Week 10: Chapter 9 — Love Christ Above All Else

1.Scazzero anchors this final chapter in Jesus's conversation with Peter on the beach in John 21 — "Do you love me?" asked three times. Why does he return to this scene to close the book? What does it reveal about what Jesus most wants from His disciples?

2.He draws on the image of Christ as Bridegroom and the church as Bride — a relationship of intimacy, not merely of service. How comfortable are you with that kind of intimate, romantic language for your relationship with God? What does your level of comfort or discomfort reveal?

3.Scazzero cites Revelation 2:4 — Christ's charge to the church at Ephesus: "You have forsaken your first love." He suggests this is the great danger at the end of any spiritual growth journey: becoming skilled at the practices while losing the love that motivated them. Where do you see that danger in your own life right now?