Breaktrail Week 3- Jesus Shows us Love

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story from your own life (or ask a volunteer or student to tell a story) about someone you know who is consistently kind. Share why they are so consistently kind. Then focus on one specific way they've been kind to you.

One of the happiest and kindest people I know is a guy named Jackie Boils.

He attends church here on Sunday mornings and his boys grew up in this youth group.

This guy is just always upbeat, positive, kind and genuinely cares about how people are doing.

I got to do a golf scramble down in Burnside with him, Keegan Measel and Keegan’s friend Owen a few months ago, and even though I am a TERRIBLE golfer, Jackie was super encouraging the whole time. The world need more people like Jackie!

Sometimes you meet someone who's just genuinely kind, right? If you're anything like me, I love super-kind people, but they also make me think, "Hmm . . . I thought I was a pretty good person, but compared to them, I'm the worst!"

SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?

QUESTION | "What does it mean to be a good or bad person?"

INSTRUCTIONS: Give a few students a chance to respond to each of the questions below.

In your opinion, what does it mean to be a "good" person?

What does it mean to be a "bad" person?

How would you describe most people you know? "Good," "bad," or somewhere in between?

Most of the time, most of us want to be "good" people. We want to feel good about who we are and want other people to agree with us! But sometimes we don't feel like good people. Sometimes . . .

We don't tell the whole truth. We let our tempers or attitudes get the best of us. We take risks that hurt someone else. We try to do something nice for someone but it backfires. We miss a chance to show up for someone who needed you because you were busy, tired, or distracted. We want to be "good," but it's not always easy. So if you've worried your mistakes make you a "bad" person, a failure, or a disappointment to God, I want to talk about Good Friday.

JESUS, OUR TRAILBLAZER

For the last couple of weeks, we've been making a journey toward Jesus by talking about all the ways that Jesus blazed new trails for us through His life, death, and resurrection.

Like we said last week, there's a hiking term called "breaking trail." It's what you do when you encounter deep snow that's tough to navigate. When that happens, one hiker usually goes ahead of their group and clears the way so others can follow behind. It's so much easier to walk in the tracks of someone else who has already "broken" the trail. Obviously, we're not going on a literal hike with Jesus, but as we've seen, Jesus broke new trails for us when it comes to . . .

Understanding God. Being close with God. Loving others like God loves us. So far, we've seen two ways Jesus blazed new trails for us. Through His example, Jesus showed us His way isn't the way most people would choose — it's better.

When two of His best friends betrayed Him, Jesus showed them (and us) that He never gives up on us. When He suffered physically and emotionally, Jesus showed us He understands our pain. Today we're going to see a third way Jesus blazed a new trail for us. This time, Jesus set yet another new standard for loving God and others.

SCRIPTURE | Luke 23:32-43

In case you haven't noticed, we've been following Jesus' Easter journey in chronological order.

In Week 1, we saw Jesus betrayed by His friends on the night of His arrest. In Week 2, we saw how Jesus was beaten, tortured, and mocked on His way to the cross. This week, we find Jesus on the cross in the last moments before His death. This is the day we call Good Friday. It's the day, 2,000 years ago, when Jesus, an innocent man, hung dying between two criminals. Most people gathered that day to watch the execution saw three "bad" guys, all deserving of death. But Jesus showed us something new.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Luke 23:32-43

Luke 23:32–43 NIV

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

While Jesus was in His last moments on the cross, He chose to spend some of His final breaths communicating with one of the men dying alongside Him.

Jesus would have had every right to focus on Himself in that moment. The pain He was experiencing would have been excruciating. But instead, Jesus chose to show kindness to the man suffering beside Him. He invited a convicted criminal to join Him in the afterlife, where there would be no more suffering. This "bad" man was resigned to his fate. He knew he had made mistakes and believed he deserved death for his crimes. He didn't even ask Jesus to give him anything — he just asked that Jesus would remember him. So when Jesus went further than the man had requested and promised he would be with Jesus in paradise, Jesus' kindness was twofold:

Jesus' kindness extended into eternity with His gift of eternal life. But Jesus' kindness also comforted a dying man in the last moments of his life. Even while He was suffering, Jesus was thinking of people like you and me. If there was ever a time when we all could've forgiven Jesus for focusing on the pain, the suffering, and the loss that was unbelievably heavy in this moment, it was this moment. But Jesus, even in this painful, broken place, chose to show love to someone who didn't deserve it.

SCRIPTURE | Luke 23:32-43

INSTRUCTIONS: Read Luke 23:44-55

Luke 23:44–55 NIV

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.

