WORKING DRAFT - Bro and sis... waiting for your comments ;)

Update: Attached is a supplementary reading (click me). Only one page. Read it, will make your preparation easier.

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Think about someone that matters to you. If you could do something, anything in the world, to express your affection for him or her, what would you do? Tell the class who this person is (if you dare), and share you answer. Wow, that was fun! Who do you think had the best idea? Now think about God. How do you express your love towards God? Do you think there is a best way?

Let’s take a look at what the scripture says:

Matthew 21:28-30

²⁸"… A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.' ²⁹"And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰"The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. ³¹"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." …

• Imagine you are the father and your two sons have just given you their responses (neither of them has gone to work yet!). Which son appears to be the better son?
  
  
• Some time has passed and you found out who actually went to work in the vineyard. How will you feel about your two sons?

1. Which son expressed true love for his father? Substantiate your answer.

The son who went. Verse 31 states clearly that he was considered obedient. It is obvious which son did better so let’s dig a little deeper.

2. Why do you think the unrepentant son promised to go but didn’t?

He didn’t really have the intention of doing what his father asked. He expressed his love outwardly but it was only lip service.

3. Why do you think the obedient son regretted his words and/or changed his mind?

Probably because he knew that his father loved him and that it was wrong for him to disobey. But what’s more important is his action…

The obedient son went, and his obedience revealed the authenticity of his love and repentance.

4. Do you see the relationship between love and obedience?

We cannot claim to love God (we cannot even be sure that we do love God!) if there is no evidence of obedience in our lives. Conversely our self-effort to obey him will fall short unless we love him.

5. What does obeying God look like? (Luke 10:27, Luke 9:23-25, 2 Tim 3:12)

Luke 10:27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

2 Tim 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

One of the greatest ways to love God is to “live for Him”. This expression refers to the continual act of surrendering every aspect of our lives to His will. When the Father tells us to do something, we respond “I will do it” and we do it. This is not an easy task. If we want to follow Jesus we cannot to indulge in sin which is pleasurable. Instead like the obedient son God will put us to work. We may even be persecuted! But Jesus assures us our temporal “sacrifice”; our taking up of the cross will be worth it.

The KEY question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not we will back up our love for God with obedience. If we are not willing… or only obey when it suits us, are we very different from the bad son and Pharisees who claim to know and love God but do not?

Of course God knows that there are times when we will fail and so he doesn’t expect perfection from us. Instead He sent Jesus to the cross to provide us with grace. But when we have been disobedient, he expects us to recognize our fault and change our mind like the obedient son.