LGC - Rooted & Fruitful Part 7

Rooted & Fruitful (Part 7)

Speaker: Tiffany Goh

INTRODUCTION

In this week’s instalment of Rooted and Fruitful, we explore the depth and breadth of God’s love for us in Ephesians 2:1-7. Like the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, we were all once sinners, ruled by our selfish desires and followed the ways of the world. As a result, we angered God and ought to be punished. However, instead of the death that we deserved, we received the gift of undeserved grace. Like the prodigal son who is forgiven and restored to his rightful place as an heir, we are also forgiven and restored to sonship through faith in Jesus. In Him, there is love and forgiveness waiting for us.

DISCUSSION

Share with your group a time when you have experienced God’s love and grace despite not doing anything to deserve it.
Read Luke 15:11-24. In this story, Jesus described a son who went astray and squandered his share of his father’s inheritance. At his lowest point, he decided to return home to seek his father’s forgiveness and ask to be a servant in the father’s household. The moment the father saw his son approaching the village, he pulled up his robes and ran towards him. In Middle Eastern culture, an honourable elderly man seen running would be considered undignified or even shameful.

a. Compare the love of the father to the love that God has for us as described in Ephesians 2:1-7. Why do you think Jesus told this story to the audience (see Luke 15:1-3) in Luke 15?

b. When the prodigal son decided to return to his father’s house, this marked the turning point for the son.

i) Share with your group a time you realised that you made a serious mistake and you repented.

ii) What led you to repent and seek God’s forgiveness?

c. Instead of punishing the son for his reckless and unwise living, the father forgave and lovingly reinstated the son to his former position.

i) How does God show the same love to us (see John 1:12-13, John 15:5)?

ii) When we receive this love, what can we do to show God’s love to others?
Read 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:38-39.

a. How would you encourage a friend who felt that their sins were unforgivable? Share with your group if you have a personal experience like this.

b. Share with your group a time you experienced victory over habitual sin. How would you help a friend struggling with a habitual sin?

WHAT WILL YOU DO

Ephesians 2:1-7 describes the amazing love and mercy that God has for us. Instead of the punishment that we deserve, God not only forgave us but also raised us to life with Christ and gave us a place beside Christ in heaven. We should take the time to grasp the depth and breadth of God’s love and come to the understanding that nothing in this world can ever compare to God’s love.

Let us respond to this undeserved love by acknowledging that we have to keep coming back to God in repentance, and experience the joy of God’s forgiveness and love. Coming back to the Father is a lifestyle, not a one-off event. As we have received, so we also should extend love, forgiveness, grace and mercy to those around us, pointing them to Jesus Christ.

MEMORY VERSE

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. – Ephesians 2:4-5