Be Kind, Rewind – A Dad’s Guide to Being Fully Alive

BeTheDads

Small Group Session Guide

Dads Who Are Fully Alive, Not Just Getting By

Sunday, August 30, 2026  |  Preached by Pastor Josh

Scripture Focus: Colossians 2:6-15 (NLT)

1. If you had to explain Blockbuster, mix tapes, or “Be Kind, Rewind” to your kids, what’s one piece of 90s/2000s nostalgia you actually miss — and one you’re glad is gone?
2. Think back to when you first became a dad. What’s one piece of advice or example you leaned on early that, looking back, was more human opinion than solid ground?
3. On a scale from “just getting through the week” to “genuinely alive,” how would you honestly rate your walk with God this month? No wrong answers — just be honest.

Leader Summary — read or paraphrase to the group

Your Position vs. Your Condition

Pastor Josh continued the “I’m Good” series by drawing a sharp line between two things: your position with God and your condition day to day. The moment you put your faith in Jesus, your position changes instantly. You go from lost to found, guilty to forgiven, outsider to family — and there are no levels to that. Your condition is different. It’s how you actually live, think, and feel day to day, and it doesn’t automatically catch up. Plenty of guys get saved and then spend the rest of their lives just holding on. They white-knuckle their way to heaven and never become the fully alive, rich-and-satisfying-life kind of dad Jesus promised in John 10:10.

Rewinding the Tape to Eden

To make the point, Pastor Josh used the picture of rewinding a VHS tape — a nod to the old Blockbuster reminder to “be kind, rewind” before returning a movie. He said we have to rewind all the way back to Genesis to see what a fully alive life looks like. Before sin entered the story, Adam and Eve were both physically and spiritually alive. Sin broke that. It brought both physical and spiritual death. But Jesus came to reverse it. His death paid the penalty for sin. His resurrection opened a pathway back to the original design — a life that’s alive in every sense, not just biologically breathing.

Three Commitments for the Full Life

From Colossians 2, Pastor Josh pulled three practical commitments for actually living that full, free life: get rooted in Christ instead of empty substitutes, build your life on God’s blueprint instead of your own preferences, and guard your heart against the lie that “God isn’t enough.” He pushed hardest on the “rooted” piece. He challenged the room to notice what they instinctively turn to under pressure — approval, control, escape, achievement — because whatever you root yourself to, you become dependent on. Here’s the aha moment: your root system isn’t theoretical. It shows up every time life gets hard, and the people around you can see it.

From Forced Effort to Fruit

He closed by reminding the church that when you’re truly rooted, built, and guarded, something shifts. The things you used to force through sheer effort — love, joy, peace, patience, self-control — start showing up as fruit instead of striving. You stop just trying to survive until heaven. You start bringing life into the death and decay around you, everywhere you go.

Paul gives us three practical commitments for a dad who wants to be fully alive instead of just getting by: get rooted, build on purpose, and guard your heart. Here’s what each one looks like at home.

1. Get Rooted in the Right Source

Whatever you turn to when life gets hard becomes the thing you’re dependent on. And dads model their root system for their kids whether they mean to or not.

Dad Application

Your kids are watching more than they’re listening. When you’re stressed, what do they actually see? Do they see you reach for your phone, snap at the nearest person, go silent, pour a drink, or bury yourself in work? Or do they see you actually take it to God? You don’t have to have this perfect. But naming your go-to “root” honestly is the first step to changing it — both for your own sake and for the example you’re setting. Your kids are building their own root system right now, largely by copying yours.

2. Build Your Family’s Spiritual Life on Purpose

Everything worth having starts with a vision. If you don’t have one for your family’s spiritual life, you’ll end up with something you didn’t choose.

Dad Application

Most dads have a plan for their career, their finances, even their fantasy football roster. But when it comes to their family’s spiritual life, there’s no actual plan. It just happens by default, or it doesn’t happen at all. Building on purpose doesn’t mean a rigid family devotional program you’ll abandon in two weeks. It might mean one consistent rhythm — grace before dinner that’s actually meaningful, a five-minute conversation about God on the drive to school, or praying with your kids by name at bedtime. Pick one thing. Build it on purpose instead of hoping it happens by accident.

3. Guard Your Home Against the Lie “God Isn’t Enough”

The oldest lie in the book is that God is holding out on you. Guarding your family against that lie starts with guarding your own heart.

Dad Application

Adam and Eve lost their spiritual life because they let their guard down. They entertained the idea that God’s way wasn’t enough. That same lie shows up in your home dressed differently — in the pressure to chase more success, more approval, more stuff, or a different life than the one God’s actually given you. Whatever your specific situation with your kids — full-time, part-time, co-parenting, or somewhere in between — your example carries real weight in the time you do have. Guarding your home starts with guarding your own heart. Watch for comparison, discontentment, and the subtle message that following Jesus is holding you back from something better.

