When Faith Fades (Why Followers Fail #1)

Message Listening Guide

Guiding Question: How do people go from a seemingly passionate relationship with God and vibrant ministry… to walking away? And how can we guard ourselves from the same thing happening to us?

Series Anchor Verse: “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

The Drift of Demas:
Demas was one of Paul’s traveling companions and a fellow minister during Paul’s Roman imprisonment (Colossians 4:14).
He’s mentioned alongside two Gospel writers (Luke and John Mark), and described as a fellow worker—someone the Colossian church knew and missed (Philemon 1:24).
But five years later, in Paul’s final letter, everything changes: “Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me…” (2 Timothy 4:9–10).
While we don’t know all the details or what happened in Demas’s heart, his story feels familiar—and it serves as a sober reminder: Be careful not to drift (Hebrews 2:1–3).

The Point: Most followers don’t crash with a bang—they fade with a drift.

Application (Revelation 2:3–5):
Jesus doesn’t say, “Feel what you used to feel.” He says, “Do what you did at first.”
This week, choose one of your “first works” and start it again—or strengthen it—not because you feel like it, but because Jesus is worth it.

Connection Group Conversation Guide

Get-to-know-you question: Share your name with the group and the answer to the question: If you had an entire day to yourself and could choose between two options—an adventurous dive into the ocean or a scenic road trip through the mountains—which would you pick, and why?

Review: Last Sunday’s message focused on the subtle but dangerous drift that can lead believers away from an active relationship with Jesus. Using the example of a man named Demas, who began as a fellow worker with Paul but later deserted him out of love for the world, the sermon highlighted how spiritual fading is often gradual. We were challenged to evaluate where we are with Jesus and encouraged to return to our “first works” — those early, loving practices that once fueled our faith.

Discuss: Have you ever known someone (or maybe it was you) who seemed on fire for their faith at one point, but slowly drifted away? What do you think happened?

Read: Have someone read 2 Timothy 4:9-10.

Discuss: What do you think “loving the present world” looked like for Demas?

Discuss: If you were going to be ruthlessly honest with yourself, where would you say you are in relation to Jesus: close, beginning to drift, or far?

Discuss: The message used an illustration of watering a plant before seeing any growth to show how discipline often comes before fruit. Where have you seen that dynamic at work in your life—spiritually or otherwise?

Discuss: Jesus told the church in Revelation to “do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:1-3). What’s one spiritual practice (like prayer, worship, Scripture, or community) that used to bring you life? What would it look like to return to it—or strengthen it—this week?

Pray: Share prayer requests and close in prayer.