Session 2: The Holy love of God

Meeting God in Jesus - Session 2: Leader's Guide

Theme:

Jesus reveals a holy love that is fiercely protective, merciful, and transformative. Key Texts: John 1:18, John 8:1–11

1. Introduction & Hook

• What did we talk about last time we meet? What is the serise we started?

Leader's Script:

Say: we started our series 'Meeting God in Jesus,' based on our anchor verse, John 1:18: ‘No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.’

Our whole goal is to see the triune God, Father, Son and Spirit by looking at Jesus who shows us who, how the truine God is

Say: Someone texted me a great question: 'Why doesn't Jesus just say the words "I am God" directly? Why does He use other phrases to show it?'"

Ask: "What do you all think? Why might Jesus show who He is through his actions instead of just saying it?"

Ask: "Think about it this way: when someone says 'I love you' versus when they show their love through a real sacrifice—which one feels more powerful and real?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

Jesus did make direct claims, and they were the very reason he was crucified.

John 8:58: "Before Abraham was, I AM." (Taking God's personal name).

John 10:30–33: "I and the Father are one." (They try to stone him for this).

John 14:9: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (Claiming to be the perfect revelation of God).

Say (Transition): "Today, we're going to see Jesus reveal the triune love of the Father son, and spirit. Jesus won't say the words 'God loves you,' but he'll show us exactly what the holy, protective, and transforming love of the Father, son and spirit actually looks like in a real, messy human story."

2. Gospel Story Discovery

Leader's Script:

Say: "Let's open our Bibles to John, chapter 8, verses 1 through 11. We'll read it once just to get the scene in our minds." (Read the text aloud). (ESV pg: 894)

Ask: "First, just to set the scene, what is happening here? Who are the main characters involved?"

Ask: "What do the religious leaders say they want? What is their stated goal?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

The characters: Jesus, the woman caught in adultery, and the religious leaders (Pharisees and scribes).

Their stated goal is to uphold the Law of Moses. Their real, underlying goal is to trap Jesus in a no-win situation (if he says "don't stone her," he defies Moses; if he says "stone her," he defies Roman law and his own message of mercy).

Say: "Okay, let's look closer at Jesus's actions." Read again: somone new

Ask: "When they drag this woman in front of everyone, what is the very first thing Jesus does?"

Ask: "What does his posture—bending down, writing in the dirt—tell you about his state of mind? Is he panicked? Is he rushed? Is he in control?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

He is unhurried, calm, and not rushing to judgment. He controls the scene by refusing to react on their terms. He de-escalates their aggressive confrontation with quiet authority.

Ask: "After he lets them stand there in silence, what does he finally say to the accusers? What is the impact of that one sentence 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone' have?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." He completely disarms them. He turns the spotlight from the woman's public sin to the private sin in their own hearts. He exposes their hypocrisy without calling them a single name.

Ask: "So, what happens to the accusers? The text says they left one by one, from oldest to youngest. Why do you think that happened?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

They are convicted. The oldest, having lived longer and perhaps having more wisdom or more sin to recall, understood the weight of Jesus's challenge first. Jesus forces them to apply the same standard of judgment to themselves that they were so eager to apply to her.

Ask: "Now Jesus is alone with the woman. What are the two things he says to her?"

Ask: "Why is it so important that he says both 'Neither do I condemn you' and 'Go and sin no more'? What would be missing if he only said one of those?"

3. Theological Insight: The "White-Hot Fire" of Love

Leader's Script:

Ask (The Big Discovery): "Based on how Jesus just acted—protecting, confronting, forgiving, and challenging—what is God the Father's love really like?"

Say (Transition): "We see Jesus show incredible mercy, but it's also clear there's an intensity here. Its like Love and wrath are different sides of the same coin. Karl Barth, described God's Love and warth in a way that might be surprising. Listen to this:"

Read Quote: "God's wrath is what we might call the 'white-hot fire of God's love.' God's wrath destroys wickedness for the same reason that we human beings destroy disease: because it attacks the creature's flourishing and is opposed to our well-being."

Ask: "What do you think of that—God's wrath being the 'fire of His love'? How can that possibly work?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

God's wrath isn't a petty human temper tantrum; it's his active, holy, and loving opposition to everything that destroys his creation and his people.

Sin is a disease. A loving God hates the disease that is killing the person he loves.

His wrath is the "destructive energy of his positive holiness," aimed at destroying that which thwarts his eternal purpose: to bring his people into loving communion with him.

Ask: "Thinking back to the story, where do you see the 'white-hot fire' of Jesus's love? What, or who, was he angry at?"

Ask: "Let's look at verse 7 again. Jesus says, 'the one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.' Who was the only person in that entire circle who actually could have thrown the stone?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

This is a crucial teaching moment. Jesus is the only one who had the right to condemn, the only one who could execute perfect justice. And he chose not to.

His mercy is not cheap; it's an active choice made from a position of perfect righteousness and authority. He absorbs the judgment himself.

How does he absorb the judgment?

We are saved and become one with Jesus, it's not just a ticket you go to have with but it’s union with Jesus.

Scripture:

John 3:17–18 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God

Ask: "If you truly love someone, what makes you angry? Isn't it when they are being hurt, or when they are hurting themselves? Could God's anger at sin actually be because He loves us?"

4. Application & Closing

Leader's Script:

Say (Synthesis): "So, putting the story and the quote together, we see a few key things about God's holy love."

Ask: "First, how did Jesus show that God's love is fiercely protective?"

Whiling to become human, instiuting a salvation plan

Ask: "Second, how did he show that God's love hates what hurts us?"

Jesus taking the warth of God on himself

He took the destructive energy of his positive holiness and love

Ask: "And third, how did he show that God's love is both merciful and transforming?"

He gave us new lives, and the ability to be called children of God.

Say: "This is what we call holy love. It's not afraid of our mess. As one writer put it: 'God extends his very holiness into our midst as sinners in order to claim us as his own... he condescends to us and fully identifies with us in our unholiness!' His love gets right in the middle of our mess to rescue us."

Ask (Final Reveal): "So back to our original question: How did Jesus show he was God in this story? What did he do that only God can do?"

[Teacher's Insight & Notes]:

He showed perfect justice and perfect mercy at the same time.

He knew the hearts of the accusers.

He had the authority to forgive, heal and redeemed a sin-ridden person and world.

He loved with a holy love that protects and transforms.

Ask (Personal Application): "If this is what God's love is really like, how does that change how we see ourselves?"

Ask: "And how does it change how we should love other people?"

Ask (Challenge): "This week, how can you show someone holy love—a love that protects, cares about truth, and isn't afraid of their mess?"

Say (Closing): "Jesus shows us that God's love isn't soft and sentimental; it's holy. It's a love that will fight for you, protect you, and love you enough to transform you. That's the love we see perfectly at the cross."

Memory Verse:

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Preview:

Next week, we'll look at "The Faithfulness of God in Christ."