Week of January 31, 2021
SERIES: Straight to the Heart
Week #4: Relentless Love
John 3:16-18
MESSAGE PREVIEW:
Our “Straight to the Heart” series continues this Sunday as Pastor Brian shares about the value of Relentless Love.
Everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from has the same intuitive desire: they want to be loved. Our greatest need, as people, is for someone to love us enough to stand in our place. The love of God speaks to and satisfies this desire. But the enemy’s greatest lie is convincing people that God doesn’t love them.
What does this have to do with us? Jesus tells us that we too should love people relentlessly, just as He did. The way we love people can open their hearts to the love of God through Jesus Christ. It can help them see and experience this love in a tangible way. Jesus loved people relentlessly and so should we. At Bay Area Church, we desire to love people with a Relentless Love.
Let’s take a closer look at God’s love for us and how His love should compel us to be people who love others well.
TWO QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD’S LOVE
- How Does God Really Love? (3:16)
- God so loved the world.
- Romans 5:6-8
- That He gave His only Son.
- Genesis 22:1-2
- Ephesians 2:4-5
- That whoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
- 1 John 3:1
- God so loved the world.
- What Does God’s Love Mean for the World? (3:17-18)
- God’s purpose is to save the world NOT condemn it.
- Genesis 15
- God’s justice only accentuates His relentless love.
- God’s purpose is to save the world NOT condemn it.
OUR RESPONSE
- We too, since we have received the relentless love of God, ought to love relentlessly.
- 1 John 4:9-12
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
- Are you known for your relentless love?
ICEBREAKER QUESTIONS
Love is a powerful thing. It has the power to change a heart. It has the power to change a life. It has the power to change the world. When asked what was most important, Jesus responded that we should love God and love others. He said that everything else was encompassed in these two ideas. To love in the way of Jesus is more than an emotion, it is action. Look at the following quote by the ancient scholar and theologian, Augustine.
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
There is power in our choosing to relentlessly love others in a way that leads to action. Take a few minutes and discuss the following questions as you begin your study this week.
- Has someone ever shown you relentless love? Tell more about it.
- How did the relentless love of another person make a difference in your life and faith?
As people who have been relentlessly loved, we are called to love relentlessly. Let’s talk more about the value of relentless love and the message from this week. Pray as you move into the remainder of the discussion.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Ask and discuss the following questions.
Q: How would you define love as it is taught and expressed in the life of Jesus? How is this definition different from the way our culture might define love?
Q: Do you agree that a person’s greatest desire is to be loved? If so, how do we try and satisfy this desire apart from Jesus? Is there a danger in this? Please explain.
Q: How does the enemy try and convince people they are not loved by God? Have you experienced this in your own life?
Q: How do Christians, at times, support the false idea that some are not worthy of God’s love? How can we combat this lie?
Q: Read John 13:35. How can our relentlessly loving others help them understand and embrace God’s relentless love? How have you seen this happen in and through your life?
Q: Did God teach you something new through this look at the familiar verses of John 3:16-18? Share with the group.
Q: What can keep us from choosing to relentlessly love others? How can we work to overcome these hurdles?
Q: Read John 3:17. Jesus says that God’s purpose is to save the world and not condemn the world? Explain in your own words what this means. How can we live this same way?
Q: The cross is the greatest example of Jesus’s relentless love for the world. What are other examples from the Bible showing Jesus’s relentless love being expressed?
Q: How can understanding we’ve been loved relentlessly by God help us to choose a life that loves relentlessly?
Q: What are practical, every-day ways we can love people relentlessly?
WRAP-UP
We too, since we have received the relentless love of God, ought to love relentlessly. As you conclude your gathering this week, take a minute to think on these wrap-up questions:
- What did you hear?
- What is your one “take-away” from this week?
- John 3:16-18 is a very familiar passage. What new idea or insight did you learn from our study this week?
- What do you think?
- How did this passage and study affirm, challenge, or change the way you think about serving?
- Would people describe you as a person who loves relentlessly? Why or why not?
- What will you do?
- Who needs your relentless love this week?
- How can you relentlessly love them in the next seven days?
Have group members share their answers to the above questions. Close with prayer asking God to help us live with relentless love this next week.
SCRIPTURES FROM THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE:
- John 3:1-18, John 3:16-18, Romans 5:6-8, Genesis 22:1-2, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 4:9-12, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
UPCOMING MESSAGES:
2/7/21 Spirit and Truth Empowerment John 4:23-24