Week 3: Everything In Christ

Shout and clap out loud if you really love these things:

• Pizza
• Sports
• School
• Broccoli
• Donuts
• Broccoli donuts
• Your favorite team

1. What does the word “love” mean to you?
2. What is something that you love?

Just a moment ago, I asked you to clap if you really loved the things I called out. I said love, but what I really meant is that you like those things a lot. It’s not the same as saying you love your family or that you love your best friends. I really like pizza, but love is way more than that! The way I love my family is a lot deeper and means a whole lot more than how I feel about pizza.

Love is a word with multiple meanings. In the Greek language, there are usually four different types of love people talk about:

1. Agape: Love for others (kindness/charity/sacrifice).
2. Eros: Love between a married couple (romance).
3. Phileo: Love for a friend (affection/loyalty).
4. Storge: Love for parents or children (family).

Let’s go around the group and see if we can think of some personal examples of these four types of love.

As we’ve seen and felt, there are a lot of deep emotions that can materialize when you’re talking about the real meaning of love. Sometimes you might feel loved by your family, your friends, or by the world, and that can bring joy and happiness. Other times, you might not feel so loved, and that can bring heartache and sadness.

But here’s the great news: whether or not you feel the four types of love listed above, or just any love, you can rest assured knowing one fact:

You are loved!

That’s right. God loves you! Want to know the best part about God’s love? It’s unconditional. Even when you make a mistake, God will and still love you. God’s love is agape love.

Last week, we learned that God created everything. The same God that created the universe also created you. He created you because He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. He’s your heavenly Father and He will give you everything you need.

And God loved you so much, that He sent His Son Jesus to die for your sins. In the Bible, we learn of this love.

“Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” – Romans 8:32

That kind of sacrificial love goes far beyond any love that you can comprehend. Think about it for a moment. Not only did God allow His Son to come to earth and become a human, but He also allowed Jesus to be beaten, bruised, and killed—something the Son of God willingly agreed to go through because Jesus understood and obeyed God’s bigger plan.

In Philippians 2:8, we read: “He [Jesus] humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus sacrificed His life for us, so that we can have eternal life. Why, because He loves us. God allowed that to happen so we could have a relationship with Him and spend eternity in Heaven someday.

So, whenever things aren’t going so great or maybe you’re just feeling down or unloved, remember that God loves you and wants to bless you with everything you need in Christ.

Now that we’ve talked about some of the different kinds of love and compared it to the love that God has shown us, let’s break into groups of two or three and ask each other the following questions:

1. Why do you think God took such extreme measures to show you how much He loves you?
2. How do you think God wants you to respond to His love for you?

Let’s take a few moments to share some things you discussed in your groups.

Now, let’s end today’s Huddle Time in prayer:

“Dear God, thank You for giving us Your great love. Thank You for giving us everything we need through Your son Jesus. Amen.”