Theme: “Living A Life Of Sacrifice And Service”
Topic: Demonstrating Sacrificial Love
Main Text: John 3:16, 15:9-17; 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Key verse: John 15:12-13 ” 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (NKJV).
Introduction:
God’s love is sacrificial. In John 3:16, God sets the pattern of true love – “when you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice”. God so loved the world, he sacrificed himself. He sacrificed his Son. “For God so (intensely) loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16). God paid dearly with the life of his son -the highest price He could pay. Jesus accepted our punishment, paid the price for our sin, and offered us the new life he had bought for us. Christ demands that we love one another in the same sacrificial way. He said “a new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). Are we willing to sacrifice time, job, and career to love God and people? True love is sacrificial. Divine love is unconditional love -it depends entirely on the one who loves and not on the merit, attractiveness, or response of the one loved.
Q1. (1a) John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave.” What principle do we learn from God here about showing love? (1b) What is the connection between love and sacrifice? How did Jesus Christ demonstrate this principle in Romans 5:8 and 1 John 4:10? (1c) How do these verses define and motivate your love for others? How can we exhibit these principles in practical ways among ourselves?
Paragraph 2:
Jesus commands us to love as He did. We can only do that if we abide in Him. Abiding in Him is not a mystical or emotional thing – verse 10 defines it for us as obedience – keeping his commandments as He kept the Father’s commandments. At the new birth, the “love of God was poured out within their (our) hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another” (1 Thess. 4:9), which is true for all Christians. Love for fellow believers characterizes the redeemed, as John emphasized: the one who says he is in the Light but hates his brother is in darkness. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and does not stumble. (1 John 2:9-11) By this, the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness or love his brother is not of God. We abide in Him by obeying His commandment to love and serve sacrificially in the way He showed us.
Q2 (2a) Read John 15:12-13; how does love act? (2b) Most of us will probably not be called to literally lay down our life for our brother. Read 1 John 3:17, Philippians 2:1-4, and James 2:14-17, what practical test can we use to determine whether we have the kind of love that makes sacrifices?
Paragraph 3:
To love as God loves is to love because He loves us. We are called to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph 5:2) and to love as Christ did, who gave Himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God. Christ’s sacrificial love, shown by His death on the cross for undeserving people, should humble us and inspire us to sacrificially love believers and unbelievers alike. If God’s love can reach His enemies, we should not refuse to love ours. If He loves His imperfect children with perfect love, we should love fellow believers despite our shared imperfections. However, we cannot achieve this by mere willpower; we need the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of love in us through His power. (Rom 5:5).
Q3. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7; John 13:4-5 and 1 Peter 2:21-25. (3a) How does Jesus model this kind of love for believers? How can this example motivate your own love for God and service to His people? (3b)How do the following verses help explain the concept of love for others as an expression of faith in God? Matthew 25:34-40; Romans 12:9-13; James 2:14-26 (3c) Consider the relationships in your own life to determine if you pass John’s test of true belief. Does God’s love abide in you, such that it manifests sincere compassion for the brethren? In what practical ways can you grow in this area this week?
Prayer: Thank You Lord for your sacrificial love. Please help us to abound increasingly in Your love for us so that we can be sacrificial in our love for You and for others, to the glory and honor of Your name. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.