Mission Impossible: Love Your Enemy

June 22, 2025
Mission Impossible: Love Your Enemy

Jesus is teaching his disciples that the source of righteousness is found inside - within the heart. In the sixth and final “but I say” teaching, Jesus gives us an impossible mission: love your enemy. 

June 22, 2025 • Tony Engedal • TheCrossingChurch.org 

1. If your life were a TV sitcom, what would your theme song be, and why?

2. Jesus challenges believers to go beyond loving those who love them. How does loving your enemies distinguish you as a follower of Christ?

3. The sermon asked: “Do you knowingly or unknowingly treat certain people as enemies?” Can you think of a group or person that you struggle to love? What makes it difficult?

4. Read 1 John 4:16-19 The pastor said, “We see some people as an existential threat to our beliefs or way of life.” How has fear shaped who you view as ‘the enemy? How can perfect love overcome fear?

5. Read Matthew 5:45-47 Agape love is defined as a choice to seek the well-being of another, even an enemy. How is agape love different from our idea or society’s idea of how to love and who to love?

6. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 again. Which trait of agape love is hardest for you to extend toward an enemy, and why?

7. The sermon said: “If love is the target, then grace and truth keep our sights on it.” Do you tend to rely too heavily on truth at the expense of grace—or vice versa?

8. What does it look like to love someone without compromising your convictions? How do you know if you need to give more grace or more truth in a relationship?

9. Think about a person or group that makes you uncomfortable (like the photos from the sermon). What would it look like to “delight in the possibility” of their redemption?

10. Read 1 Colossians 1:21-23 The pastor said, “We were once enemies of God.” How does remembering your own need for grace change how you view and love your enemy? 

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