Do You Love Me? - Week of May 8, 2011 John 21:15-19 Reflections on this week s message: And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13 Do you love Jesus? The obvious answer from the Christian is, yes. One might wonder why the question would even be asked. I know that for me if asked that question; my response is going to be, Of course, you know that I love Him. I expect that is how just about anyone who is reading this would respond. In this week s text we have Jesus asking Peter, Do you love me? Peter responds just as we would expect, with an emphatic, yes. Jesus asks the question three times and Peter, true to character, even gets a little annoyed. The interesting part of this passage is what Jesus tells Peter with each response: Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep. Feed my sheep. What I hear in this exchange is Jesus, not only to Peter, but to you and me, saying, Alright, you say that you love me; prove it and care for my people. I guess that I am beginning to realize more and more that while it is a good thing to proclaim our love for the Lord; if our proclamation is not backed up with evidence, it really is kind of empty. There is an obvious point to this passage in the fact that Peter had denied Jesus three times and Jesus gave him three opportunities to acknowledge his love for his Lord. Beyond the chance to reclaim his love, Peter is also given instructions to serve. Okay, we have the exchange between Jesus and Peter figured out; what about us? Well, as I see it, we too have denied Jesus, probably more than three times. Jesus is constantly calling us into a deeper relationship with Himself and challenging us to prove our love by feeding His sheep. So here s the question again; do you love Jesus? Even though you love Him; have ever denied Him? What can you do to prove your love for Him? James 2:26 states As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Are your love and faith alive? Where s the evidence? Love, Pastor Joe Prayer Starter: Getting Started: Grab your bible & a journal. Find a quiet, comfortable spot to begin your daily Bible reading. Light a candle & spend a few minutes relaxing, quieting your mind. Keep a notebook nearby to jot down distractions that interfere with your focus to put them out of your mind to deal with later. You may want to play your favorite hymns or praise music softly in the background. To quiet your mind & prepare to focus on God & His Word try one of the prayer exercises found under Spiritual Growth Resources. Then pray the suggested prayer starter personalizing it to your needs & desire for God s guidance. This Week's Prayer Starter: Lord Jesus, I can easily imagine myself in Peter s shoes. How many times have I denied you by hiding my faith or succumbed to fear by failing to acknowledge you. Forgive me, Lord. And yet, despite my shortcomings, you never give up on me. Your love, grace, & mercy amaze me. Thank you, Jesus, for all the second chances you have given me. I hear you asking, Do you love me? And my response is, Yes, Lord, of course I love you! But you are really asking more of me than this. You ask me to prove my love for you. I hear your words and my hands and my heart tremble as I think about what you might be asking me to do. I do so want to prove my love for you, but I have to admit that I am scared. Hold me in your arms, Lord. Teach me & grow my trust in you. Help me to surrender to your will. Show me how to live in love & unity. Nurture me so that I might grow up in your ways and become all that you have created me to be. Teach me Your Word, train me, make my faith alive, & show me how you want me to feed your lambs and care for your sheep. Help me respond to your call to be your hands & feet in the world. Help me to express my love for you in my actions by loving and caring for others so that my life is evidence of my love for you. I love you, Jesus. I really do. Help me prove it! AMEN.
day 1 week of May 8 Read John 21:1-22 Do you love Jesus? Even though you love Him; have ever denied Him? Why do you think Jesus repeated the same question to Peter three times? How is Peter expected to express his love for Jesus? How does Jesus conversation with Peter renew Peter s call to ministry? What does Jesus mean by feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, & feed my sheep? How do you respond to Jesus question, Do you love me? Do you love Jesus more than anything else? How do you respond to Jesus challenge to prove your love? What can you do to prove your love for Him? Are you ready to prove your love to Jesus in service to His Kingdom? Fairhope UMC s mission statement: We exist to love & serve God by loving & serving others for the purpose of making & maturing disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. How are you called to live out this statement in the life of our congregation? day 2 week of May 8 Read Deuteronomy 10:12-22 According to verses 12-13, what responses does God want from his people? What kind of relationship with God would these responses produce? How is God described in verses 14-22? In what way do these explain the quality of relationship God seeks with his people? What does it mean to fear the Lord? How do you fear the Lord? Are you walking in His ways? Do you love the Lord? Are you serving the Him with all your heart and soul? Praise God for His great & awesome wonders today!
