Sermons

One Life At A Time (1/2): Motivated By Love

13 September 2021
Jeff Chong, Senior Pastor

Series: One Life at a Time
Title: Motivated by Love
Text: John 21:15-17

Motivated by our love for Jesus and inspired by His love for us, we mentor fellow believers towards Christlikeness.

General Questions:

1) The Gospel of John was written to encourage Christians to continue in their faith in the face of hostile opposition. In light of this context, what could be some possible reasons why John ends his gospel with this account of Peter’s restoration?

Perspective Questions:

1) “We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister” (1 John 4:19-21). Love for Jesus must be demonstrated by love for His people. How does mentoring demonstrate love for God’s people? What might be some challenges associated with mentoring? What are the joys mentors experience?

2) When we share our struggles, we create community. Even so, why might some mentors be hesitant to share their struggles with their mentees? What does this reflect about their idea of a mentor? 

3) While the mentor ought to be open and honest with his/her mentee, there are some struggles that are difficult or more sensitive to share. How then does a mentor decide what struggles to share with his/her mentee? Discuss.

4) Mentors are not perfect and we should not expect them to be so. In fact, they might fail us at times. Recall an experience in which you felt let down by a spiritual mentor, or an incident where you knew of someone who had felt let down by his/her mentor. How have these experiences influenced your perception of mentoring? How do you think God would want you to think about this?

5) In reinstating Peter, Jesus brought him to the place of his failure and reminded him of his frailty and his need to depend on God. Peter was humbled as he re-examined his commitment to Jesus. Helping our mentees confront and come to terms with their failures, while uncomfortable for the mentee, is important in a mentoring relationship. How open are we to such demonstrations of love? Why does it make us uncomfortable? What are some erroneous mindsets we hold that need to be addressed?

Application Questions:

1) Jesus’ love for us inspires us to serve others – not just in mentoring, but in every area of our lives. What are some ways in which we can be continually reminded of Jesus’ love for us? How can we remind one another of Jesus’ love?
2) As a spiritual family, how can we support the mentors in our midst to become better mentors? How can we also be better mentees? Discuss.
3) Jesus mentored His disciples with grace and truth, and He always remained close to the Father. How does Jesus’ model shape and refine how we mentor?
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