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Group Discussion
Questions for facilitating dynamic discussion
First Love
September 6,2025
Week 1: God's Love DEFINES Us
Jeff Griffin
1 John 3:1-2
The apostle John proclaimed that God’s love comes first, and through it, everything can change. In this study of John’s first letter, we’re exploring the depth and power of God’s unconditional love. And this week we’re looking at the impact of God’s love on our identity.
If a friend visited your house and asked you to show them your most prized possession, what would you bring out or lead them to?
1. Which do you have a more difficult time grasping: that God loves all humankind, or that God loves you in particular? Why do you think that is? [If neither: how did you arrive at that?]
2. Read 1 John 3:1-2. What does it take to be considered a part of a family? Think about times you’ve said or heard said something like, “she’s like a sister to me,” or “he’s the dad I never had.” How favored of a relationship is implied in these statements? Now consider what John is saying about the Father’s view of us. What does it mean that He calls you His child?
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1a NKJV)
3. Look closer at verse 2. John does not stop with the amazing fact that God calls us his children. What else does he say is true of us?
4. In both of these verses we see the implications of knowing Christ and not knowing him. What qualities can be implied of those in the world who did not know him (v.1)? What will be true of us when we come to know Christ face-to-face (v.2)?
5. In his sermon Jeff said, “If you base your own identity on how others treat you, you’re going to have a low self-esteem.” But if we focus on how God views us, we, like the apostle John, can be transfixed by the power of God’s love. Which of the words Jeff used to describe God’s view of us most resonates with you: precious, treasured, segullah, rejoiced over, lavished upon, extravagantly loved, longed for, delighted with? Meditate on that in the coming week.
Nothing matches God’s great love for us, a love we desperately need. Pray that God’s love would find each small group member afresh in coming days.
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)