day 3 week of May 8 Read James 2:14-26 What kind of faith is condemned in verse 14? According to this passage, what is the relationship between faith and deeds? In what way is faith without deeds dead? What can we learn about faith & deeds from the examples of Abraham & Rahab? In what way should the lifestyle of a Christian verify their faith? If you were arrested for being a Christian, what evidence would be used to convict you? James 2:26 states As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Are your love and faith alive? Where s the evidence? Memorize Isaiah 58:8, Fairhope s memory verse for the month of May! day 4 week of May 8 Read Acts 20:13-38 What motivated Paul to endure hardship & challenges? How does Paul encourage the elders to be faithful to the task that God has called them to? Reread verse 28. What does it mean to keep watch? Who makes up the flock for whom you are responsible? How are you called to be shepherds of the church of God? What is Paul s goal in verse 24? What is one thing you feel you must accomplish at any cost? How do you think your goal lines up with God s will for you? What warning does Paul give in verses 29-31? What encouraging advice does Paul give in verses 32-35? Pray today for those whom God has entrusted to your care.
day 5 week of May 8 Read Matthew 25:31-46 What does this passage teach us about Christian responsibility? If Jesus were to evaluate your life today, what would he say about how you have looked after him by caring for others? How does Jesus call us to express love in action in this passage? Towards whom are we to express our love? Of the six actions listed in this passage, which tugs at your heart the most? How is responding to the needs mentioned in this passage answering Jesus call to feed his lambs & care for his sheep in John 21? It s easy to say you love Jesus, but do you show it by your actions? Pray for the ministries of your church. Ask God to show you how he wants you to serve, remembering that he will equip you. Be courageous & contact one of your church ministry leaders today! Make a difference for Jesus! day 6 week of May 8 Read Ephesians 4:1-16, 5:1-2 Are you living up to the calling you have received? How are you caring for Jesus flock, at church, at home, at work, & in your community? Why is it important that we make every effort to keep unity in the body of Christ? Why is it important that each part of the body does its work? Why is trying to live a Christian life apart from the church a challenge? Why do we need others? What do we share with our Christian brothers & sisters? What goal is described in verse 13? How is maturing in Christ a life long journey? How are you an imitator of God? Are you living a life of love just as Christ loved you? How do you extend the love you experience in Christ to others? Spend some time prayerfully assessing your spiritual growth. Use the spiritual growth assessment tool found on the Spiritual Growth Resources page: http://fairhopechurch.wordpress.com/spiritual-growth-resources/ After reflecting & praying through this week s readings & sermon teaching, I feel God is nudging me to take these steps: Seek first His kingdom & His righteousness Matthew 6:33
Dig Deeper: May is Christian Home Month: Pray for Fairhope Family Needs & Concerns Please use the following scriptures and prayer suggestions to guide you as you pray for Fairhope Family Needs & Concerns. The following is a list of suggestions to help you get started. You do not need to use all of them. Select one or two scriptures and prayer suggestions to focus on this week. It will be exciting to see what God does in our church because of our focused prayers! Suggested Scriptures: James 5:13-16, Ephesians 5:22-28, Ephesians 6:1-9, Colossians 3:18-24, 1 Timothy 5:1-5, 1 John 4:7-8, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 66:20, Exodus 15:26, Psalm 91:5-6, Isaiah 61:3, Philippians 4:6 Pray that the men of our church will be godly fathers and husbands and that they will take their roles as head of their Christian households seriously. Pray that the women of our church will be godly mothers and wives and nurturing to their families and in their service to the Lord. Pray for those who are single or widowed that God would use them to serve Him in special ways in the life of our church. Pray that our seniors would continue to seek ways to serve you and continue to grow closer to God on their life journey. Pray for ways that our church family might reach out to those who are homebound, hospitalized, residing in nursing homes, or experiencing life challenges. Pray for the children of our church and community. Pray that they will grow up to be strong men and women of God. Pray that God will use them, even at their young age to lead others to Him. Pray that God will protect our church family from illnesses, accidents, temptation, and predators. Pray for our church families. Pray for God s blessing and protection over the marriages and families in our congregation. Pray that God will help our church to build strong families. Pray that God will revive our families and restore hope where there is hopelessness. Pray for God s healing power to transform families in our church and heal their brokenness. Pray for God s restoration in relationships rocked by abuse, unfaithfulness, divorce, or discouragement. Pray that God will win the hearts of unsaved spouses in our congregation. Pray that God s hope and peace would fill the homes of our congregation. Pray that God would bring peace to those in need and help them to lean on Him in times of trouble. Pray against gossip, negative criticism, false expectations, unhealthy burdens, discouragement, strife and weariness that will seek to invade our church family. Pray for the willingness and ability to authentically confess and repent