Monday Nights @ First B (16)

In one paragraph

One Sunday evening at First Baptist Jackson, a member shared how his work at FedEx became a direct pipeline for getting HIV/AIDS caregiver kits to a clinic in Sudan, and Pastor Phil used that story as the launching pad for a message drawn from 1 John 4:11-21. The whole sermon turned on a single question asked two ways: why do we love other people, and how do we actually do it? The answer to both,...

Read together

1. 1 John 4:19 key verse: we love each other because he loved us first
2. 1 Corinthians 10:31 whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God
3. 1 John 4:11-21 main passage read aloud covering why and how we love
4. Romans 5:8 God showed his great love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners
5. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, Christ lives in me, I live by faith in the Son of God
6. John 17 Jesus praying in the garden that all believers may be one so the world may believe

Talk about it

1. The man in the testimony said 'my work is my mission field.' How do you currently think about your own job or daily responsibilities in relation to God, and does that framing challenge or encourage you?
2. Pastor Phil pointed to 1 John 4:19, 'We love each other because he loved us first,' as the key verse of the whole passage. What difference does it make that our love for others is a response to God's love rather than something we work up on our own?
3. Pastor Phil said that if we take ourselves out of the equation and stop relying on our own willpower, we recognize that God's Spirit living in us is what makes loving difficult people possible. Where in your life right now are you trying to love someone on your own strength, and what would it look like to lean on the Spirit instead?
4. Ray pointed out that for many people, seeing a Christian live out love is what makes them take the Bible seriously at all. Can you think of a time when someone's love either drew you toward Christ or, honestly, when a lack of it pushed someone away?
5. John writes that as we live in God, our love grows more perfect and mature over time. Where do you see evidence that your love for others has grown, and where do you sense God still has work to do in you?