2025
Love One Another
Passage: John 13:1, 30-35
“The single, overwhelming fact of history is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. There is no military battle, no geographical exploration, no scientific discovery, no literary creation, no artistic achievement, no moral heroism that compares with it. It is unique, massive, monumental, unprecedented and unparalleled. The cross of Christ is not a small secret that may or may not get out. The cross of Christ is not a minor incident in the political history of the first century that is a nice illustration of courage. It is the center.”
—Eugene Peterson
Sermon Outline:
- The Glory of the Cross
- The Glory of the Church
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Share a memorable meal/celebration you’ve experienced.
Read John 13:1, 30-35. What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?
In John 13:31 Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.” How would you define glory or what it means to be glorified?
Notice the word now at the beginning of Jesus’s statement. The context of Jesus’s statement is the events leading to his crucifixion and death. How is the cross as a symbol of Jesus’s sacrificial love glorious for you?
Imagine the Christian life is like a bicycle with two functioning tires. The front tire is grace and the back tire is obedience. Obedience always follows grace, yet both are needed for the Christian life to move forward. In John 13:34-35 Jesus gives a new command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” In what ways have you experienced this kind of love either in giving or receiving? How does this kind of love serve as a witness to Christ’s love in your life?
D.A. Carson wrote: “The church is…made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together…because they have all been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance…They are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.” In what ways is the church often known by? What are the joys and challenges of a common allegiance in Christ alone?
What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week?
PRAYER
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” John 13:17