Resolution (3) – Devotion into Motion

Welcome to CROLCC, and happy Chinese New Year everyone, we are so glad you are here worshiping with us. I want to once again wish you a wonderful 2017 for we have a wonderful God. Many of you have started reading the Bible for the very first time and I want to congratulate you and encourage you to keep going. For those of you that haven’t started or have slowed down, don’t worry and don’t give up, keep going or pick up and read. You will be rewarded. You will look back at the end of this year and realized how much you have gained and how you much you have changed. I am reading with you and I am cheering you on.

Today we are concluding our series Resolution. This is the season of self-improvement. We challenge ourselves to get slimmer, stronger, and smarter. But if you want to become a better person, focus less on yourself and more on doing something to make the world a better place. The challenge is that making the world a better place requires giving up some part of our lives—time, money, or opportunities. It will cost us some life. We don’t want to give up some life. We want to preserve our lives. But Jesus said that the only way to live a life of purpose and meaning is to give our lives away.

Moving Forward

To make the world a better place, you don’t have to quit your job, but you may have to quit doing something. You don’t have to become a missionary and leave the country, but you may have to leave your comfort zone. You don’t have to give all of your money, but you may have to give a percentage. That’s because your devotion to God is authenticated by love for others and love for others will cost you some life.

Changing Your Mind

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2

Discussion Questions

1. Talk about someone you’ve known or seen that seemed to live with purpose and passion. What are some of the qualities that made that person unique?

2. During the message you heard “Devotion to God doesn’t stop at perfect moral behavior. Devotion to God is authenticated by love for others.” Respond to that statement. In what ways is it challenging? In what ways is it comforting?

3. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1–3. What aspects of faith do you tend to emphasize over love—knowledge, generosity, prayer, emotional connection to God? What draws you to those aspects of faith?

4. Think about what breaks your heart. In what ways might addressing that problem require you to step outside of your comfort zone? What can this group do to help you take a step?

5. What is one thing you can do this week to put your devotion into motion? How can this group support you?