“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:12-13 (NLT)
1. A LIFE LAID DOWN WILL REVEAL A GREATER LOVE IN YOU.
“As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:13-14 (NLT)
Splagchnizomai: [splagchna] Internal organs. To be moved so deeply by something that you feel it in the pit of your stomach, your inner bowels.
2. GOD CALLS US TO BE COMPASSIONATE, NOT CONSTIPATED.
“But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
1 John 3:17 (KJV)
3. HAVING COMPASSION SHOULD LEAD US TO ACTION.
“...He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (MSG)
Victory Group Questions:
1. What are some ways you have laid down your life or sacrificed for someone else? How did God’s glory shine through in that situation?
2. What heart issues are holding you back from taking action to be more compassionate toward others?
3. What are some ways you can increase your capacity to “love greater” this week?
4. What was your biggest takeaway from this message and why?