God’s Great Love for You!
God loves you. Did you know that? Plain and simple. Right to the point. God loves you!And He wants to have a relationship with you!
God’s love extends beyond all of our circumstances.
What is your initial reaction to the statement: God loves you!
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It’s hard to imagine that the God of the universe cares about each one of us individually, but it’s true! God’s love extends to each and every person … and that includes you! There may be times when you don’t feel like God loves you, or when the circumstances of your life are overwhelming and it seems as if God doesn’t care, but the fact remains that God’s love extends beyond all of our circumstances.
God made you in His image–you are His highest creative work! Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image , in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (NIV).You are precious to Him. Luke 12:7 tells us, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (NIV). And God is going to love you forever! Psalm 13:5 declares, “But I trust in your unfailing love ; my heart rejoices in your salvation” (NIV).
As you consider these three verses, which one speaks to you most at this time in your life?
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Which verse is most difficult for you to embrace?
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Why?
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What do the verses in Psalm 119 and Jeremiah 3 say about God’s love?
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What does it mean to you that God’s love is “unfailing” and “everlasting”?
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Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt as though you were beyond God’s love or you doubted His love for you? Do you know someone who feels they are beyond God’s love?
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Are there times in your own life, or do you see it in someone you know, when you try to “earn” God’s love? What kinds of things do you do? How does it make you feel? Does it work?
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God is love. God’s love is so great that He gave His only Son to bring us into fellowship with Him. God’s love not only encompasses the world, but embraces each of us personally and intimately. 1 John 4:9-10 explains, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (NLT).
In “The Nature of God’s Great Love,” Robert Wells writes, “The sad truth is that even though many people today have heard that God loves them, they simply don’t believe it. They just cannot understand or comprehend the reality of God’s love in their lives. They can’t grasp something they cannot see. They haven’t learned how to recognize it and experience it and therefore they don’t know how to embrace it, nurture it, grow in it, or truly enjoy it. And without knowing and realizing that God loves us we cannot possibly have hope in our lives. We will not be aware of the purpose or the meaning that God wants us to have concerning our lives. God wants us to know a lot about him, but the most important thing that he wants us to know about him is the tremendous and awesome love that he has for each and every one of us. That is why the apostle John could write in 1 John 4:8, “The one who does not love, does not know God, for God is love. ” (http://robertwells.tripod.com/godislove.html)
It is totally sacrificial and unselfish.
Has there ever been a time in your life when you have truly felt God’s love? When? Or if not, what do you think it might feel like to be totally wrapped up in God’s love?
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Are you measuring God’s love for you by your present circumstances–either good or bad? The truth is your circumstances are always changing, becauseof daily experiences, relationships, and choices. Maybe you feel as though God
is not answering your prayers. God is answering your prayers, but in His way and in
His time. His great love for you sees the big picture of your life.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you feel God’s love? In reality, how much love does God have for you?
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Not one of us knows why God loves us. We just can see that God’s love is radically different from ours. It is not based upon attraction or performance. It is totally sacrificial and unselfish. Jesus compared God’s love with the love of a perfect father. A good father wants the best for his children, sacrifices for them, and provides for them. And, in their best interests, he also disciplines them. John 1:12 tells us, “To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (NLT).
DEFINE
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Now you may be thinking, “Yes, I know that God is love, and that I am his creation, but my sin is too great, I’ve failed God too many times. I’ve broken too promises. I’ve made too many poor choices. I’ve walked away from God more times than I can count.” But the good news is that God never says, “That’s it, no more love! I’ve had it with you!” God’s everlasting love means that you can’t do anything to get God to stop loving you!
Robert Wells puts it this way, “God hates our sin, but even as we are sinning he still loves us with that perfect unconditional love. It is a love that is simply beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Man’s inability to understand God’s great love is probably best described by Paul in Ephesians 3:19, where in describing God’s love he uses the phrase, ‘a love which surpasses all knowledge.’
In Romans 8:38-39, the apostle Paul tells us, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (NIV).
What are some of the things that might keep people from experiencing God’s love?
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to show you the path that He wants you to take and ask Him to help you get started.
Tell Him that you want to trust Him completely with your life and that you want Him to take the lead in living your life.
Are there times when your life just feels empty? Nothing you have tried satisfies the inner void you feel. God can fill that void and change you in a moment. He created you to have life that is flooded with meaning and purpose. Jesus said, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10, NLT).
Perhaps things are going well for you in life, but you are restless or lack peace. You realize that you are separated from God’s love and forgiveness and you fear his judgment. Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, NLT).
So whether you are simply tired of a life of empty pursuits or are troubled by a lack of peace, the answer still comes down to having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
When you put your trust in Jesus Christ, God will forgive you of all your sins–past, present, and future. You will become His child. He will give you purpose and meaning in life on earth. All of God’s children have the promise of eternal life with Him. God’s love is not based on how good you are or how you feel, it is grounded in His nature of love. His love is part of who He is.
Have you put your life in God’s hands? When? Or why not? What will it take for you to let God into your life?
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Application:
What key idea about God’s love do you want to remember from this lesson?
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Take some time right now to sit in God’s presence. Ask Him to fill the empty places in your life with Himself. Ask Him to allow you to experience His love.
