1. THE 1 ST COMMANDMENT: LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS Faith Foundations Course One Lesson 4

2. LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL THINGS What does it mean to LOVE God above all things?

3. DEVOTED TO GOD 1.Recall how God tested Abrahams faith (Genesis 22:1-19). Gods request that Abraham sacrifice his son would have been difficult for any parent. Why was it especially difficult for Abraham? Abraham was old. Isaac was his only son and the only link to the promised Messiah.

4. DEVOTED TO GOD 2.How did Abraham show that he loved God more than his son Isaac? He obeyed God and was ready to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.

5. DEVOTED TO GOD 3.Melanies boyfriend wanted her to live with him even though they werent married. Though she knew that would be a sin against God, she was afraid that if she refused, she would lose her boyfriend. So she agreed to move in with him. What did her choice to move in with her boyfriend say about her love for God? She loved her boyfriend and herself more than God.

6. DEVOTED TO GOD 4. Read 1 John 4:19. Why do we love God? We love God because he first loved us.

7. DEVOTED TO GOD 5.How does God show his love for us? God showers us with earthly and spiritual blessings. He showed his greatest love for us by giving his Son, Jesus, to be our Savior.

8. DEVOTED TO GOD 6.Jackies friend didnt want her to go to church. Sunday was the only day they could do things together. When Jackie told her that she wanted to worship God first, her friend got angry and walked away. I thought you were my friend, she said sarcastically. What inspired Jackie to show love for God, even though she knew it might cost her a friendship? She knows what Jesus has done for her and is more important than a friend. And anyone who wants to draw her away from God isnt really a friend at all.

9. DEVOTED TO GOD 7.Read Matthew 10:37. Because God loves us so much, whom are we not to love more than him? God doesnt want us to love our parents or childrenor any other personmore than we love him.

10. KEY POINT #1 To love God above all things means we should love God more than any person.

11. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 8.Recall the Bible story of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-22). The rich man told Jesus that he had kept all the commandments. Why do you think Jesus told the man to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and follow him? To show the man that he loved his riches more than God.

12. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 9.Why did the rich young man go away sad? He had great wealth and could not part with it to follow Jesus.

13. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 10.Read 1 John 2:15. How was the rich young man an example of what this passage warns us about? The rich young man loved the things of the world more than he loved God.

14. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 11.Read Matthew 22:37. How much should we love God? We should love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

15. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 12.Read Psalm 73:25,26. Asaph wrote this psalm. How did he express his love for God. He said that there was nothing on earth that he desired (loved) more than God.

16. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE 13.After a church voters meeting Joeys father complained about the voters decision to give more to missions. That mans we will have to raise our offerings, he said. We just cant afford it. He said that, even though his family had a big-screen TV in the three-year-old house and they were shopping for a brand-new car. What do you think is the real reason Joeys father complained about the decision to give more to missions? He loves his possessions more than God and the lost souls for whom God sent his Son.

17. KEY POINT #2 To love God above all things means we should love God more than any thing.

18. What does it mean to LOVE God above all things? 1.To love God above all things means we should love God more than any person. 2.To love God above all things means we should love God more than any thing. SUMMARY To love God above all things means to love him more than any person or thing.