Accountability
This past week did you replace worry with prayer? Was it challenging or empowering to put your full confidence in the Lord?
Did you pray for someone else you know facing a battle? What truth did you pray over them?
Have you been obedient to asking the person/people to Easter that God laid on your heart in prayer?
Sermon Recap
Love is God’s great motivator. His agape love is unconditional. It is not based on performance or conditions. It is ours simply because God is love and He created us in love. God’s desire is that we would love Him in return, the same way He loves us, unconditionally. However, so often we are creatures of conditional love. We love as long as something or someone fulfills a need we have, meets our expectations, performs the way we want.
As the Awaken series comes to an end Pastor Nikki spoke about standing at the crossroads of “Hosanna” and “Crucify Him.” The people who lined the streets on Palm Sunday over 2000 years ago shouting “Hosanna” loved Jesus, in the moment. They were on the spiritual high of Him raising Lazarus from the dead. However, just four days later most of those same people were screaming “Crucify Him” because Jesus was not proving to be the kind of Messiah they wanted or were waiting for. Their love was very conditional. As soon as Jesus did not meet their expectations they jumped ship. In the same way as this Awaken series comes to an end, we too, are on a bit of a spiritual high. We have seen God do incredible things. Yet, we must decide if our love for Jesus is based on what He is doing for us in any given moment or if we love Him unconditionally because He is our Savior. Trusting that even when His ways and methods do not make sense to us, they are always best…they always lead to the greater He has for us. The challenge of this sermon is recognizing that how we choose to love Jesus determines how God will use us moving forward. Conditional love always stunts what God can and will do among any group of people. Unconditional love is always the catalyst for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Key Scripture
Read through these passages together:
Isaiah 50:4
John 3:16
Romans 5:8
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Romans 8:35-39
John 15:9-17
Discussion Questions
Discuss together, pushing yourself toward transparency. The more we are authentic and humble with one another, the more we can grow in Christ.
How has this Awaken journey changed the way you love Jesus? What is one thing God has taught you about being a disciple that you didn’t know before?
Understanding that love is God’s great motivator, how does that make you look at Jesus' sacrifice on the cross? How does that challenge you to love God in return?
When you read Paul’s words in Romans 5:8 and see his description of Agape love in 1 Corinthians 13 how would you describe God’s love to someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior?
For the original crowd on Palm Sunday what was the motivation for their love for Jesus? What expectations did Jesus NOT meet that changed their mind about Him so quickly?
How does the world’s fixation on conditional love hinder people from fully receiving God’s love?
Read John 15:9-17. How does this passage outline Jesus’ example of unconditional love? How does it challenge you to love in the same way?
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for Your agape love. That even while we were still sinners You loved with a limitless, everlasting love. A love that sent Your Son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins. Father we cannot fully fathom that kind of love but we are so thankful for it. Father, because of your great love for us we give you that same agape love in return. Not because of what you can do for us but because of what you have done for us. May Your love be the guiding force in our lives and may we love in return, propelling us forward in all that You have for us. In Jesus' holy and precious name we pray. Amen!
Life Application
This week spend time in prayer checking the motives of your heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to convict and correct and false or ulterior motives.
Wake up every morning proclaiming the agape love of God over your life and vowing to give the same kind of love in return. Ending each day by listing three ways His love made your day better and lifting those back up to Him in praise.
Be open to what is next. Check your expectations at the door and declare that you will trust God in all things…even His timing and His methods.
Don’t Forget!
Spend an hour in prayer each day
Additional Resources
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