Opening the Text

1. In Colossians 2:6-7, Paul uses the pictures of roots and building. What do those two images tell us about where spiritual strength actually comes from?

Starting Thought: Roots pull nourishment from underground, unseen; building requires a plan before the first brick goes down. Neither one happens by accident.

2. Colossians 2:13-15 says God “made you alive” and “canceled the record of the charges against you.” What’s the difference between being forgiven and actually living free?

Starting Thought: Forgiveness changes your standing before God instantly and completely; freedom is something you walk out day by day, choice by choice.

3. Paul warns in verse 8 about being “captured” by empty philosophies or human thinking. What does it look like for a dad to get pulled off course by an idea that sounds reasonable but quietly moves him away from Christ?

Starting Thought: It’s rarely an obvious lie. It usually sounds smart, cultural, or like “just being realistic” about life, marriage, or money.

Dad Life Discussion

4. When life gets hard — a rough day at work, tension with your wife, a kid pushing back — where do you instinctively turn first? Be honest.

Starting Thought: Control, distraction, work, silence, screens, and anger are all common go-to root systems for dads.

5. Your kids are watching your “root system” whether you realize it or not. What have they probably learned from watching how you cope with stress?

Starting Thought: Kids learn as much theology from watching Dad on a hard Tuesday as they do from anything said in church on Sunday — both matter, and both are shaping them.

6. Do you have an actual plan for building your family’s spiritual life, or has it mostly just happened by default? What would it look like to build it on purpose this month?

Starting Thought: A vision doesn’t need to be elaborate. One consistent rhythm — a meal, a drive, a bedtime routine — is a real start.

7. What’s one message our culture sends that quietly implies “God isn’t enough” — for your marriage, your finances, your identity? How has that message crept into your home?

Starting Thought: It could show up through comparison on social media, career pressure, or the idea that just a little more success or stuff would finally satisfy.

8. Be honest with yourself: right now, are you more of a “holding on until heaven” dad or a “fully alive” dad? What’s one honest step toward the second this week?

Starting Thought: There’s no shame in the answer — the point of the question is to notice where you actually are and take one real step from there.

1. Identify your go-to “root” under stress and write it down. Then replace one instinctive reaction this week with a specific verse — try 1 Peter 5:7 for anxiety or Hebrews 13:5 for insecurity.
2. Pick one night this week for a 10-minute family huddle with your kids. Ask what they’re thankful for and pray together before bed.
3. Have a direct, undefended conversation with your wife or co-parent: “What’s one thing you wish I brought more life to at home?” — then actually listen.
4. Write down one simple, one-sentence vision for your family’s spiritual life. Example: “We pray before meals, talk about God’s word once a week, and serve together once a month.”
5. Identify one cultural message you’ve let into your home that whispers “God isn’t enough.” Take one concrete step to guard against it — limit an app, change a habit, or have an honest conversation about it.

The Rewind Question

What it is: Each night this week, before your kids go to bed, ask them one simple question — “Where did you see God today?” — and share your own answer first.

Why it matters: This week’s sermon was about rewinding the tape and looking back to notice what God has actually done. Teaching your kids to look back over their own day and spot God at work builds spiritual awareness into them early. It also models the exact posture Pastor Josh challenged the church toward: staying rooted, aware, and fully alive instead of just going through the motions.

Father, thank You that You settled our position with You the moment we trusted Jesus. We are fully forgiven, fully Yours, no levels required. Would You help us live like it? Root us in You instead of the empty things we’ve reached for when life got hard. Give us a clear vision for building our families on Your blueprint instead of our own preferences. Make us alert to guard our hearts and our homes against the lie that You aren’t enough. We ask You to bless every dad in this room. Steady his mind. Soften his heart toward his wife and kids. Make him fully alive, so his family can see what a rescued life actually looks like. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Key Themes to Emphasize

• Position (instant, settled) vs. condition (daily, ongoing) — this distinction is the backbone of the whole session.
• The “root system” concept is the most practical, sticky hook — spend real time on question 4 and 5.
• Fatherhood isn’t about performing perfectly — it’s about being rooted, building on purpose, and guarding your heart.

What to Watch For

• This session can surface confessions about addiction, dependency, or unhealthy coping patterns — the original sermon spoke directly to this. Create space without pressuring anyone to overshare in the full group. Offer a 1-on-1 follow-up after group instead.
• Word marriage-related questions (Q7, application #3) to include single, divorced, and co-parenting dads — use “wife or co-parent” or “a trusted person in your life” as needed.
• Some dads may feel shame when they hear the phrase “holding on until heaven.” Reassure the group this is about awareness and next steps, not condemnation.

Timing Guide

• Icebreaker / Welcome — 10 minutes
• Sermon Context + Key Points — 15-20 minutes
• Discussion Questions — 20-25 minutes
• Practical Applications + Dad Challenge — 15 minutes
• Closing Prayer — 5 minutes