You Can’t Always Get What You Want

2. Paul spends most of this passage proving that he had legitimate rights and freedoms as an apostle—only to explain why he willingly gave them up. Why do you think Paul spends so much time defending his rights before choosing not to use them? What does this passage teach us about the difference between having a right and needing to exercise a right? As you think about your own life, where might God be asking you to surrender comfort, preference, or freedom for the sake of loving others well?

3. 2. Read Philippians 2:3–11

4. Paul points us to Jesus, who willingly laid down status, privilege, and comfort for the sake of others. What stands out to you most about the attitude and sacrifice of Jesus in this passage? Why do you think sacrificial love is so difficult for us in everyday life? What is something you may be clinging to—comfort, pride, convenience, control, reputation—that could be limiting your ability to love people the way Jesus has loved you?

5. 3. Read Luke 10:25–37 (The Good Samaritan)

6. The Samaritan chose compassion even when it was inconvenient, uncomfortable, and costly. What did loving his neighbor actually cost him in this story? Who are the kinds of people that are hardest for you to move toward relationally, emotionally, or spiritually? What might it practically look like for you to love someone this week in a way that costs you something?

7. 4. Read 2 Corinthians 5:14–21

8. Paul says that those who belong to Christ “no longer live for themselves,” and that we are now Christ’s ambassadors. What do you think it means to no longer live for yourself? In what ways do Christians still subtly make life mostly about themselves? If you truly believed this week that God wants to work through you to reach “one more person,” what might change in how you treat people, spend time, or have conversations?

9. 5. Read Romans 12:9–21

10. This passage gives practical examples of what sacrificial love looks like. Which command or challenge in these verses feels most difficult for you personally—and why? How might living this way cost you something relationally, emotionally, socially, or personally? What would become possible if Christians actually loved this way consistently?