Personal Daily ReadingsMonday – First, 1 John 4:7-12. Then, Luke 15:11-32.Is the older brother “the good son” because he stayed? Why or why not?

Tuesday – Ruth 1:1-22What must Ruth have been thinking that caused her to be so determined to love Naomi? What affect did this probably have on Naomi?

Wednesday – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13Do people know you more for your abilities or for your genuine love of others? How do you know?

Thursday – Romans 8:31-39What kinds of things sometimes cause you to doubt God’s love? How should these verses change your thinking in those times?

Friday – 1 John 5:6-21What evidence gives you confidence that you are really saved?

Preparation for Group:1. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 again, but read it out loud and slowly, substituting your name for the word love, “John is patient.” Which of these statements are mostly true of you? Which ones were hardest to say since they are so unlike you?

2. Read Luke 7:1-23. The main purpose of Jesus was to provide salvation to mankind by living, dying, and resurrecting. But in this passage, what seems to be a very close second purpose, which proved to John that He really is who He claimed to be? In what ways should we pursue that purpose, too?

3. Read 1 John 2:15-17. There are certainly things of this world that we tend to love. What are some of the specific things that compete with your love for Christ? How do you keep your focus on loving God and loving people (rather than loving the world and the things of the world)?

Week 8 – 1 John 4:7-5:5Main Ingredient: Love

a call from above1 John 4:7-12

Two Calls to Love

we are called to love by His ______________.

Time / Emotion / EffortTheir redemption

Forgiveness / Mercy / Grace

Our redemptionJesus

SendingAn Action

A Cost

A Result

His to Us Ours to Others

Luke 15

we are called to give things _________ again.1 John 4:13-16

don’t love ___________

Immature Christians _________ such people from inside church walls, while our call to maturity here is to lovingly ______ them to Love, Himself.

You don’t have to pick a side, you are

already on one.

Are you comfortable with your team?

Loving people might mean that you need to spend more time _____________ in front of ______ _________ for you each week.

1 John 5:1-5

1 John 2:15-17

1 John 4:19-21

another call as wellYou don’t love God if you…

a call you can’t refuse

Turning up the volume on your __________ love for God while neglecting people around you __________ your own ear to your self-deception.

don’t love ___________

we are called to love in His ______________.