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Altar Of The Heart

January 11 | Discipleship Guide

Be Real Together:

Take a few minutes to catch up, tell stories, and laugh together.
If you’re launching a new Group, trust and friendship take time to build. Take turns each week having someone share a bit of their story.

Read Together: Romans 12:1-2 CSB

Paul invites believers to respond to God’s mercy by offering their whole lives as an act of worship. True worship isn’t confined to a moment, a song, or a service—it begins in the heart and reshapes how we think, live, and engage the world. Rather than being molded by the patterns of this age, we are called to be transformed by the renewing work of the Holy Spirit. When our hearts become an altar for God, His presence flows through us and becomes a blessing to the world around us.

The One Question:
If you only have time for one question, ask this one.

As we enter a season of prayer and fasting, what are you most longing for God to do in your heart?

Grow Together:
Use these questions to go deeper with your Group or for personal reflection.

  1. Paul says that the motivation for us presenting our bodies as living sacrifices is "in view of God's mercies." What are some of those mercies?
  2. Where do you notice a pull to compartmentalize your faith instead of letting God shape your whole life? Is there any area of your life where you've been directing your worship towards something other than God?
  3. Take some time to reflect: what are some ways culture has subtly shaped your thinking, priorities, and values?
  4. What are you choosing to lay down as a fast? How's it been going? How have you seen God meeting you and transforming you through prayer and fasting?

Pray Together:

  • Thank God for His mercies.
  • Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where your heart has been divided or distracted.
  • Pray for renewed minds that are shaped by God’s Word rather than the patterns of this world.
  • Pray that Jesus would transform your heart and mind in this season.

Next Steps:

  • As a church, we’re entering 21 Days of Prayer + Fasting (January 12 – February 1)—a focused season to rebuild and restore altars of our heart, family, church, and region together.
    • Consider what God might be inviting you to fast (food, social media, TV, sugar, or another habit) as a way to create deeper dependence on Him.
    • Commit to using the daily Prayer Guide and check in with one another about what God is stirring or changing in you.
    • Make plans to participate in the 24-Hour Prayer Event (January 30–31) as a way to seek God together.