Irreplaceable: Week Three (NC)
November 5, 2020

Am I Loved?

RECAP:
• What has God been telling you as we have walked through this series?
• Who is God putting in your path who needs relationship?
• It is our hope and our goal that as we walk through this series, the lies of the devil would be exposed and our hope in Christ would become the primary focus in our lives.

Question for Reflection: Have you ever felt “unlovable”? What were the circumstances of your life at that time? Had you just committed a sin? Were you living in sin? Is this where you are at today?

• The lie that we are taking on today is that we are unlovable. This is one of the most devastating lies that can lead to:

o Hopelessness
o Isolation
o Fear
o Depression
o Etc.

• God’s word gives us the truth that, when applied to our lives, can help us do battle with this lie in our lives.
• Hosea is one of the books of the Bible that tells part of the story of God’s relationship with His people. The book of Hosea is incredibly relevant to this topic and our world today!
o Hosea is the 28th Book of the Old Testament.
o First book of what’s called the “Minor Prophets.”
o It was written when the people of Israel had turned their backs on God and were worshipping idols.

Hosea 1:2 (NIV) When the LORD began to speak through Hosea, the LORD said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the LORD.”
o God tells Hosea to “go and marry a prostitute.” God is sending a message to His people through the prophet Hosea! And He is sending a message to me and you.

Hosea 1:3 (ESV) So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

TRUTH #1: We don’t get to decide if we are LOVABLE or UNLOVABLE.
• This means that no matter how I feel about myself, I don’t have the authority to make the decision that I am no longer able to be loved. That decision is reserved for God and God alone!
• Gomer would have been considered “Unlovable” by not only the people in the community but also she had most likely come to the conclusion herself that she was unlovable.

Hosea 3:1-3 (NIV) 1The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife AGAIN, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” 2So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley. 3Then I told her, “You are to live with me many days; you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will behave the same way toward you.”
o This is a picture of our Relationship with God.

Question for Reflection: Have you ever felt like you have fallen into the same sin so many times that you can no longer go to God for forgiveness?

TRUTH #2: There is a big difference between being LIKEABLE and being LOVABLE.
• It is true that God hates sin! He despises it because it separates us from Him. (See Isaiah 53:6)
o But this will never mean we’re unlovable to God, nor that we become unable to be loved by God.

Psalm 103:11-13 (ESV) 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.

Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV) 12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
o The God you and I serve is willing to chase us down! Do you believe that today?

TRUTH #3: We will never become UNLOVABLE to one another.
• As Christians, we are called to walk with one another regardless of whether or not we like each other.

Galatians 6:2 (ESV) Bear* one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
o *“bear” - GK “bastazo” is a verb that literally means to “PICK UP & CARRY”1

• One of the mistakes that we can make is to interpret this as just physical burdens. For example:

  • Someone needs help with money
  • Someone needs a place to stay
  • Someone needs help around the house
  • Meals when they are sick

• These are all burdens that we are called to carry, but it doesn’t end there! We are also called to carry each other’s emotional and spiritual burdens, as well. These burdens are often more difficult to carry!
o This does not mean that we enable brokenness in each other!

CLOSING QUESTIONS:
• How have you allowed your brokenness to define whether or not you are lovable?
• Are you believing the lie that even the Creator of the universe is not powerful enough to love you?
• If you and I believe that we are loved unconditionally by God, what does it look like to live in this reality?
• How can we demonstrate God’s unconditional love to those in our lives who believe the lie that they’re “unlovable”?
• Is there someone you need to offer forgiveness to?
• Is there someone you need to ask for their forgiveness?

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT AND DISCUSS:
Passages to consider: Jeremiah 29:11-13, Philippians 4:8, Romans 12:1-2,9-16
Icebreaker: Which of these shows would you participate in: Survivor or Alone? Why or why not? OR What is your dominate love language?

  1. Read Ephesians 2:19, Galatians 6:2, and Romans 12:1-2,9-16. What is God, through Paul, communicating about who He is and who we are? A) What do these passages tell us about being God’s people together?
  2. How do you recognize when you are carrying burdens? A) How do you communicate to others that you need connection and perspective? B) How do you recognize when others are carrying burdens?
  3. Take a look at Jeremiah 29:11-13, Jeremiah 31:3, John 10:9-11, and Philippians 4:8. What are the kinds of things God speak to us, even when He is convicting us? A) What from these passages can help us recognize the difference between lies and truth?
  4. What kinds of lies are you more susceptible to? A) What kinds of lies are those close to you more susceptible to? B) What specifically can help you fight the lies? How specifically can you help someone else fight?
  5. What are you doing in this season to strengthen your connection with Jesus? With key people? A) Who do you have in your life where you could ask, “Can you speak some truth into what I am thinking and feeling?”
  6. As we conclude this series, what are you more aware of? What response is the Holy Spirit showing you to take?

Passages to prepare for next week’s new series, Challenge Accepted!
Read these passages a couple times this week: Malachi 3:8-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Luke 6:38, Proverbs 3:9, Acts 20:35.

RESOURCES for the Irreplaceable series can be found at: www.reallifeministries.com/irreplaceable
For parents and concerned adults, Irreplaceable Parent Night is November 15.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
1You can Look up the translations of the Greek and Hebrew in the Bible using the Concordances at BibleHub.com, BlueLetterBible.org, and BibleGateway.com.