Bible Study - WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? What is the Loving Thing to Do?
Sermon-Based Bible Study –February 21, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Read Matthew 22:34-40 and John 13:33-35. What was new about the command Jesus gave to his disciples in John 13? How is it different than the command to love your neighbor as yourself? Jesus is speaking to his disciples before his death on the cross. What experiences of Jesus’s love for them that they had experienced up to that point do you think came to their minds when he said they were to love each other the way he had loved them?
- Read 1 John 4:7; 20-21. Why did Chris suggest that without God, it is not possible for us to love our neighbor? Why is it also fair to say that we cannot love God without our neighbor?
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Make a list of the attributes of love that Paul mentions here and rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in regard to each attribute with respect to how you are doing when it comes to loving the people in your life. Which attributes of love are easy for you to express? Which are difficult? Why?
- When faced with a decision asking yourself, “what does love require?” or “what is the loving thing to do?” can bring clarity, but it isn’t always easy to answer. Why is that? What is a real life situation where you need to make a decision? Does knowing what love requires make the decision clearer or easier? Why not?
- In this sermon series we’ve looked at five questions we can ask ourselves that will help us make better decisions: (1) Am I being honest with myself, really? (2) What story do I want to tell? (3) Is there a tension that needs my attention? (4) What is the wise thing to do? (5) What does love require of me? Which has been the most impactful for you? Why?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?