The Way of Love

Key Takeaways

• Love is essential to the Christian life, but conflict often challenges our ability to love.

• Conflicts can have serious consequences when not handled with love.

• True love can be threatening because it requires sacrifice and vulnerability.

• Jesus is the ultimate source and example of sacrificial love.

Study Questions

Chase shared several observations on this week’s passage. Read and reflect on each sermon excerpt as you consider the discussion questions.

• Question 1

  “When you can be anything, oftentimes you feel like nothing."
  How have you experienced this in your own life or seen it in others?

• Question 2

  “Perhaps one of the greatest challenges to love in our daily lives is conflict.”
  How has conflict challenged your ability to love others?

• Question 3

  “Christians have a supernatural capacity for love and forgiveness.”
  How does this challenge or encourage you?

• Question 4

  "True love is always a threat."
  What are some ways love threatens our comfort, control, or self-interest?

• Question 5

  “Where there are no wounds, there is no love.”
  How does this relate to Jesus' love for us and our love for others and empower us to love sacrificially, even in difficult situations?

5-Day Devotional

DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

Day 1 : The Way of Love

READING :

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

DEVOTIONAL :

Paul reminds us that love is the foundation of Christian life. As we read this passage, reflect on how God's love transforms us. Consider how you can embody this love in your daily interactions, especially during conflicts. How might patience and kindness diffuse tension in your relationships? Pray for God to deepen your capacity to love as he loves us.

Day 2 : Reconciliation in Christ

READING :

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

DEVOTIONAL :

Today's passage speaks of our reconciliation with God through Christ. This reconciliation empowers us to be "ambassadors for Christ" in a world of conflict. Reflect on how your identity as a new creation in Christ changes your approach to disagreements. How can you be an agent of reconciliation in your family, workplace, or community? Ask God for wisdom to see others through his eyes of love and grace.

Day 3 : The Source of True Love

READING :

1 John 4:7-21

DEVOTIONAL :

John reminds us that God is the source of all love. As we abide in God's love, we're equipped to love others. Consider the areas in your life where you struggle to love. How might a deeper understanding of God's love for you transform these struggles? Meditate on verse 19: "We love because he first loved us." Allow this truth to sink deep into your heart, motivating you to extend love even when it's difficult.

Day 4 : Suffering and Divine Love

READING :

Romans 5:1-11

DEVOTIONAL :

Paul speaks of suffering as a path to hope and character. Reflect on how God's love sustains us through trials. Have you experienced God's presence more deeply during difficult times? Consider how past sufferings have shaped your faith. Pray for the strength to "rejoice in our sufferings," trusting that God is working through them to refine and strengthen you.

Day 5 : Living as God's Beloved

READING :

Ephesians 1:3-14

DEVOTIONAL :

This passage celebrates our adoption as God's children through Christ. Meditate on what it means to be "holy and blameless" before God because of Jesus' sacrifice. How does this identity as God's beloved change how you view yourself and others? Reflect on ways you can live out your calling as one chosen and redeemed by God. Thank God for his lavish love and ask for grace to live in a manner worthy of your calling.

This Week’s Liturgy & Playlist

CALL TO WORSHIP

Leader: Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

All: The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:10-11

Confession of Sin

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against thee in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved thee with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in thy will, and walk in thy ways, to the glory of thy Name. Amen.

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9

Looking Ahead

Join us next week for Acts 18.