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E ION GOD LO E
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM v 2.0
MODULE 1: THE BASIC TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

ANCHOR VERSE:
For God so lo ed he orld ha he ga e his onl Son so ha e er one ho belie es in him
might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn he orld b ha he orld migh be sa ed hro gh him John 3:16-17 (NABRE)

GOAL: To communicate the truth that God loves us and to provide a better understanding of
that love

CORE MESSAGE:
God is lo e Thro gh he lens of o r Chris ian fai h he concep of lo e is e pressed in a self-
sacrificial manner by which the Father offered His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. It is the kind
of love that creates, saves, and sustains.

TENOR: Affirming and enlightening

DYNAMICS:
1. The music ministry plays a set of acoustic love songs.
2. Worship
3. The CLP Team Leader gives a brief orientation.
4. Introduce the speaker.
5. The speaker conducts the Writing Activity: What are you most grateful for? Write
down as many as you can in 1 minute.
6. The speaker sings a few lines of his song to God.
7. Talk proper
8. Play video: A Fa her s Lo e
9. The speaker ends with a prayer. Service team then provides hand-outs with prayer.
10. Participants proceed with group discussion using metacards: Share about how you have
personall e perienced God s lo e.
11. Play video teaser for the next session.

SPEAKER S PROFILE
A CFC bro her ho recogni es i h a e and gra i de his e periences of God s Trini arian
love; he shall also relate this profound truth to his audience with joy and clarity.

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E ION GOD LO E
THE EXPANDED TALK OUTLINE

FOR THE USE OF THE SPEAKER

INTRODUCTION

God is lo e and he ho abides in lo e abides in God and God abides in him. 1

Jn. 4:16) Love is a universal feeling. There is no one in this world who has not received love nor
has not given love.

In the secular sense, love is an attraction, a fleeting feeling that is commonly based on
he here and no here ge ing-my-own-needs is a priori and more of en han no is
more inclined on receiving rather than giving.

Through the lens of our Christian faith, we believe that love is directly associated with
God, as God is love. In the scriptures, especially in the New Testament, lo e is e pressed in a
self-sacrificial manner by which the Father offered His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. It is the
kind of love that creates, saves, and sustains.

1. G d L e C ea e

a. God is love. God, the loving Father that He is, is also the master creator of all. The
s ar ing poin for nders anding God s lo e is fo nd in the book of Genesis. Whatever
the Lord creates is good. (Gen. 1:31) For five days, God created the heavens and the
earth, the a er and he land he animals and he plan s and God sa ha i as
good Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) He found that all of creation was not only good, but
er good par ic larl the day after the fifth.

b. On the sixth day, God created His greatest masterpiece, man, in 2 dimensions: male and
female. He created them in His image and likeness. (Gen. 1:27) It was a deliberate act of
love, setting man apar from all crea ion Being crea ed in God s image and likeness
meant that we mirror the nature of God. He infused in our soul dignity, as the human
person represents God. To be created in His image and likeness defines our relationship
with God. To be a person is to be in a relationship with God.1 This meant that we are
made for love, our hearts made as one with God. We are made for communion!

1
Katrina Zeno, MTS. 2016. Rooted in the Gift: Theology of the Body for Everyday Life and Ministry.

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c. The gift of free will came with the gift of life. However, man, in the exercise of his God-
given free will, rejected his creator by sinning. Tempted by the devil, man let his trust in
His creator die in his hear and ab sing his freedom disobe ed God s command 2 Since
then, man has continued to offend God and go against his ways. Sin, as its consequence,
not only brings us away from God, but also makes s do b he Fa her s goodness and
love for us. However, God s lo e ne er anes despi e he sinf lness of man

