The Group Study Guide for What Does Love Require of Me? by David Harrison delves into how church leaders can address sin, particularly homosexuality, with grace and compassion while staying faithful to God’s attributes. Inspired by Andy Stanley’s question, “What does love require of me?” David explores this crucial inquiry, emphasizing grace as the pinnacle of God’s love and urging introspection with the question, “Am I all in?” Through Scripture and thoughtful reflections, this guide aims to provide church leaders with direction and encouragement in navigating these complex topics in their congregations.
This is the Group Study Guide version of WHAT DOES LOVE REQUIRE OF ME?
In his book, *What Does Love Require of Me?*, David explores what God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit convey about sin in general, with a particular focus on homosexuality, and how church leaders should address these topics with their congregations. This is an extraordinarily challenging task in these prophetic times.
David navigates away from legalism by emphasizing grace. He writes, “Grace is my favorite word in all of Scripture, quite simply because I have received so much of it. Grace is the one thing that keeps me running back to God. Grace overwhelms me, amazes me, and delights me. There is only one single-word description that comes anywhere close to describing God: grace. Grace is love taken to the nth power. Omnipotence, omniscience, eternal—these words are unfathomable to the human mind, but not grace. Grace is experiential.”
David stresses that along with grace come all of God’s other attributes. When considering homosexuality and interacting with the gay community, we cannot, and must not, ignore any of God’s attributes, even if grace is, from a human perspective, the pinnacle.
He recently read *Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World* by Pastor Andy Stanley. In this ‘must-read’ book, Stanley asks, “What does love require of me?” This question has haunted David since he read it. Regarding sexuality and God’s people, David believes this question is crucial, so he includes it at the top of each page in his book as a constant reminder while seeking answers to challenging questions.
David notes that while searching for a cover illustration, he found a photo of Michelangelo’s Pietà, depicting the dead body of Jesus Christ in His mother’s arms. It reminded him that from the beginning, Jesus’ mother, Mary (see Luke 1:38), and Jesus (see John 13:1) were both fully committed, holding nothing back.
This leads to the introspective question, “Am I all in?” How one answers this question influences one’s beliefs and actions—specifically compassion (Pietà).
David hopes that by reading this book and taking the referenced Scriptures to heart, church leaders will find direction and encouragement in handling issues of homosexuality in their congregations.
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