Loving God by Loving One Another
Date: 1/15/23
Preacher: Trent Chambers
Scripture: 1 John 5:1-5
Main Sermon Points
1. Depend on Jesus (v.1)
2. Delight in God (v.2)
3. Do what he says (v.3)
4. Depend on Jesus (v.4-5)
Psalm
Psalm 39 (When singing or praying this Psalm, we join a lament of David while he feels oppressed and punished by God. This is a psalm for when God’s commands feel ‘burdensome.’ Rather than despair, we examine our own faults and ask God for wisdom (v.1-5), set our hope on God for deliverance and forgiveness (v.6-11), and fall on the Father’s merciful care (v.12-13).)
Read the Passage
Read the Scripture passage aloud as a group. When you’re done reading, take some time to share observations about the passage. Try not to move into interpretation or application yet. Just spend some time observing what the text says.
Discuss and Apply
Trent described the cycle of dependence on Jesus in three steps: we trust the Son, so we love the Father, so we do what he says. Trust, Love, Obey.
1. Which part of this cycle do you get hung up on the most? What is the Gospel’s solution for that?
Verse 3 boldly asserts: “And his commandments are not burdensome.” Do you struggle to believe this? By most counts, we find commandments about 600 times in the Old Testament and 1000 times in the New. So what does John mean? John Piper explains, “the commandments of God are burdensome to us on the one hand because the world tempts us to believe that obeying God’s commandments is not as satisfying as disobeying them, and we tend to agree with the world, and on the other hand, there is something in us that loves to agree with the world.”
2. When and why do you find obeying God to be the most “burdensome”?
Read Ezekiel 36:26-27: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
3. What is the Bible’s solution for our weak, sinful tendency to see God’s commandments as a burden, not a blessing?
Pulling our focus back to the big picture, if we’re honest we often think of the Christian life–God’s way of human living–as demanding and exhausting.
What does God ask of you that seems the most daunting? 4. How can this group pray for you in that area?
Close
What we love shapes how we live, and how we live shapes what we love. This is what the modern business world calls a “virtuous cycle”! Let’s spend some time considering how to put it to use this week.
1. What are simple ways you can intentionally mold your life and your loves this week? How can this community group be part of that plan?