Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 35

INTRODUCTION
The following is a guide to help facilitate discussion. Feel free to add or subtract or change questions to fit the conversation, and pray for the Spirit to lead in all things.

OPEN
Can you remember a time as a kid when you’re mom or dad did something for you in public that in retrospect, they did out of love for you, but at the time was horribly embarrassing?

HEAD
Read John 15:13, Galatians 2:20, I John 3:16, Hosea 1:2, Hebrews 12: 5-11, Jonah 1:7-17 together and share any wisdom, insights, or questions in response to the reading. 

There is a lot of talk by Jesus about losing one’s life or laying one’s life down for another. Since many of us won’t do this literally, what does it mean or look like for us to lay our lives down figuratively for one another?

Jesus said that no one has greater love than when they lay their life down for their friends.  But according to Romans 5:8, Jesus laid His life down for all, including His enemies.  What does His example mean to you and how do we seek to love more like Him?

God called Hosea to marry a prostitution, someone who was and would be unfaithful to him, as a way of teaching us about God’s love for us.  What are the parallels you can see between Hosea’s call and God’s love for His people?  How hard is it to love those who betray us?  What does it mean to you that “if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself”?

The word discipline comes from the root disciple, and is meant to help teach us in the way we should go.  Was there a discipline you received as a child that you remember the lesson learned to this day?  How about a discipline you received from God and what you learned from that experience?

Has God’s love ever found you in the midst of disobedience?  If so, how does his love change us when we are confronted with it’s full force?

HEART
Too many so-called Christians are more known for what they’re against than what they are for, as a result, Christianity in the West is often labeled as judgmental, hypocritical, too political, and anti-lots of things.  How do we, as followers of Christ, go about changing those perceptions?  Can we make a dent in how others view followers of Christ or is it too late?

What is a better motivator toward loving others; focusing on what it looks like to love others, or focusing on how loved we are and the person who loves us? Explain.

Real love and real intimacy can be difficult, risky, and unsettling at times as we let people know more of our real selves, but it can also be incredibly rewarding and life-changing.  How can you and I help each other feel more safe to put our roots down into the community and be known?  What are ways we put our roots down as we feel more open to doing so?

HANDS
What is one thing that you can do this week to get more connected to your church community, or if you’re already deeply connected and committed, what is something you can do to help someone else begin to put roots down?

LIVING WORDS for YOUR WEEK
“‬‬So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬‬