Gospel of Peace
Week #6
God publicly declares Jesus to be His Beloved Son. Before He performs His first miracle or preaches His first sermon, Jesus’s Father assures Him that He is loved at His core.
This foundational and unconditional love is hard for us to understand, because we live in a world in which love can easily be lost. We learn the lesson from an early age—that we will receive the love we earn and nothing more.
But, if we listen closely, we can hear the voice of our Father in heaven, declaring us to ‘be loved.’ Not for what we do but for Whose we are.
Read Matthew 3:16-4:11
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.“If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Discussion Questions
Opening:
What stands out to you in this passage?
Core Question #1:
How do you think being reminded of His identity as Beloved Son would have helped Jesus to live well through His experiences of wilderness, temptation, & embarking on His public ministry?
Core Question #2:
When have you felt your belovedness? How has ‘being loved’ helped you to live well through times of difficulty and trial?
Core Question #3:
In Ephesians 2:10 we hear more about our beloved identity:
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Do you believe yourself to be a beautiful masterpiece, created by the hand of God, for the sake of the world? How have you experienced peace in purpose?
Core Question #4:
In Bringing Heaven To Earth Josh Ross & Jonathan Storment argue that Christians need to be brave and take holy risks for the sake of the world:
“We march toward people and their needs. When we march into relationships and situations where love and restoration are needed, heaven begins to shrink the distance between despair and a richer life.”
“Heroes can come from anywhere. Their names may never be known, and their stories may never be told. But they march from safety into risk.”
“For two thousand years, God’s people have come together on Sundays to worship. But when the followers of Jesus are at our best, we know that God’s people don’t stay in church. Saints know when it’s time to leave home. God is on the move, and we are with Him. Let’s join in the restoration of the world. Let’s march.”
How does belovedness help you to take holy risks, make mistakes, and embrace your imperfections for the sake of the world?
Concluding Question:
What is peace? What does it look like? What does it feel like?