Should be short, to the point, and provide a natural transition to the gospel (see
sample talk). A good talk may include the concept that we are all looking for love and
special relationships. We have so few models, though, of how true love is demonstrated.
Suggest one example of love that can be true for us all - a love that will always last: -
the love of God. God? Yes, God! Transition to the gospel and follow up with comment cards.
Intro: Share a funny or embarrassing dating
story.
This is one example of the embarrassing moments we regularly experience in our
relationships with others. Relationships are not only difficult at times, but they also
take up a great deal of our time and energy. Examples of relationships we encounter are
relationships with parents, relatives, friends, co-workers, and members of the opposite
sex.
Relationships are very important to us. One of the reasons they are so important has to
do with our need to love and be loved. Psychologists tell us that our #1 need in life is
to love and be loved. At the same time, however, our #1 fear is that we will never be
truly loved by others or be able to love others ourselves.
Because of our great fear of failure in relationships, we tend to put on
"masks" in order to hide from others who we really are inside. We do this
because we are afraid of how others may react when they see the "real" us. If
they see us for who we really are, they may not like what they see, and reject us. For
most of us, that is too painful to handle. That is why we tend to let people see only what
we think they want to see. For example... (At this point, give a funny example of
someone putting on a "mask.")
Sometimes even our best friends or our parents (i.e. those who we care most about and
who know us best) will reject us if we don't meet up to their expectations. That's really
painful! What are we supposed to think when that happens?
You see, we all want to be loved and appreciated for who we are. The problem is there
are not many people who are willing to love us that way. Most people will only love us if
we do such and such or because we are such and such. The question is, "Is
there anyone who is willing to love us for who we really are, warts and all? Someone who
simply loves us, period?"** The answer is, "Yes, there is such a
person." As you may have guessed, the person I am speaking about is God, our Creator.
The Bible tells us when God loves someone, He loves them regardless of how they look,
how smart they are, or how many friends they have. In other words, He loves them for who
they are. Wouldn't you like to experience God's unconditional love? You can, if you have a
relationship with Him.
Let me explain how you can have a relationship with the God who created you and
experience His love. There are several truths you must understand and be convinced of in
order to enter into a personal relationship with God. (Present the gospel at this point.)
**Note: The concept we are trying to get across here is that there are basically three
kinds of love. The first is the "I love you if . . . " kind of love. It
says I'll love you on the condition that you continue doing what I want you to do for me
(i.e. I love you if you have sex with me, I love you if you spend money on me, I love you
if you give me all the attention I expect). When you stop doing it, I no longer love you.
The second is the "I love you because of . . . " type love. This kind of
love is based on the condition that you continue to live up to my expectations (i.e. I
love you because you are beautiful, or because you are popular, etc.). If the
situation changes or my expectations for you change then I no longer love you. What people
really desire and need deep down is the type of love that is unconditional, and
non-manipulative. This type of love is called "I love you period." It is
the kind of love that loves the real you, no matter what. This type of love only comes
from God. For more information on this topic see Josh McDowell's book "Givers,
Takers and Other Kinds of Lovers."
