discipleship
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Loving Others
(In this lesson, there is a dual application
that you are open to explore. First, God loves us and
will discipline us. Secondly, since God loves us, we
are commanded to love others by faith.)
Do: Read these verses together:
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life."
1 John 4:9-10
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent
his one and only Son into the world that we might
live through him.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice
for our sins.
Ask: How much does God really love
us? How does this make you feel? What do these verses
say to you personally?
Ask: If God really loves us, why do
we have hard times from time to time? What insights
can we gain from Hebrews and James? (Read passages below
together)
Hebrews 12:5-11
5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement
that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make
light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart
when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and
he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating
you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his
father?
8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes
discipline), then you are illegitimate children and
not true sons.
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined
us and we respected them for it. How much more should
we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while
as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our
good, that we may share in his holiness.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest
of righteousness and peace for those who have been
trained by it.
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance.
4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Ask: Why is it hard to love some people?
What irritates you the most about some people? (They
do not have to name any names here. Let the discussion
be honest and frank).
Do: Read these passages together.
1 John 4:11-12, 19-21
11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought
to love one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
19 We love because he first loved us.
20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates
his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not
love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God,
whom he has not seen.
21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves
God must also love his brother.
Ask: Do we really have to love our
enemies? What is the relationship between liking someone
and loving them?
Answer: We are not required to like
everyone, but we need to love everyone.
Ask: What is the key to loving others?
(Take time and let everyone explore the answer to this
question).
Answer: Ultimately, it is done by
faith. We do it in obedience to God.
Apply: Make a list of people who you
have a hard time loving. By faith make a commitment
to begin loving them according to 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.
This is a growing and ever increasing process.
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