What is Love?

How Do We Love God?

Lesson 3 Sermon
Overview
Summary
In the small group lesson this week, you helped your students process how loving God
means becoming more like him in our words, actions, and thoughts. As students apply
this truth to their lives, our goal is that they would understand how Jesus’s death for our
sins does not justify sinful behavior. Instead, it gives us the ability to love God with our
whole being and follow the example of Jesus! Our pursuit of holiness is an expression
of our need and love for God. Many students are pursuing what the world says is
“good”. With this sermon, you will help your students unpack what it means to love God
by pursuing holiness. Students will discover that this is not possible without the power of
the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

Key Takeaways
1. Students will describe what it means to love God with our whole being and follow
the example of Jesus.
2. Students will discuss why believing Jesus died for our sins, and God has forgiven
us of all of them, does not justify sinful behavior.
3. Students will express their need for God as they pursue a life of holiness.

Scriptures
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 / John 15:10 / 1 John 2:1-6 / 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
Sermon Script
Introduction
There are so many different ways to show love. Have you ever heard of the “5 Love
Languages” before? There are words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service,
quality time, and gifts. All of these are ways people give and receive! What is your love
language? (Have students shout out their response at the same time) Notice how many
different responses there are! Have you ever wondered what God’s love language is? If
everyone shows and receives love differently, then how do we really love God? These
five options seem odd when applied to God. Can you hug God? Can you give him a
gift? On our own, we really have no idea how to love God.

When we talk about what love is, we cannot show love to others if we first are not
showing love to God! He should be the primary recipient of our love. When you think of
your relationships, there is a giving and a receiving. Let’s take your parents for
example… as your parents give you love through affirming you, cheering you on, or
providing for you, you receive that love and then show them love in return. That may
look like spending time with your parents, obeying them when they ask something of
you, and following them as they lead your family. God is pouring out love on us all the
time! God provides for us, encourages us, gives us the gift of his son Jesus, and so
much more. As we receive God’s love, our response should be to give him love in
return.

I have heard it said before that those who do not believe in God are still continually
receiving the love and blessing of God. Everyone, whether they follow him or not,
receives breath in their lungs, they get to enjoy God's creation, God's provision, and a
God who is constantly pursuing them whether they realize it or not. The first week we
talked about how God is love. Since God is love, he is constantly and unconditionally
pouring himself out onto his creation! What would it look like for us to unconditionally
and constantly love him back? If we cannot love him on our own, then how do we do it?

Point #1: We Love with Everything

In the book of Exodus in the Old Testament, we see a man named Moses lead the
Israelites out of Egypt. As they are on their way to the promised land God was giving
them, we see Moses lay out many different instructions and sacrifices for them so that
they could love God, obey him and follow him. Part of those instructions were called the
Ten Commandments, which laid out 10 foundational rules for the Israelites to follow if
they were to fully obey and love God. When you read through the instructions for the
Israelite people, it can feel overwhelming. Is loving God chalked up to a bunch of rules
and regulations? Thankfully, Moses summarizes all of these instructions with one
overarching commandment.
Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD
your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Loving God is about giving God everything we are: mind, body, and soul. This kind of
total love is intense. That is because God is the only one who is truly worthy of receiving
our everything. When we give God our mind, body, and soul, obedience will be a natural
byproduct. The things God lays out for Christ followers in Scripture will not be
overwhelming, but a joy to follow! If you were here when we started the series, you
might remember Jesus saying in John 15:

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's
commands and remain in his love...John 15:10

Jesus is our perfect example of what it looks like to love God with all our heart, soul,
and strength. Jesus gave God everything, even to the point of death on the cross! Jesus
never sinned, but kept God's commands perfectly and, therefore, loved God perfectly.
Have you ever struggled to obey God before? We all have! Obedience is not always
easy, and God knows that. The most amazing thing to me is that since God knows
obedience is hard, he actually helps us do it.

Point #2: Our advocate helps us to love.

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the
one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not
only our sins but the sins of all the world. And we can be sure that we know him if we
obey his commandments. If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's
commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey
God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living
in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did...1 John 2:1-6

How amazing is this passage? Jesus, God's son, walked on this earth and lived a
perfect life. He loved God perfectly through obeying him perfectly, even when it meant
death on the cross! However, death was not the final stop for Jesus. Three days after
Jesus’s death he rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God. As Jesus
sits next to God, he actually advocates for us! Do you know what an advocate is? The
definition of an advocate is: “someone who publicly recommends or supports”. Jesus is
supporting you right now! When you mess up and disobey God, he pleads your case
before the Father so you can be forgiven and love God fully.

Christ followers are not instantly made perfect. We grow to become more like Jesus
over time and this a process called “sanctification”. That means we still sin, and here,
John is assuring us that we have forgiveness and righteousness through our
relationship with Jesus. What’s the proof of this relationship? Our obedience and the
way we live and love like Jesus. This passage isn’t about obeying so that we get
forgiveness. It’s the other way around: we’ve already received forgiveness, and so we
live it out in obedience to God.

God's will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will
control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the
pagans who do not know God and his ways...1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

This verse shows us one way we can live out our love for God: through pursuing purity.
The way we conduct our outer self (our bodies), and the things we think about (our
minds), should be a reflection of the work God is doing in our inner self (our hearts).
When we turn away from sexual sin, or any sin, and turn toward God, we experience
peace and joy! When we truly obey God's commands, then we are loving him fully with
our mind, body, and soul. This is not at all a restriction, but incredibly freeing!

Point #3: Loving God leads to freedom.

When we read 1 Thessalonians, we see that Paul wrote this letter to a group of new
Christians in a Greek town called Thessalonica. He knew these followers of Jesus
would have a hard time understanding how to obey God, too. Notice that Paul didn't
merely say, "Don't have sex." Instead, he encouraged them to be holy. Being holy
means being set apart for God. It means you seek God rather than the things of the
world.

Right now, as people are seeking the love of the world, they are being left confused,
isolated, hurt, or unfulfilled. It is easy to cast your mind, body and heart on things
around you, whether it be a relationship, social media, friends, or school. The reality is
that none of those things have ever fully loved and sacrificed for you like God has. Sin
tells us that we can love the things of the world and be satisfied and fulfilled in them.
That is a lie! When you love the things of the world, it will leave you feeling more empty.
However, when you love God and obey him you experience the fullness of the life, he
marked out for you. That life is filled with his joy, peace, hope, freedom, and truth!

Some of us have had this backward: we are doing everything “right” on the outside, but
on the inside, our hearts are far from God. Have you become hyper-focused on your
actions and the actions of others, while ignoring your heart? The foundation for our
obedience should be love for God, not a desire to earn God’s love or get approval from
others. Cry out to God and ask him to change your heart so that your actions flow from
a love for God. Let’s spend time in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to sanctify us and lead
us into God’s will. What are some areas in your life that require repentance? Take some
time to ask God for forgiveness and for his strength to commit to turning away from sin
and loving him fully.
Discussion Questions

1. Have you heard someone justify sinful behavior because they know God has
already forgiven them? Why is this way of thinking problematic?
2. How is God saying, “be holy” different from him saying, “be perfect?”
3. Have you ever tried to “be perfect”? How did that make you feel? How long did
that last? What does God offer you in place of your own strength as you pursue
holiness?
4. Is there anything in your life that’s holding you back from pursuing holiness?
What do you need to do with those things?
5. Is there anything in your life that is propelling you to pursue holiness? How can
you continue in that direction?