03-I Am A Church Member: Loving & Treasured | Luke 17

October 18, 2026

On the road to Jerusalem, somewhere between Samaria and Galilee, ten lepers stand at a distance and cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”…

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Life Group study

Discussion questions

Luke 17:11-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19

Key thoughts
  1. Love begins with God. Love is not a battlefield, and it does not begin with loving yourself. "We love Him because He first loved us," and loving God and loving people sits at the center of the church's purpose.
  2. The cross defines love. Agape was not a holy word on its own; Demas "loved this present world" with it. What defines it is Christ: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us."
  3. Love loves regardless of the results. Jesus cleansed ten lepers knowing only one would return, and only that one was saved. Love keeps loving through indifference, ingratitude, and rejection, just as Jesus did on the way to the cross.
  4. Love is a verb. Faith that sees a brother or sister in need and offers only words is dead. Meeting physical needs opens the door to the greater need, and introducing the lost to the One who treasures them is the most loving thing we can do.
  5. You are treasured, and so is that person. We were redeemed not with silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, the only payment that could cover a sin debt we could never pay. God was willing to pay that price for all of humanity, which makes every person treasured, even that person.

  1. Our culture says love is a battlefield, or that it starts with loving yourself. Read 1 John 4:19 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-5. Where have you absorbed the world's definition of love, and how does "We love Him because He first loved us" change where love starts?

  2. Read 1 John 3:16 and Romans 5:8. If the cross is what defines love, what does that say about the kind of love God is calling you to show the people around you?

  3. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Which of these descriptions of love is hardest for you to live out right now, and with whom?

  4. Read Luke 17:11-19. Jesus healed all ten knowing only one would come back. When have you held back love because you doubted it would be returned or appreciated, and what would it look like to love regardless of the results?

  5. Read James 2:15-17. Why does meeting someone's physical needs so often open the door to their greater need, and what is one real need you could meet this week?

  6. Read 1 Peter 1:18-19 and Romans 6:23. We were bought with the precious blood of Christ, not silver or gold. How should knowing what you cost change the way you see yourself, and who is "that person" you need to start seeing at the same price?

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Applications
  1. Name "that person." Think of the one you would rather walk past. Ask God every day this week to help you see them at the price Jesus paid.
  2. Love with action. Meet one real need this week without waiting to see whether anyone comes back to say thank you.
  3. Tell someone what they are worth. Introduce one person this week to the One who treasures them above His own life.
Closing prayer

Father, we love You because You first loved us. Thank You that we do not have to guess what love is, because Your Son showed us when He laid down His life for us. Forgive us for loving only when it is returned, for loving with words and not with action, and for walking past the people You treasure. Teach us to love the way Jesus loved the ten, regardless of the results. Thank You that we were not redeemed with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Let that price settle what we are worth, and let it change how we see every person we meet, even that person. Make us a church that loves You and loves people, so that the lost may meet the One who treasures them. In Jesus' name, amen.

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