Live as a Child of God

What does it really mean to live as someone deeply loved by God? Many of us try to build our lives on identities that are constantly shifting. As we continue exploring a powerful spiritual letter from Jesus’ beloved disciple John, we’ll be invited to root our identity in being God’s children—so that His love can shape how we see ourselves and how we love others. Watch Full Service Discussion Guide To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here. To view a .docx version of this guide, click here. Begin your time together with prayer  Introduction  Take some time to discuss how your action step of asking God to renew one unhealthy aspect of your life has been going since last week.  This week we will be discussing our identity as God’s children and how knowing that can help us love others well.  Connect   What’s something simple that never fails to make you feel appreciated?  Who’s the easiest person in your life to get along with, and what makes them so easy to be around?  Opening  It can be easy to talk about love, but it’s more difficult to live it out, especially when we forget where real love comes from. The way we love others is deeply connected to how we understand God’s love for us. As we start to see ourselves how God sees us, as it can change how we view and treat others because when we see ourselves as God’s children, it changes our motivations for why we want to love others in the first place.  This leads us to our main idea for this week  We can love people well as we grasp God’s love for us  Unpack  Read each set of verses out loud as a group, making observations as you go. Afterward discuss each of the connected questions before moving to the next set of verses:  Read   1 John 3:1-2  Romans 8:14-16  What stands out to you from these verses?  What does it mean to be a child of God?  Why do you think it matters that we know that we are children of God?   How often do you think about being a child of God in your daily life? How does this make you live differently?  We often try to find our identity in things like work, family, past mistakes, or achievements. What are some specific aspects of your life that try to compete for your sense of who you are?  If you saw yourself first as God’s child, how would that shape the way you love other people?  Read  John 13:33-35  1 John 4:7-12s  What stands out to you from these verses?  Based on what we just observed, where does real love begin?  Why does it matter to the world how we treat each other as followers of Jesus? How could this show other people what the love of God is like?  Sometimes we do loving things for the wrong reasons. What are some unhealthy motivations (people pleasing, guilt, conflict, etc.) you might have for showing love to someone?  How do you think knowing you are loved by God reshape our motivations when it comes to loving others?  What does loving others like God loves us practically look like?   Which of the ways we can love others that we just listed are the hardest for you to do in your daily life? Why do you think this is difficult?  Action Step   Start each day asking God to remind you about who you are to him and to help you live as his child in the way you treat others.   Challenge yourself to look at how God shows us love as an indicator for how to do this to those around you. Don’t use any unhealthy motivations you might have for showing someone love. Instead, ask God to renew your perspective to look more like how he calls us to love others.   Closing   Loving others well starts with remembering where love comes from. When we see ourselves through God’s eyes we begin to see and treat others like God does, as people to be loved. His love shapes not just how we treat people, but why we choose to love in the first place. As we hold on to that truth, our love becomes more genuine, more grounded, and more like his. This week ask God to remind you about his love for who you are to show others God’s love as well.  Pray Together  Pray for the Missionary Focus this week, then take prayer requests from your group and conclude your time in prayer for your group.  Missionary Focus  Bill Ankerberg  Bill leads a missions movement in the Nordic-Baltic region, focusing especially on Estonia, where fewer than 2% of people identify as Christian.  Prayer Requests:    For Bill’s personal health and safety    That Estonian church leaders would be receptive to the leadership and training Bill and his team provide     Spend a few minutes in prayer for Bill  Reflection Verse for the Week  *Read this verse, then encourage the practice of reflection and memorization through the week.  1 John 4:7  “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”  **When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us.  Daily Devotional Verses   Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below.  Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned.  Day 1: John 3:16  Day 2: 1 John 4:19  Day 3: Psalm 36:7  Day 4: John 15:9  Day 5: 1 Peter 4:8  Day 6: Ephesians 5:1  The post Live as a Child of God appeared first on Journey of Faith.