BIG IDEA
When you let go to love God, you find new life in Him.
MESSAGE NOTES:
WHAT:
It’s painful to let go of something for love.
Jesus’ death showed us God’s willingness to let go for love.
…God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:8b-10 NIV
SO WHAT:
Jesus’ resurrection showed us new life in God.
Jesus calls us to pick up our cross and follow him.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:24-25 NIV
When you let go to love God, you find new life in Him.
NOW WHAT:
What are you willing to lose for love?
What has to die for your love for Jesus? What has to die for you to find new life in Jesus?
∙Control
One of the hardest things to let go of is control. To really let your sense of control “die" so that God can be in control of your life.
∙Sin
Sin is the things that are contrary to obeying God. And the price tag for sin is death.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Q1: What is one thing you used to fear doing that you don’t anymore? How did you get over that fear?
Q2: Have you ever had an opinion about someone that changed once you got to know them? Without saying names, what changed your opinion of them?
Q3: What are some examples of experiences that shape the way you think God feels about you?
Q4: Read 1 John 4:9-10. John knew he was loved. What do people do differently when they know and believe they are loved compared to when they don’t? What could change about someone’s life if they truly believed God loved them?
Q5: How can we remind ourselves and others of the truth about how God feels about us?