Understanding God's Passionate and Compassionate Love | Lesson 4
Explore the divine love of God that is passionate, compassionate, and always acting in our eternal best interest. Discover how God's love surpasses even a mother's love, and the importance of choosing God as our loving heavenly Father who will never forget us.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
You are allowed to download the files provided on this website for personal or commercial use, subject to the condition that they are used lawfully. All files are the property of their respective owners.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
Gods Love and Justice Lesson 4 God is Passionate and Compassionate
Memory Text Isaiah 49:15 NKJV "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. To what does God compare His love for us in this verse? How does God s love compare to that of a mother to her newborn child? What choice do we need to make in order for God to be our loving heavenly Father who will never forget us?
Overview God s divine love toward us is passionate and compassionate. It is presented in Scripture using parental images, but it exceeds the parental. It is always acting in our eternal best interest. It is jealous in the sense of desiring an exclusive relationship with us, and is given to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Parental Love Compassionate Love Jealous Love Biblical Love Summary
Parental Love What parable of Jesus did we study last week that illustrates the Father s love? What name for God did Jesus use when He taught His disciples to pray? How does the Bible describe those for whom God is Father? (Ps 103:13) What agony of soul does God feel for His rebellious and wayward children? (Hosea 11:1-2,8) What parental picture did Jesus paint of His love for the people of Jerusalem? (Matt 23:37)
Compassionate Love How did Jesus react to the crowds of people to whom He ministered? (Matt 9:36) How does the Bible describe Jesus reaction to the felt needs of specific people He met? (Mark 1:40-41; Luke 7:13) What is compassion? How have you experienced the compassion of Jesus?
Jealous Love How did the Lord God describe His love in the second Commandment? (Ex 20:4-6) When we speak of jealously in the context of human behavior, to what does it usually refer? How do you feel about God s jealous love for you?
Biblical Love How would you define the love that God has toward us and produces in us? Where do we find the best definition of agape love? (1 Cor 13:4-8a) Where do we get this kind of love? (Rom 5:5, Gal 5:22)
Summary God s love in Scripture is often portrayed with parental images: He is the compassionate loving father in the parable of the prodigal son; though a mother may forget her nursing child, He will not forget His people; like a compassionate father to His children He is compassionate to those who fear Him; Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem s children under His wings like a mother hen. Jesus reinforced the parental image of God by addressing Him as Father and teaching us to pray to our Father. Jesus argued that if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him.
Summary True compassion is a sympathetic awareness of a person s distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Jesus had compassion on the crowds to which He ministered, for He saw their need of a Good Shepherd He had compassion on those who came to him with felt needs, always healing and meeting those needs often in miraculous ways. He has compassion on those He redeems, meeting our greatest need by forgiving our sins and giving us eternal life. God describes Himself in the second commandment as a jealous God in the sense of desiring an exclusive love relationship with us.
Summary God s description of Himself as jealous is a call for us to abandon our idols and false gods and be fully faithful to Him as His unblemished bride. Agape love is always acting for the well being of others; it is selfless and unconditional in seeking the best for others no matter how they may respond. That s the kind of love God had for us when He gave us His only Son. The Bible gives us the best description of agape love in 1 Cor 13:4-8a. This love is what Jesus says will identify His followers to the world. Will you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you each day so that you can grow in grace, and the love of God can grow in you?
Psalm 103:13 ESV As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. [R]
Hosea 11:1-2, 8 ESV When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. ... 8How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. [R]
Matthew 23:37 ESV - 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! [R]
Matthew 9:36 ESV When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [R]
Mark 1:40-41 Luke 7:13-14 ESV And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." 41Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, "I will; be clean. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." [R]
Exodus 20:4-6 ESV "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. [R]
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (NIV) 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self- seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.
Characteristics of Love (NIV) Negatives: Love: Does not envy Does not boast Is not proud Is not rude Is not self-seeking Is not easily angered Keeps no record of wrongs Does not delight in evil Never fails Positives: Love: Is content Affirms others Is humble Is polite Seeks good of others Is slow to anger It forgives and forgets Delights in good Always continues. [R]
Romans 5:5, Gal 5:22 (NKJV) 5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [R]
