Love is King
Community Group Discussion Guide for the Week of November 16, 2025
Miss this week’s teaching? You can watch it here.
# Summary
This sermon focuses on Jesus's message to the church in Ephesus from Revelation 2:1-5, where He commends them for their hard work, patient endurance, intolerance of evil, discernment against false teaching, and perseverance through suffering. However, Jesus has one major concern: they have lost their first love for Him and each other. Pastor Jim emphasizes that while the church was doing many things right and had become a well-oiled machine of ministry, they had forgotten that love is the priority. The message calls for repentance - a turning back to the love they once had for Christ and others. Using the analogy of navigating a ship that requires constant course corrections, Pastor Jim explains that repentance should be a lifestyle of continually realigning our hearts with God's priorities. The warning is clear: if we don't return to love as our primary motivation, we risk losing our effectiveness as a church.
# Intro Prayer
Heavenly Father, we come before You today with grateful hearts, knowing that You are with us no matter where we are in our journey. We thank You for Your unconditional love and presence in our lives. As we gather together to study Your Word, we ask that You would open our hearts and minds to what You want to teach us today. Help us to be honest about where we are spiritually and give us the courage to make any changes You desire in our lives. We pray that You would speak to each person here according to their specific needs and circumstances. In Jesus' name, Amen.
# Ice Breaker
What's one thing you were really passionate about when you were younger that you might not be as excited about now?
# Key Verses
Revelation 2:1-5
Romans 2:4
Matthew 22:37-40
# Questions
Pastor Jim mentioned that the church had become a 'well-oiled machine' but lost their first love. How can we maintain excellence in ministry while keeping love as our primary motivation
Jesus said 'I know all the things that you do' to the church. How does it make you feel to know that God sees everything about your life - both the good and the areas that need work?
Pastor Jim discussed the importance of both tolerance and intolerance in society and the church. How do we balance being loving and accepting while also standing firm against evil and false teaching?
When Jesus asks the church to 'look back and do the works you did at first,' what do you think this means practically for your own spiritual life?
Pastor Jim used the analogy of constantly correcting course while navigating a ship. How can we make repentance a regular part of our spiritual lives rather than something we only do when we've made big mistakes?
Think about a time when you felt closest to God and most in love with Jesus. What were you doing during that season that you might need to return to?
How can we as a church community help each other stay focused on love as our primary motivation while still accomplishing the important work of ministry?
# Life Application
This week, take time to honestly evaluate your spiritual life and identify one area where you may have lost your 'first love' for Jesus or others. Choose one specific action you used to do when you felt closest to God (such as daily Bible reading, worship, serving others, or prayer) and commit to returning to that practice this week. Additionally, look for one practical way to show love to someone in your family, church, or community.
# Key Takeaways
Jesus commends faithful service, endurance, and standing against evil, but love must remain the primary motivation
It's possible to do all the right things in ministry while losing our first love for Christ and others
Repentance should be a lifestyle of constantly correcting our course back to God's priorities, not just a one-time event
Love is king - all of our service, work, and ministry should flow from our love for God and others
We must regularly evaluate our hearts and return to the practices that drew us close to God when we first believed
# Ending Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your patience with us and for loving us unconditionally. We confess that like the church in Ephesus, we sometimes get so busy doing good things that we lose sight of the most important thing - our love for You and for each other. Help us to repent and turn back to You with our whole hearts. Show us what we need to change in our lives to rekindle that first love we had for You. Give us the strength and commitment to follow through on the applications we've discussed today. May our love for You overflow into genuine love for our families, our church, and our community. We want to be known as people who love well because we are loved by You. In Your precious name we pray, Amen.