To Love Is to Serve

In one paragraph

This message, from John 13:21-38, centered on the kind of love Jesus commanded his disciples to have for one another, a self-giving, others-focused love that would prove to the world they belonged to him. Pastor Kyle walked through the final scene of the last supper, where betrayal, denial, and abandonment were all already in motion, and showed that Jesus gave his new command to love in the middle...

Read together

1. John 13:21-38 main passage read aloud and discussed throughout the sermon
2. 1 Corinthians 13 read at length to illustrate what God's love looks like tangibly
3. Luke 6:40 referenced in discussion about the student not being above his teacher and being fully trained to be like him
4. Romans (unspecified) mentioned twice in conversation as God molding and shaping believers into the image of his son

Talk about it

1. Pastor Kyle talked about Jesus giving the command to love one another at the very moment Judas was betraying him. When has it been hardest for you to keep loving someone who was actively hurting or wronging you?
2. The sermon described love as something that 'embraces God's will, chooses his choices, and carries it out through his power.' How does thinking of love as a choice exercised through God's power, rather than a feeling, change the way you approach a difficult relationship?
3. Blake pointed out that we can substitute Jesus's name into the 1 Corinthians 13 description of love, and that Jesus is our standard. What happens when you substitute your own name in there? Which phrase hits you hardest, and why?
4. Gary and Pastor Kyle talked about how we are a work in progress, and Carl brought up the image of being an apprentice who is not afraid to ask questions or make mistakes. Where in your life right now do you feel most like a student still learning from Jesus?
5. The discussion touched on how both Judas and Peter are relatable in different ways, because we all have moments of betraying or denying Jesus. What does it mean to you that Jesus washed the feet of both of them knowing exactly what each was about to do?