2. G d L e Saves

a. We are redeemed. The Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31 NABRE)3 describes the
forgiving love of God. The central figure is the father, and the central message is the
fa her s prodigal lo e his la ish and genero s lo e no j s for he o nger son b he
elder son as well. (Luke 15:11-31) The younger son took his inheritance as if his father
had already died. He suffers misfortune in a distant land and decides to come back after
much suffering, and prepares for a three-par s a emen Fa her I ha e sinned
agains hea en and agains o , Lk I no longer deser e o be called o r
son, Lk a and Trea me as o o ld rea one of o r hired orkers . (Lk
15:19b) While he was still a long way off, his father, probably having waited everyday
for he son s re rn caught sight of him. (Lk 15:20b) He showers the son with hugs and
kisses despite how scruffy he must have been. (Lk 15:20c) His son stammers with his
prepared statements, but the father asks his servants to put on his son the best robe to
show that he is regarded with highest esteem, to wear a ring on his finger to show that
he has authority as a son, and to put sandals on his feet to show that he is a son and not
a slave. (Lk 15:22) The elder son, jealous of the younger brother, returns and refuses to
enter the house. He becomes self-righteous. The father reaches out to him and assures
him, M son e er hing I ha e is o rs This parable illustrates how God passionately
loves his children.

b. When we sin, God is not indifferent or distant with us. He awaits our response to Him as
He constantly draws us back to Himself to restore our fellowship with him. (Eph 1:9-10)

c. St. John Paul II tells us that God s lo e is e pressed in he offering of His onl Son. Jesus
is God s Belo ed Being the Son who redeems, his acts are redemptive. For God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might
not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to

2
Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #397.
3
Other versions of the Bible: The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother (New Revised Standard Version), The Parable of the Prodigal Son
(English Standard Version).

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condemn he orld b ha he orld migh be sa ed hro gh him (John 3:16-17

NABRE) Jesus Christ, our redeemer, forgives our sins and restores us to communion with
God.4

3. G d L e Sustains

a. God is the giver of life. And since life came from Him, it is also through Him that we are
sustained in life. Thus, he gives us the Holy Spirit through Jesus as seen in John 14:26-27:
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name he will teach you
everything and remind you of all that [I] told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I
give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled
or afraid The Hol Spiri ho has spoken hro gh he prophe s , is called by many
names. St. Paul calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of promise, the Spirit of adoption, the
Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Spirit of God. St. Peter calls Him the Spirit
of glory. (cf. CCC 693) The Lord pours out His Holy Spirit in abundance to us.

b. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are empowered to face life head on. The power of
the Holy Spirit infused in us at baptism, and with its fuller release at confirmation,
enables us to overcome the world, the flesh and the work of the evil spirits.
Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us in our prayers: it is He who
through words and symbols unites us to Christ in the sacraments; it is through Him, in
the charisms and ministries, that our community and the Church are built up. 5 We bear
fruit in our marriage and family, work, service and social relationships in and through
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in us, and because of Him and through Him we can
share in the exchange of love between the Father, who is Love, and the Son who is
Jesus, the beloved.

c. The role of the Holy Spirit is to sanctify or make holy a person forgiven by Christ. After
the fall, the Holy Spirit, through His grace and work of fusing man into communion with
God, restores man to his original state. In short, the Holy Spirit's role is to give new life
through the recreation of man. 6

4
Michael Gaitley, MIC. n.d. The One Thing is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything. Makati City: St. Paul Publications.
5
Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #688.
6
The Theological-Historical Commission for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. 1997. The Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life: Official Catechetical
Text in Preparation for the Holy Year 2000. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company.

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CONCLUSION

God s lo e is reflec ed in his crea ion God s lo e is described in he parable of he fa her and
his o sons B he f lles re ela ion of God s love is the sending of the Son, together with the
Holy Spirit7, o s ffer and die ha e ma ha e life e ernal Th s it is of utmost importance
that we know who this Son really is.

GUIDE QUESTION: Share abo ho o ha e personall e perienced God s lo e

7
cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #743: From the beginning to the end of time, whenever God sends his Son, he always sends his
Spirit: their mission is conjoined and inseparable.

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