Pastor Britt Malcolmson walked us through John 15:9-13 and joyfully points us back to what the two ingredients make up the faithful Christian life. Jesus gives us 50 commandments in the New Testament, but they can be boiled down into these two ideas: we can not love Go without being obedient and we can not be obedient without love.

Read

9 “As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. 10 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.

11 “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.

12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.

Some key statements and questions put forward that are important for us to talk about…‍

Examine

"As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you."

• Love began with the Father. Do you ever think about how love didn't start with you?

• Why is it helpful to think about love as a response instead of a reaction?

‍"If you keep my commands you will remain in my love."

• Obedience and remaining in God's love go hand in hand.

• What happens when we obey without love? What about when we try to love without obedience to God?

“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you."

• Why do you think its important that Jesus commanded us to do something he did himself?

• When was a time you felt unloved when someone told you to do something they didn't do?

Apply

"Obedience is what sets us apart from the world." What is one command of Jesus' that you feel like you have been growing in obedience in this season? What is one you are struggling with?

‍"Can you befriend sinners and remain faithful?" Do you have friends who don't believe what you do? When you spend time with them does your obedience increase or decrease?

‍"Are you in the Word enough to be rebuked or stung by it?" Why is conviction kindness in the Christian faith? When was the last time you were convicted? What did obedience look like for you in response to that?

Act

Keep my commands. Say this out loud: Lord, shine your flashlight into my heart, reveal to me what commands I am needing to obey in this season.

Remain in my love. Say this out loud: Jesus, enable me to receive your love regardless of how obedient I do or do not feel.

Lie down my life. Say this out loud: Lord, I know the more obedient I am, the more I experience your love for me and others. Increase my appetite for obedience and increase my capacity for loving others.

Amen.