Tonight we are going to talk about loyally...to ourselves and God
We’re going to start by watching a clip from The man in the iron mask
Start at 1 hr 20 mins (approx) - just before the woman is found hanging
End at 1 hr 40 mins (approx) – Just after the musketeers charge the
soldiers, they hold their swords up to indicate their loyalty to the
musketeers.
The middle bit
In the video we’ve just seen, the musketeers stayed loyal to the true king
even through it might cost them their lives
What loyalties do you have / feel strongly about?
Why?
How far would you go?
What if…
The Bible says…Proverbs 18:24 ”Some friends may ruin you, but a real friend will be more loyal than a
brother”
The musketeers showed this kind of loyalty when they decided to die
together ‘one for all and all for one’
Sometimes we find it hard to be loyal, especially when we are faced with
difficult situations…
What kind of things make us disloyal?
Temptation
Selfishness
Ignorance
Different ideas of friendship
Being in the middle
There are many stories in the Bible about loyalty / disloyalty
Here’s one of the well known ones…the story of Peter
This happened just after Jesus had been arrested and taken away
Matthew 26:69 – 75 ”…Peter was sitting in the courtyard, a servant girl came to him and said,
‘you also were with Jesus of Galilee.’
But Peter said to all the people there that he was never with Jesus. He said,
‘I don’t know what you are talking about.’
When he left the courtyard and was at the gate, another girl saw him. She
said to the people there, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’
Again, Peter said he was never with him, saying, ‘I swear I don’t know this
man Jesus!’
A short time later, some other people standing there went to Peter and said,
‘Surely you are one of those who followed Jesus. The way you talk proves it.’
Then Peter began to place a curse on himself and swear, ‘I don’t know the
man.’ At once, a cockerel crowed. And Peter remembered what Jesus had told
him: ‘Before the cockerel crows, you will say three times that you don’t know
me.’ Then Peter went outside and cried bitterly.”
Have you ever been disloyal?
When / where
What happened?
How did you feel?
[Tell a personal story about being disloyal]
When / where
What happened?
How did you feel?
What can we do when we’re been disloyal to someone?
Apologise
Do something – like in the film 10 things I hate about you
Buy gift
Write letter
Conclusion
Earlier we read in the Bible that Peter screwed up
He was disloyal to Jesus
However, our God is a God of 2nd, 3rd, 4th Chances…
In John 21, Jesus gives Peter another chance…
He ends up being the head of the Church…
God is always loyal to us…even if we are disloyal to him…
As a response, I'd like you to write down your loyalties...
