June 30-July 6 (downloadable PDF)
John 13:1-20 Pastor Wes Feltner
Take about 45 minutes during your missional community gathering to discuss what God is teaching you and how he is leading you in light of the weekend sermon.
Connecting:
- Have you recently been served by someone in a way that caught you by surprise? How did you respond? Did you have any questions for them after?
- Has there ever been a situation where you felt convicted to serve in some sort of capacity, but then decided not to? What caused you to have that conviction and how did you feel when you didn’t respond?
- What about human nature do you think prevents us from wanting to take on the humble servant mentality of Christ? Do you see any of those character traits in yourself? How do you wrestle with them?
Application: Jesus loves you; not because you’re great, but because ….. He loves you! (it’s His character and choice to do so)
- Read Ephesians 2:3-4. How would you describe the American culture around merited respect and earnings? What capacity does this system have for genuine unconditional love?
- What is the difference between unconditional and conditional love? How is this, or could this, be demonstrated in relationships with a parent, spouse, sibling, boss, co-worker, employee, etc.
- What do you think are some of the things that limit our ability to understand the unconditional love God has towards us? Are these restrictions caused by our human nature, our culture, or the difficulty in understanding God?
- Read John 13:34-35. How does understanding the heart us Jesus towards us enable us to demonstrate this love toward others?
- Have anyone ever come back to you and said they noticed you were different, that there was something about the way you cared for others that was unusual?
Application: Jesus demonstrated humility through lowliness
- 2019 Americans don’t do much in the way of feet washing outside a daily shower. What are some modern equivalent acts of service a person could perform for another to demonstrate love through humility?
- What are some excuses you see others in the church using to justify not serving others? What are some that you are guilty of using?
- Read Romans 5:7-8. Have you come across any circumstances where you didn’t want to serve someone because you felt like they didn’t deserve it? What some things we can do to combat that type of attitude in ourselves?
- What are some things that you expect from people when you serve them? Why is it so natural for us to expect something in return? Have you found anything that helps you serve others without expectations as Christ did?
- Have you ever asked someone to serve in a ministry with you and they said no? What led you to serve regardless of anyone else participating?