Series: No One Else
Sermon Title: No one else loved like him
Passage: Roman’s 5:6-11
Reno Campus
Pastor Dave Pretlove
Carson Campus
Pastor Dusty Braun
Sparks Campus
Pastor Jericho Toilolo
Campus Announcements / Service Moments
Reno Campus
Carson Campus
Sparks Campus
Series: No One Else
Sermon Title: No one else loved like him
Passage: Roman’s 5:6-11
SERMON POINTS:
- The Love That Destroys Our Cheap Definitions
Roman’s 5:6-8
John 15:13
1 John 3:16 - The love that takes what I deserve and gives me what I don’t.
Roman’s 5:9-11
2 Corinthians 5:21 - The love that answers my deepest questions.
- Does God care? yes Romans 5:8
- Do I matter? yes
- Can I be forgiven? yes- Luke 23:34
- Do I have to carry my guilt shame and regret? No Luke 23:39-43
- Who am I? I am so deeply flawed broken and sinful, yet so valued, treasured, and loved.
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
How has your view of “love” been shaped more by culture than by Christ?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:6-8; John 15:13
Reflection: How does the idea of someone dying for you confront or correct the ways you’ve defined love in your past or present relationships?
Additional scriptures: 1 John 3:16
Share a moment or season in your life where someone showed you love similar to the sacrificial love described in John 15:13.
How did this experience affect your view of Jesus and what genuine love looks like?
What does it mean to you that Jesus died for you while you were still powerless and ungodly?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:6
Reflection: How does this truth break pride and deepen humility? What does it do to your fear of not being “good enough”?
Additional scriptures: Ephesians 2:4-5
In what ways are you tempted to earn what Jesus has already given you freely?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:8-9
Reflection: What spiritual habits or inner narratives reflect performance-based love rather than grace-based identity?
Additional scriptures: Galatians 3:3
What’s something you believe you deserve—but Jesus took on your behalf at the cross?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21
Reflection: How would your week look different if you lived as if your guilt and punishment were truly dealt with forever?
When you think about Jesus exchanging places with you (2 Corinthians 5:21), how does it shape the way you approach your struggles, fears, or daily challenges?
What do you still struggle to believe Jesus has given you in His love?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:11
Reflection: What aspects of Jesus’ love do you receive intellectually but still wrestle to trust emotionally or practically?
Additional scriptures: Isaiah 30:15
Which of the deep questions in the sermon resonated most with your heart—and why?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:8; Luke 23:34, 39–43
– Does God care?
– Do I matter?
– Can I be forgiven?
– Do I have to carry my guilt and shame?
– Who am I?
Reflection: Which one is hardest for you to believe today? What keeps you from embracing God’s answer?
Additional scriptures: Psalm 103:12
How does the cross redefine your understanding of your worth?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:8
You are both more sinful than you knew and more loved than you imagined (Keller).
Reflection: In what ways has your worth been tied to performance, appearance, or approval? How does Christ’s love challenge that?
What practical steps can you take to actively release the guilt and shame you may still carry?
Additional Scriptures: Psalm 103:10-12, Romans 8:1-2, Zephaniah 3:17
What helped you realize or reminded you that He does indeed care deeply for you?
Are there places in your heart still covered in guilt, shame, or regret?
Additional scriptures: Luke 23:39-43
Reflection: What keeps you from believing you are fully forgiven? What “crosses” are you still carrying that Jesus already bore?
Additional scriptures: 1 John 1:9
How has knowing Jesus’ love intellectually failed to translate into an experiential relationship with Him?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:5, 11
Reflection: Do you relate to God more like an employer or a father? How can love move from a belief to a lived reality?
Additional scriptures: Romans 8:15
What is one way you can respond to Jesus’ love this week—not just believe it, but live it?
Additional scriptures: Romans 5:11
Reflection: If you really are loved like this—undeservedly, sacrificially, constantly—how would it change how you show love to others?
Additional scriptures: John 13:34
DAILY REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- Experiencing God’s Genuine Love:
Think of a time when you truly felt seen and fully loved by God—not because of anything you accomplished or earned, but simply because He loves you. How did experiencing His unconditional love change your heart or your view of yourself? - Recognizing Your False Self:
In moments of insecurity, fear, or pressure, what “false version” of yourself do you tend to project to others?
How might this false self keep you from fully receiving the love described in Romans 5:8 (“while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”)?
- The Goodness of Being Fully Known and Accepted:
How would your daily life change if you deeply believed that God already sees every hidden part of you—including flaws, struggles, and mistakes—and yet completely accepts and cherishes you (Romans 5:6-11)? - Letting Go of Control for Authentic Love:
Reflect on areas where you feel compelled to manage people’s perceptions of you. What might happen if you surrendered this control, trusting fully in God’s love and approval rather than others’? - Identifying False Beliefs about Yourself and God:
What false beliefs about your worth or value do you wrestle with most frequently?
How does the truth that Jesus willingly took your place (2 Corinthians 5:21) challenge or dismantle these lies?
- Resting in True Identity:
Imagine what it might feel like to fully rest in the knowledge that your identity is not based on your performance, achievements, or reputation—but solely on being loved by God. How would embracing this truth practically shape your thoughts, emotions, and relationships? - Living from Acceptance, Not for It:
If you truly embraced God’s acceptance and delight in you right now, how might your interactions with others become more genuine, less guarded, and more reflective of Christ’s sacrificial love (Romans 5:6-8)?
