HONOUR AND ENCOURANGE ONE ANOTHER
Romans 12:9-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Life Group Discussion Guide – September 27, 2026
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Getting Going
- Share a time you were honoured. Why did it happen? What was it like?
Review
1. We are called to love like God does (unconditionally, to all people). Why might this be difficult for us to do without first receiving unconditional love from God and others?
Digging Deeper
Pastor Travis described honour as raising the value of a person or group in the eyes of others. Take some time to read through a few passages intentionally looking for the ways that honour and shame were being practiced. What stands out when you read in this way? Why do you think honour is so important in the biblical narrative?
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- 2 Samuel 11
- Luke 15:11-32
- Luke 23:26-43
In a culture that does not value honour like the cultures of the bible, is there still worth prioritizing honouring one another? Why or why not? What might be the worth that honouring others brings?
Scripture is full of encouragement, which is coming alongside, supporting, giving strength, as well as building up, or increasing value
(e.g Josh. 1:1-9, Isa 41:10, Mat 11:28, John 14:1-31, Rom 8:37). Why do you think encouragement is such an important theme of scripture?
Is it important to you? Why or why not?
Do you equate honouring others and encouraging others as an expression of love? Why or why not?
Practical Preparation:
1. Honour and encouragement are very similar in that they are both seeking to build someone up; however the target audience is different. Honour is raising one’s status by influencing others, whereas encouragement is directed at the individual. Which of these is easier for you? Which has been more edifying in your own life?
2. We are called to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Honouring and encouraging them is a direct expression of this love. Would the way you speak and act towards others be characterized by honour and encouragement? What would have to change so that it would?
3. Are there people in your life that need encouragement? How might you show the love of Christ to them and encourage them this week?
Parting Prayer
- Spend time in prayer asking for God to love us by receiving His encouragement. Then pray that we might be able to pour out that encouragement to others that they may experience His love.
Optional Extra Question – Share one of times you saw words of encouragement to bless someone?
Love One Another
Life Group Discussion Guide – September 20, 2026
Opening: Think about someone who has had a significant positive impact on your life. What did that person do that made such a difference?
1. What does Jesus mean by “love one another”?
Read John 13:34–35.
● Jesus says, “Love one another.” How is the love Jesus describes different from simply having warm feelings toward someone?
● Why do you think Jesus makes our love for one another such an important marker of being His disciples?
2. We love because we have first been loved
Read 1 John 4:7–12.
The sermon emphasized that Christian love doesn’t begin with our effort to become more loving. It begins with receiving God’s love.
● Can you recall a time when you felt “burnt out” from loving or caring for others?
● Why is it difficult to consistently love others when we are not living from an awareness of God’s love for us?
● What are some practical ways we can “receive” God’s love through Scripture, prayer, worship, the cross, or relationships with other believers?
3. Love assumes the best
The sermon described love as replacing assumptions with curiosity and judgment with compassion.
Consider these situations:
● Someone doesn’t respond to your message.
● Someone at church seems unusually rude or distant.
● Someone isn’t serving in the way you think they should.
● Another scenario you have experienced personally.
For one of these situations:
● What is the negative story we might immediately tell ourselves?
● What are some alternative explanations we don’t know about?
● How could we respond with curiosity rather than judgment?
● When might “assuming the best” become unhealthy or naïve? How can we combine grace with truth?
Key thought: “Love doesn’t fill the gaps with the worst possible explanations.”
4. Sacrificial love
Read John 15:12–13. The sermon defined sacrificial love as “love that is willing to pay a price for someone else’s good.”
● Can you recall a time when someone loved you sacrificially?
● How did that impact or shape you?
5. Building a culture of love
Read John 13:35 again. Jesus says the world will recognize His disciples by their love for one another.
● What do people experience when they enter a church where people genuinely love one another?
● What can make a church feel loving – or unloving?
● What is one thing you can do to help build a culture of love at our church?
Closing Prayer
● Read Ephesians 3:17-19. Ask God for a growing awareness of His love for you.
● Pray for the needs of your group, as well as a growing capacity to love one another.
THE BEAUTY OF CHURCH
Life Group Discussion Guide – September 13, 2026
Big Idea: The beauty of the church isn’t that Christians are perfect. The beauty is that Jesus is building something beautiful out of imperfect people—and through the church, we get to experience and live out the gospel together.
1. Our Longing to Belong
The sermon began by recognizing a longing we all share: “Do I matter? Does anyone see me? Does anyone really know me? And if they knew everything about me, would they still love me?”
- What are some places people commonly look for belonging and significance? Why do these things ultimately fall short?
- How have you experienced the difference between being included somewhere and truly belonging?
2. The Beauty of Imperfect People
“The church isn’t a gathering of people who have achieved perfection. It is a gathering of people who have encountered a Savior.” Read Philippians 1:6 and Mark 2:17.
- Why is it important that we don’t expect the church—or the people in it—to be perfect?
- How does knowing that Jesus is still working in us change the way we respond to the weaknesses and failures of other Christians?
- Where do you personally need to remember that Jesus isn’t finished with you yet?
3. When the Church Disappoints Us
The sermon acknowledged that if we belong to a church long enough, eventually it will disappoint us. People will hurt us, leaders will disappoint us, decisions won’t go our way, and things we love will change.
- Why can it be tempting to leave a community whenever it becomes uncomfortable or disappointing?
- How can difficult relationships within the church teach us to practice forgiveness, endurance, reconciliation, and love?
- Is there a difference between a church disappointment that requires healthy boundaries and one that simply requires patience, forgiveness, or grace? How might we discern the difference?
4. Living the Gospel With One Another
The sermon described many tangible ways we experience God’s love through other believers: encouragement, prayer, meals, grief, celebration, confession, serving, correction, forgiveness, and noticing when someone is missing.
- Which of these expressions of Christian community has been particularly meaningful to you? Can you share an example?
5. Bringing It Home
The sermon concluded: “I love watching Jesus take lonely people and give them family. I love watching Jesus take broken people and make them whole. I love watching strangers become brothers and sisters in Christ.”
- What is one thing you love about the church?
- What is one way you can help make our church a place where people are seen, known, loved, and pointed toward Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Pray for our church to become increasingly a community where: people know they belong, broken people find grace and healing, difficult relationships become opportunities for discipleship, Christians genuinely love one another, and everything we do ultimately points people to Jesus.