant-fix-people-bible-study
Recommended Category
Bible Studies → Repentance, Discipleship & Pastoral Care
Suggested Tags
● Repentance
● Discipleship
● Addiction and Recovery
● Luke 15
● Pastoral Care
● Small Group Bible Study
Suggested SEO Keywords
Bible study on repentance, Luke 15 Bible study, prodigal son Bible study, Christian discipleship Bible study, stages of repentance, godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, how to help someone who will not change, letting go of someone you love, recovery ministry Bible study, small group Bible study
