LOVE LIKE JESUS

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MEETING AGENDA

  1. OPENING PRAYER – Ask one person to open the meeting in prayer.
  2. GROWTH QUESTIONS – Ask everyone the Growth Questions.
  3. ATTENDANCE – Take attendance through the DG Attendance System.
  4. TODAY’S LESSON – Go over this week’s DG lesson.
  5. GIVING – Encourage everyone to give on the App.
  6. CLOSING PRAYER – Ask for prayer requests and pray.

GROWTH QUESTION #1

Who would like to share a highlight, praise report, or testimony from this week?

GROWTH QUESTION #2

What did you learn from this week’s sermon?

GROWTH QUESTION #3

What was your most important accomplishment this week?


introduction

  • We are in Week 3 of our “Jesus Is and So Am I” series – Jesus is a Soul-Winner, Jesus is an Inviter, and today we learn that Jesus loves others, and so do I.

  • How do you know when someone really loves you? Real love is more than something we claim, say, or post—it is something we show.

Romans 5.8 (NLT) - But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

  • God did not merely talk about His love; He demonstrated it.

  • Jesus loved us while we were still sinners. He did not wait for us to change, clean ourselves up, or deserve His love before He acted.
  • Love is proven, not just spoken. 

  • Now, let’s look at three steps we can take to love like Jesus.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

What is something someone has done for you that made you feel genuinely loved?

STEP #1

PROVE YOUR LOVE, DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT IT!

1 John 3:18 (NLT) - Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

  • Love is more than words. Anybody can say they care, but real love is demonstrated through action.
  • Jesus loved people personally and practically. He touched the untouchable, welcomed the rejected, and even served those who would hurt Him.
  • Jesus’ pattern was simple: He SAW people, He had COMPASSION on them, and then He ACTED.

Matthew 9:36 (NLT) — “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

  • Biblical compassion is not pity from a distance. It is a deep concern that moves us to do something about what we see.
  • When the love of Jesus is in us, it should come out of us.

2 Corinthians 5:14 (NLV) — “For the love of Christ puts us into action.”

  • Proven love does not always require a huge gesture. A phone call, prayer, meal, encouraging word, or simply showing up can communicate powerful love when someone needs it most.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

Why do you think it is sometimes easier to say we love someone than to actually show it?

STEP #2

DON’T IGNORE THE NEED!

Matthew 14:14–16 (NLT) — “Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick… ‘That isn’t necessary—you feed them.’”

  • Every miracle begins with a need. Every healing starts with sickness, every provision starts with lack, and every breakthrough starts with a problem that needs God’s intervention.
  • Jesus and the disciples saw the same crowd and the same need, but they saw it differently. The disciples saw an inconvenience to dismiss; Jesus saw people to love and an opportunity for God to move.
  • Jesus did not ignore what was in front of Him. He saw the need, had compassion, and responded to it. Sometimes the need is not the problem—it is the doorway to the miracle.
  • Sometimes you find the need, and sometimes the need finds you. When people come to you for prayer, encouragement, support, or help, do not automatically treat them like an interruption.
  • Jesus demonstrated this when He stopped for the suffering woman in Mark 5 even while He was on His way to help Jairus’ dying daughter. He was busy, but He was never too busy to love the person in front of Him.
  • The needs around us are often invitations for God to use us. If we continually avoid the need, we may also miss the opportunity to demonstrate the love and power of Jesus.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

What are some reasons we sometimes notice a need but still do nothing about it?

STEP #3

STOP FOR THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU!

Mark 10:49 (NLT) — “When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, ‘Tell him to come here.’”

  • Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem and ultimately to the cross, yet when Bartimaeus cried out from the roadside, Jesus stopped. His enormous assignment did not make Him too busy for one hurting person.
  • The crowd wanted to silence Bartimaeus, but Jesus noticed the person everyone else was overlooking. Loving like Jesus means being willing to stop for the one others may pass by.
  • Jesus taught the same lesson through the Good Samaritan. A priest and a Temple assistant both saw the wounded man and kept going, but the Samaritan saw him, felt compassion, and stopped to help.

Luke 10:33–34 (NLT) — “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds…”

  • We can become so focused on where we are going—even doing good things or serving God—that we miss the person God has placed directly in our path.
  • Sometimes what looks like an interruption is actually a divine appointment. A conversation, phone call, prayer, or few minutes of attention may have far more impact than we realize.
  • You never know which stop could become a rescue mission. When we stop for hurting people, listen to them, encourage them, and meet their needs, we are loving them the way Jesus does.
  • When you stop along the way, you could save someone’s life.

INTERACTIVE QUESTION

Have you ever had someone stop what they were doing because they could tell you needed them? What did that mean to you?

CLOSING QUESTION

Of the three challenges today—show your love, notice the need, and stop for the person—which one do you think God is challenging you to work on most this week? Why?

GIVING

The ministry of giving meets the needs of others, impacts lives, and results in joyous expressions of thanks to God, becoming a tangible demonstration of obedience to the transformative message of Christ.

2 Corinthians 9:12-13 (NLT)
12 So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.13 As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.

Encourage everyone to give their tithes and offerings.

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PRAY

QUESTION #1

Who are you praying for to be saved?

QUESTION #2

Who can you invite to the next meeting?

QUESTION #3

What are your prayer requests?