Do You Love Me?

Read John 21:15-19. Why do you think Jesus asks Peter the question, Do You Love Me? and none of the other disciples? 

Close your eyes. Imagine you are looking into the face of Jesus and he is looking into yours. Picture him asking you: Do You Love Me? What is the initial feeling you get when you hear Him ask you that question? What goes through your brain? What is your initial answer? Then think about the question for a couple of minutes. Is your answer the same? 

If your answer is YES Jesus, I love you, imagine Jesus then telling you to feed his sheep. What is your response? Are you already feeding? If not, what would it take for you to start doing some feeding? 

If your answer is NO Jesus, I don’t love you, how do you feel when you say that to Jesus? Do you wish your answer were yes? What would it take for that to be your answer? Is that possible? 

In his book, An Extravagant Mercy, author M. Craig Barnes says this: 

Christian leaders are not invited into service because they are so talented that God has to have their help. Neither are they necessarily attracted by the responsibilities. Like the first disciples, they eventually become leaders only because they first fell in love with Jesus of Nazareth. They love him so much that they are willing to follow Jesus wherever he leads. In time they make the frightening discovery that Jesus has led them into overwhelming challenges where they are beyond their means to be of help. 

It is then that Christian leaders realize that their power resides neither in their talents and abilities nor in the esteem of their office, and certainly not in their popularity with the people. As they get near the cross, the come to see that if there is any power to be found, it can come only from a Savior. 

An Extravagant Mercy (p. 121)

Give some thought to what Barnes says here. Do you agree with what he says. Has this been your experience? Have you been led into overwhelming challenges? If so, how did you respond? Is the thought of being led into overwhelming challenges something that keeps you from wanting to all-out love Jesus? 

Healthy Living - Honor Your Parents; Honor your Children

As a parent, what is your greatest challenge when it comes to your children? Are you still able to honor them in the midst of this challenge? 

If not, what steps could you take to change this? 

Do you have trouble getting your children to obey you? How old are your children? Do you have different expectations from your children depending on their age? One thing we need to remember….even our teenagers still need our guidance, still need to listen to us, still need to obey us.  Teenagers need and want boundaries, guidelines, and rules, even though at times they fight us on these things. 

What is your greatest challenge when it comes to your parents? Are you still able to honor them in the midst of this challenge? If not, what steps could you take to change this?

One very important role of parents is to be God’s representatives in the household, to be the hands and feet and voice and ears of Christ in our families. That means that we expect them to be obedient, as God expects us to be obedient, and yet we love our children unconditionally, even when they are disobedient, as God loves us. Do you find this as challenging as we do? Our only hope here is to look to God for courage, strength, and guidance through prayer. 

Is there something you need to forgive your parents (or a parent) for? What would it take for this to happen? Keep in mind, when we forgive, it isn’t to let the other person off the hook, but to allow us not to be kept prisoner by whatever it is any longer. If you would like to forgive but are having trouble, please seek help through the pastors. 

Healthy Living - Submit to one another

Many people say that a good marriage is a 50-50 thing. This only adds up to 100%. Since there are two of you, shouldn’t the total be 200%? What would happen in your marriage if you decided to make it a 100-100 thing? 

What if you decided to make it a 120-120 thing, where each of you went beyond 100%. Would that improve your marriage? If so, why not try it? 

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21 (NIV)

The challenge for many of us is this….who’s going to go first? Hey, here’s an idea….why not make it you, since you’re the only one you can control anyway. Who knows what your partner might do when he/she sees you acting so differently.

Husbands…you’re called to lead you household. As Eugene Peterson translates it in The Message, “The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing.”

Look up the word “cherishing” (or ‘cherish”) in the dictionary. What does it say? Are you truly cherishing your wife? If so, keep up the good work. If not, give some careful thought to how you might make this central to your relationship. 

“Wives want to be loved. Husbands want to be respected (or honored).”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement. How does this play out in your day-to-day life and activities? If it doesn’t, what would it take for that to happen?

Husbands….when was the last time you wrote your wife a love letter? If it’s been more than a month, why not write one to her now? 

Wives…when was the last time you told your husband how much you appreciate all he does, how much you respect and honor him? If it’s been more than a month, why not do it today, or at the latest, tomorrow. 

Husbands and wives…why not make this a part of your relationship with your spouse? 

Healthy Living - Be Children of LIght

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light.”     Ephesians 5:8 (NKJV)

Do you remember when you were in darkness? Are you still there at times? When that happens, what do you do? Have you tried prayer?

What does it mean to be light in the Lord?

Are you walking as a child of the light? If so, what does that mean? If not, what needs to change in your life for that to happen?

Verse 18 tells us: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.” 

If we are filled with the Spirit, our lives will bear fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what this “fruit of the Spirit” looks like. Read this Scripture. Are you exhibiting “fruit of the Spirit?” If not, what is it that is blocking the fruit from coming forth? Have you prayed to God to take away that blockage so that the Spiritual fruit may come forth?

Verse 20 tells us: “giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Do you give thanks for all things? How would your life change if starting today, you made a concerted effort to do just that? How would the lives of those around you change? Consider giving it a try!

Healthy Living - Live a Life of Love

What is your greatest challenge when it comes to living a life of love, a life of imitating Christ? 

Who is the hardest person in the world for you to love? Have you prayed to God to help you somehow love that person? Can you do that now?

Do you find it easy to take a “It’s Not About Me” attitude, or do you find yourself frequently asking, ”What About Me?” If the latter is the case, what would it take to change this? 

Do you consider yourself one of God’s holy people? If so, what does that mean in terms of your day-to-day living? If you don’t consider yourself one of God’s holy people, what would it take for that to change?

If tomorrow it were illegal to be a Christian in this country, would there be enough evidence to convict you of this crime? 

The Beginning of the End

Many in the crowd on Palm Sunday were hoping for the Messiah to be a king like David was. In other words, they were hoping that Jesus was something other than who he was. Have you ever had similar hopes? Have you hoped that Jesus would be different than who He is? In other words, what kind of a Savior have you been looking for?

Jesus took the role of a servant and washed the feet of the disciples on the night of the Last Supper. He was modeling for them and for us. Where is it in your life that Jesus wants you to be a servant, where He wants you to serve? What would it take for you to be that servant? 

Jesus asked the disciples to stay and keep watch with him while he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. They couldn’t stay awake even one hour. Can you relate to that? Are there times when you have not been able to stay focused on Christ either because you fell asleep or because other things distracted you? Is there anything you can do to change that in the future?

It’s hard to believe that Peter turned his back on Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. Here a good question for us….how many times have we turned OUR backs on Jesus? How many times have we had the opportunity to be a witness, yet we chose not to. And chances are, we weren’t facing the possibility of death as Peter was. Have you asked Jesus to forgive you for those times when you have denied him? What about those times in the future when you will do it again? 

The crowd chose Barabas, a murderer, over Jesus. That’s hard to imagine, isn’t it? Yet, how often do we choose things that are not good for us over Jesus? How often do we choose the “Barabases” in our lives over the One who came to save us? When did you last choose something other than Jesus over Jesus?