Life Group Curriculum- Stronger, Part 1, January 10, 2010
For Printer Friendly pdf copy: CLICK HERE
Big Picture:
God’s love for us transcends our comprehension. His capacity for loving sinful human beings follows no logic. As a Holy God, his relentless acceptance of us does not make sense. The breadth of his love exceeds the human experience. From Genesis to Revelation, the Word of God presents a love story of God’s passionate pursuit of people. The Bible uses real life stories to illustrate God’s love. One of those stories is found in the book of Hosea, which was the sermon text last weekend. It is the story of the prophet Hosea, whose wife was a prostitute. Hosea was instructed by God to marry Gomer and keep taking her back in spite of her wonderings. Hosea eventually ended up buying her off the slave-trading block. This story was recorded to illustrate God’s love for us. How he loved us when we were rebellious, and purchased us from slavery by the payment of Jesus blood.
In your LifeGroup discussion this week, read the scriptures and the points below and consider the great love of God in your life.
1) God’s love is unmerited. Read the scriptures below and talk about how God loved us when we were unlovely, and how that should influence the way we love others.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
Read 1 John 4:19
2) God’s love is unconditional.
Read Ephesians 2:4-10 and talk about God’s love for us… is it “conditioned” upon our action. If not, then what is based upon.
“Let me be absolutely clear that in our lives as Christ followers, blessing is tied to obedience, but love is tied to God’s character. God blesses us because of our obedience, but, as the story of Hosea illustrates, He loves us even in our rebellion.”
–Pastor Terry, January 10 message
3) God’s love is unchangeable.
Read Romans 8:31-39. Is there anything we can do to undo God’s love for us? What are the ramifications of this truth of God’s unchangeable love for us. How does knowing how much God loves us affect our walk of faith?
4) God’s love is unforgettable.
Read Lamentations 3:22-23 and discuss how waking each morning looking for God’s mercies can keep us from experiencing spiritual amnesia.
City of Grace Mission Statement: “Our mission is to love people to life!”
Pastor Terry introduced this new mission statement for our church family. Talk about how this mission statement is relevant to your LifeGroup as you seek to glorify God through the vision he has given to our Church community.
Taking Action:
Take time this week to pray over this mission statement, and ask God how you can live it out in your own life and in your church. Remember that this week Pastor Terry has called everyone in the church to fast and pray. Consider what you can offer up to the Lord in a sacrificial fast as you intercede for our church and your life as the Spirit leads you.
Ministry Time