Immediately after Jesus died, the crowd realized the weight of what they had done. They finally understood they had killed an innocent man — so they went home. But if it was so obvious Jesus was exactly who He said He was, why didn't these people realize it before they killed Him?

SCRIPTURE | Philippians 2:5-8

To answer that question, Paul, the same early church leader we talked about last week, might tell you this . . . INSTRUCTIONS: Read Philippians 2:5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 NIV

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Jesus could have come to earth in a display of power and authority and let everyone know exactly who He was. But He didn't. Instead, Jesus chose . . .

Humility over power. Sacrifice over selfishness. Kindness over control. In His life and death, Jesus consistently chose us over Himself. That's what love looks like. When Jesus looked at one of those "bad" guys dying alongside Him . . .

He didn't shame him He didn't reject him. He didn't tell him it was too late. Jesus welcomed and embraced him with love. Like that criminal, you and I have done a lot of things that break God's heart. But just like that man discovered,

Jesus shows us love when He looks at us too.

NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?

IMAGE | Florence Nightingale

Everything Jesus did was done out of love for people like you and me. But this moment on the cross shows a very specific kind of love. It shows us Jesus' love is . . .

Compassionate. Gentle. Kind. Unconditional. Jesus doesn't just love us in theory — He loves us personally. He loves us in a way that doesn't just give us hope for life after death, but cares for us in the here and now.

INSTRUCTIONS: As you teach, show an image of Florence Nightingale like this one on screen.

Each week, we've been talking not only about how Jesus has blazed trails for us, but about how ordinary people have been trailblazers as well. One trailblazer I want to introduce you to is Florence Nightingale.

Florence lived about two hundred years ago in England, during the days of the Crimean War. When Florence was 30 years old, she wrote in a letter to her sister, "God called me in the morning and asked me would I do good for Him alone, without reputation." Shortly afterward, she saw the way a Christian community in Germany was caring for the sick and her life changed forever. During the Crimean War, Florence heard about the many wounded soldiers suffering and dying from their injuries without care. Florence made it her mission to show those soldiers the love and compassion of Jesus by caring for their physical needs. But Florence didn't just show up on the front lines to help one or two people personally. She did so much more. Florence . . .

Contacted government officials to help find a solution. Designed new ways of caring for the sick and wounded. Identified new medical and hygiene practices that saved lives. Managed and trained nurses wherever she went. Laid the foundation for medical care we still use today all over the world. A newspaper once said of Florence, "She is a 'ministering angel,' without any exaggeration in these hospitals." If we were to follow Florence's lead and "do good for [God] alone, without reputation," what would that look like? This is the kind of thing that can happen when you experience the compassionate love of Jesus for yourself. It changes you — and then it compels you to share that same love with others.

Jesus compassionately cared for the criminal hanging next to Him. By showing him love, Jesus didn't just care for him in eternity — He cared for him while he was alive and hurting. In the same way, Florence compassionately cared for the sick, wounded, and dying as a response to the love God had shown her. She didn't just care for those people's souls, but for their bodies too. The kind of love Jesus demonstrated (and that Florence imitated) wasn't conditional. It wasn't reserved only for people who were "good," or deserving, or worth it. God's love is available to all of us.

REFLECTION | Responding to Jesus' Love

So what about us? How do you need to respond to the love Jesus has shown you today?

Do you need to receive His love for the first time, like the man who died beside Him? Do you need to come back to His love after drifting away from Him? How can you show the compassionate love of Jesus to others, even if you're not sure they deserve it?

INSTRUCTIONS: Before your program, print and cut the handout provided in your Week 3 folder. Place one under each seat, along with a pen, and give students a few moments to write and reflect.

MUSIC | "As I Am (Acoustic)" (Hillsong Young & Free)

Jesus broke a new trail for us by modeling a love that . . .

Is given freely and without condition. Says everyone is loved, no matter what. Gives us a chance at eternal life with Jesus. And compassionately cares for us right here and now. We're going to close by singing a song of worship and thanks for God's compassionate love for us when we don't deserve it. How will you respond to Jesus loving you just as you are?

INSTRUCTIONS: Play the song “As I Am (Acoustic)” (Hillsong Young & Free)

Did you hear that? "All my regrets and my failures — all of my wrongs have been left at the cross. Now all that remains is the Father's love." We're all a mess. None of us are as good as we wish we could be. But even so,

Jesus shows us love that is kind, compassionate, and gracious. And in His name, we can reflect that same love to others.