of any wrong doing, false dependencies, misplaced ideas and loss of spiritual passion. Pray for healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation for any misplaced expectations, criticism, ungrateful attitudes, flawed thinking, grief, hurts, and abuse. Pray that God will bring our congregation healing through their afflictions whether spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, or relational. Pray that God will release our congregation from addictions. Pray that God will bring conviction in the area of our finances so that we might get our financial houses in order. Pray that God will bring meaningful and sustaining work to those who are jobless and looking for employment. Pray that God will bring peace and comfort to those who are struggling with grief and loss. Pray that those who are hurting or discouraged would turn to Jesus as the answer to all life s challenges. Pray for the inner healing and transformation of our congregation by the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that our church will help people find hope and healing. Pray that God will use us to lead the lost to be saved and disciple. Add your own:
Family Connection: Faith & Life Discovery Journal Living the Christian Life as a Family Growing up in today s society is challenging. Our children face daily challenges that would make most of their parents & grandparents cringe. Our society teaches us to look out for ourselves first and to do everything we can to win. Living the Christian life is contrary to our human nature and to our society. The challenges of peer pressure, bullying, and the desire for kids to fit in can make raising a Christian family today seem so difficult. Be that as it may, the Bible promises that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13). That includes raising children & teens in today s crazy world that entices our human, sinful nature to thrive. As Christian parents, we need to grasp the understanding that the only true way to live for the Lord is to stop living for ourselves. We need to put aside our wants and desires, surrender our lives to the Lord, and seek His Kingdom and righteousness above all else (Matthew 6:33). The Bible says that we should clothe ourselves with kindness, gentleness, and patience. It says we should put on a forgiving attitude & top it all off by putting on love which will bring it all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:12-14). We need to model this for our children. We need to be proactive in teaching our children and grandchildren that the Bible says that we have to set our hearts and minds on things above; that we ve got to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. There are a lot of things in this world that try to distract us from Jesus. We need to be aware that there is an enemy prowling around looking for someone to swallow up (1 Peter 5:8). To keep from being devoured, we must learn to live like Jesus. In order to live like Jesus, we ve got to stay focused on him. If we don t teach our children to keep their focus on Jesus, to live as Jesus taught, clothing ourselves with the attitudes He wants us to have, who will? (Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 to read more about what God says about teaching our children.) We can teach our children to keep their focus on Jesus by coming to church every Sunday, by listening and learning more about Jesus, participating in Sunday School and Bible Studies, by reading the Bible, by praying every day. We can talk about what it means to live as Jesus taught with our children and grandchildren. We can grow together as a family putting on the attitudes that Jesus wants us to have. A great comfort in living as a Christian is that we never have to do this alone. Being involved in a faith community is the best support system for our families! God is always with us! Try these family activities to learn more about the attitudes Jesus wants us to have: As a family read the following scriptures: Colossians 3:1-17, 1 Peter 3:8-4:11, Ephesians 4:17-5:21, Luke 13:8-14, Matthew 6:33-34, Philippians 2:1-11, & 1 Peter 5:1-10, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Mark 12:28-34 Make a list of the attitudes and characteristics of Christian living described in these passages. Write each characteristic on your family calendar; either one per week or one per month as best fits your family. Each week or month focus on that characteristic by incorporating the following activities into your family time (meals, game night, car time, etc - whatever works best for your family) Pray, asking God to show you how you need to grow as a family and as individuals to develop this characteristic. Research what the Bible says about this characteristic. Use a concordance or Bible dictionary to help you. Create a definition that helps everyone, adults and kids, to understand what is meant by this characteristic. Talk about what the opposite of this characteristic might be; attitudes that Jesus wants us to avoid. Make a list of actions that express this attitude. Share how you have been on the receiving end of someone practicing that attitude. Talk about how this made you feel. Share how you see evidence of that characteristic in the actions and attitudes of family members. Attend church as a family, encourage each other to attend Sunday School and Bible Studies. Talk about what you are learning in your classes and share how the sermon teaching touches you and challenges you. Talk about how what you are learning is helping you to grow to be more like Jesus. Ask yourselves daily if your attitudes, thoughts, decisions, & actions are glorifying to God? Who are you living for? Pray for God to help you avoid falling trap to the ways of the world. Pray for God to help your family keep focused on Jesus!