SESSION ONE

Living Loved

Live from a deep assurance that you are fully loved, and you won't find yourself begging others for scraps of love. Live loved.

Recommended reading prior to the meeting: Uninvited book, chapters 1–3

WELCOME!

Welcome to Session 1 of Uninvited. If this is your first time together as a group, take a moment to introduce yourselves to one another before watching the video. Then let's get started!

OPTIONAL DISCUSSION:

Basic Definitions (10 minutes)

Use this discussion if time permits or if your group meets for two hours.

Choose one of the following questions to answer:

If you were to write the definition of love, what would it be?

If you were to write the definition of rejection, what would it be?

VIDEO:

Living Loved (25 minutes)

Play the video segment for Session 1. As you watch, use the outline below to follow along or take additional notes on anything that stands out to you.

Notes

Jesus' words on the Mount of Beatitudes were a proclamation that He had come and prophecy was being fulfilled.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus announced good news for the poor, the mourning, the rejected. The Messiah has come, and if we remain in Him, we can live loved.

This week's statement to hold on to: Live from a deep assurance that you are fully loved, and you won't find yourself begging others for scraps of love. Live loved.

Rejection never has the final say. With Jesus you are forever safe, accepted, held, loved, invited.

God is in our midst and will quiet us with His love.

The "live loved" quest: To get to a place of stable emotions, stable love instead of a down ward spiral in response to circumstances.

When giving is from a heart whose real motivation is what we're hoping to get in return, it's not really love at all.

Living loved is sourced in the quiet daily surrender to the One who loves us.

The ballerina longs most for her instructor's approval. Her daily return to her instructor is the key to her seemingly effortless soaring. Likewise, we need to return often to our Instructor, our Creator. His hand is daily poised to continue making us and to complete the good work He began in us. We need to spend time getting refilled by God in His abundant love.

God waits every day with every answer we need, every comfort we crave, while we're out looking for love everywhere else. God wants us to slow down enough to receive from Him.

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons." (Mark 3:13-15 NIV, emphasis added)

We don't need to manipulate our hearts to feel loved. Instead, we settle in our souls that God created us because He so very much loved the thought of us.

GROUP DISCUSSION:

Video Debrief (5 minutes)

1. What part of the teaching had the most impact on you?

Blessedness: What Does the Bible Say? (10 minutes)

If your group meets for two hours, allow 20 minutes for this discussion.

Remember, Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount is a fulfillment of prophecy, because Isaiah 61:1 says, "The LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor" (NIV). The use of the word "poor" here really means the poor in spirit, or those who are afflicted, humble, meek. Jesus came to tell us that He had good news in the midst of hard realities. Read Matthew 5:1-16 aloud, changing readers every few verses, and listen for the way He speaks to our hearts that are so desperate for acceptance.

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

He said:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:1–16 NIV)

2. Who does Jesus say are the blessed? What surprises you about this list?

• Why might we call these people blessed, even though their circumstances might not be producing happy feelings?

"Blessed" translates the Greek word makarios. It could be rendered as "happy" or "fortunate" if those words aren't taken in a shallow, emotional way. "Makarios is a state of existence in relationship to God in which a person is 'blessed' from God's perspective even when he or she doesn't feel happy or isn't presently experiencing good fortune." Jesus isn't exhorting His hearers to live a life worthy of blessing. He is saying that the people He speaks of are already blessed. "Negative feelings, absence of feelings, or adverse conditions cannot take away the blessedness of those who exist in relationship with God." Jesus is telling His hearers that they can be blessed even when they don't feel good. They can live as loved, blessed people regardless of their circumstances.

• In what sense are you blessed right now?

• How would your daily life be different if you lived convinced, deep down, that you are blessed, that the kingdom of heaven belongs to you, that your hunger will be satisfied, that you are loved by the Maker of the universe?

3. Read Matthew 5:11–12.

11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the...