What step can you take this week toward living from this place of divine acceptance?
SCRIPTURES TO MEDITATE ON:
RESOURCES:
- PODCAST | STASI ELDRIDGE | LOVE AS REFUGE
- PODCAST | PETE SCAZZERO | SILENCING THE SEDUCTIVE VOICE OF THE FALSE SELF
- ARTICLE | DESIRING GOD | IF WE LOVE GOD MOST, WE WILL LOVE OTHERS BEST
- BOOK | DAVID BENNER | SURRENDER TO LOVE
MONTHLY SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE: The False Self
Real spiritual growth doesn’t begin with effort—it begins with honesty.
Honesty about who we are when no one else is around.
We can’t move forward with God while still pretending—especially when we’re pretending in the quiet places of our soul. He sees that person. The unfiltered one. And here’s the good news: He loves that version of you—not the one we project, not the one we perform.
But if we want to be formed spiritually, we have to name the parts of us that aren’t aligned with who God created us to be. These aren’t just flaws to fix—they’re masks to lay down. They’re images we’ve created for protection, for approval, or control. But the invitation of the Gospel is to surrender those masks and instead put on Christ.
This transformation rarely happens through striving. More often, it begins in stillness—in the quiet space of contemplative prayer. This isn’t about saying more to God, but being more with Him. It’s in resting in His loving presence that we begin to let go of our need to protect and perform.
As Thomas Keating puts it in Intimacy with God,
“We cannot bring the false self forever to contemplative prayer, because it is the nature of contemplative prayer to dissolve it.”
And that’s what God wants—to gently dissolve whatever stands between the real you and His real love. Not to shame you, but to heal you. That’s where joy begins. That’s where intimacy is found—not in pretending, but in presence.
You’ll know you’re stepping into your true self—not by how spiritual you look on the outside—but by the quiet fruit that begins to grow on the inside.
As Sue Pickering writes:
“The increase in our capacity to love, to be joy-full in any situation, to be a person of peace, to be good and gentle, self-controlled and faithful, all give witness to God’s healing of our spirit and of our psyche.”
That’s the life we’re after.
Not just doing for God—but being with God, and letting that reshape who we really are.
Let’s keep showing up to that journey—one unmasked moment at a time.
Activity: False Self
Use the following list of statements to get an idea of where you’re at right now when it comes to living out of your false self. Next to each statement, write the number that best describes your response:
- Not very true 2. Sometimes True 3. Mostly True 4. Very True
_____ I compare myself a lot to other people
_____ I often say yes when I prefer to say no
_____ I often don’t speak up to avoid the disapproval of others
_____ People close to me would describe me as defensive and easily offended
_____ I have a hard time laughing at my shortcomings and failures
_____ I avoid looking weak or foolish in social situations
_____ I am not always the person I appear to be
_____ I struggle with taking risks because I could fail or look foolish
_____ My sense of worth/well-being comes from what I have (possessions), what I do (accomplishments), or what others think of me (popularity)
_____ I often act like a different person when in different situations and with different people
If you scored mostly 3’s and 4’s, you have a strong attachment to the false self. If you scored mostly 2’s and 3’s, you have already begun to dismantle or let go of the false self. If you scored mostly 1’s and 2’s, you have a healthy awareness of your true self. On your own time, you can take an assessment at emotionallyhealthy.org to receive a more detailed description of your current emotional health.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
One of the deepest needs of every human soul is to be seen, soothed, safe, and secure. These four longings are at the root of every healthy relationship and form the foundation for emotional and spiritual connection. When these needs go unmet, we become anxious, self-protective, and disconnected. And the truth is—we all fall short. Every one of us has, at some point, failed to provide these for others, and every one of us has lived in the ache of not receiving them ourselves. We are both the hurt and the hurter.
This is why the love of Jesus is unlike any other. As Pastor Dave taught this week, Jesus didn’t just redefine love—He embodied it. Romans 5 reminds us that Jesus loved us not when we had our act together, but while we were weak, sinful, and undeserving. His love goes beyond sentiment—it confronts our sin, carries our shame, and exchanges our brokenness for healing.
1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. Love is not something He does occasionally—it is who He is entirely. And in His great love, God saw us in our unsafety and unrest. He didn’t turn away—He stepped in. Through Christ, He made a way for us to be truly seen—no masks, no pretending. He soothes the ache in our soul with His peace, calms our storms with His presence, and declares us safe and secure in Him forever.
Wherever you find yourself today—whether you feel seen or unseen, restless or at peace, loved or forgotten—God wants to meet you right there. His love is not a distant theory. It is a living reality. The love that hung on the cross still speaks: You matter. You are forgiven. You don’t have to carry the weight of shame anymore. You are deeply flawed and deeply loved.
So pause. Breathe. Let Him be what no human ever fully can. Let His love rewrite your definitions. Let Him meet your heart’s deepest needs, not just once, but again and again.
Reflection Prompt:
Where do you feel unseen, unsafe, or unsettled in your life right now? What would it look like to invite Jesus into that place today?