The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Week 4: Purpose Three — You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Days 19–27)

Read Days 19–27 of The Purpose Driven Life. Key Scriptures: Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:22–23; James 1:2–4.

Discipleship — growing to reflect the character of Christ — is Warren's third purpose, and he is careful to say it is a lifelong process, not a program. This week, consider where God is most actively working to shape you.

Discussion Questions

8 questions

1.Warren states that God's ultimate goal for your life is not comfort, happiness, or success — it is Christlikeness. How does that goal differ from what you most often find yourself pursuing?

2.Warren identifies three agents of spiritual growth: God's Word, the Holy Spirit, and life circumstances (especially problems and pain). Of these three, which has been most formative in your own growth — and which do you tend to resist?

3.Day 21 presents the idea that temptation is a growth opportunity — that each time you resist it, your character is strengthened. Warren says God's response to temptation is never to remove it but to provide a way through it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Does this reframe a specific temptation or struggle in your own life?

4.Warren distinguishes between "spiritual disciplines" and "spiritual growth," arguing that disciplines are the pathways to growth but not the growth itself. What spiritual habits or disciplines are currently part of your life — and which ones have you let atrophy?

5.Day 23 focuses on the role of suffering and problems in spiritual formation. Warren says, "God is more interested in your character than your comfort." Can you identify a past difficulty that, in retrospect, produced growth in you that ease never would have?

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Closing Prayer

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Heavenly Father, thank You that conforming us to Your Son is Your work, not ours alone. We confess how often we try to manage our spiritual lives rather than surrender them, how often we choose comfort over character, and how often we resent the very trials You are using to make us more like Jesus. Change us. Work through Your Word, Your Spirit, and even our hardest circumstances. We want to look more like Your Son — not someday, but now, in this season. Amen.

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