Practical Love
Leviticus 19:14-18 – New International Version (NIV)
14 “‘Do not curse the deaf or
put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am
the Lord.
15 “‘Do not pervert
justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the
great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
16 “‘Do not go about spreading
slander among your people.
“‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I
am the Lord.
17 “‘Do not hate a fellow
Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not
share in their guilt.
18 “‘Do not seek
revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but
love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
In your opinion, what would happen if you “put a stumbling block
in front of the blind” (verse 14)?
What should not be shown to the poor (verse 15)?
What should not be shown to the great (verse 15)?
Where should slander not be spread (verse 16)?
Who should not be endangered (verse 16)?
Who should not be hated (verse 17)?
How should a neighbor be loved (verse 18)?
In your
opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?
Matthew 18:15-22 - New International
Version (NIV)
15 “If your
brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just
between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But
if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter
may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If
they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to
listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
18 “Truly I
tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again,
truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for,
it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For
where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
21 Then
Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother
or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus
answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
How many people should
initially be taken when a Christian goes to point out a fault (verse 15)?
Why should “one or two” be
taken the next time (verse 16)?
What is to
happen if they “refuse to listen even to the church” (verse 17)?
Where will
whatever is loosed on earth also be loosed (verse 18)?
Who will do
what two agree about and ask for (verse 19)?
Where will Jesus be (verse 20)?
How many times did Peter think he should have to forgive his brother or
sister (verse 21)?
How many times did Jesus say that Peter should forgive his brother or
sister (verse 22)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your
opinion, what does this passage teach us about practical love?
In your
opinion, how does Jesus’s instructions in Matthew 18:15-22 follow the
instructions of Deuteronomy 17:2-13?
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
- New International
Version (NIV)
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every
believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the
teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves
know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were
with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying
for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so
that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did
this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to
offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even
when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to
work shall not eat.”
11 We hear that some among you are idle
and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such
people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and
earn the food they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers and
sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
14 Take special note of anyone who does
not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in
order that they may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard
them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer.
Who are Christian “brothers and sisters” to keep away from (verse
6)?
What did Paul and his companions do while they were among
the Thessalonians (verses 7-8)?
Why did they do this (verse 9)?
What rule did they give (verse 10)?
How did the “busybodies” behave (verse 11)?
What are these people commanded and urged “in the Lord
Jesus Christ” to do (verse 12)?
What should “brothers and sisters” never tire of (verse
13)?
Why are the people who don’t obey this instruction to not
be associated with (verse 14)?
How are they not to be regarded (verse 15)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
practical love?
In your opinion, what are the similarities between the
instructions in Deuteronomy 17:2-13 and in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15?
In your opinion, what does 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 help us
understand about the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-22 “treat them
as you would a pagan or a tax collector”?
1 John 3:18-24 - New International
Version (NIV)
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with
actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our
hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is
greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear
friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we
ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the
name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in
him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know
it by the Spirit he gave us.
How does John say we
should not love (verse 18)?
How does John
say we should love (verse 18)?
In your
opinion, how does knowing that “God is greater than our hearts” set our
hearts at rest “in his presence” (verses 19-20)?
When do we
have “confidence before God” (verse 21)?
In your
opinion, how is keeping his commands and doing what pleases God related to
receiving from God “anything we ask” (verses 21-22)?
What is God’s
command for us related to Jesus Christ (verse 23)?
What is God’s
command for us related to “one another” (verse 23)?
How do we
know that “he lives in us” (verse 24)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about
practical love?
In your opinion, what does it mean that the list of “do
nots” in Deuteronomy 17:2-13 ends in a command to “love your neighbor”
and the positive and affirming passage in 1 John 3:18-24 contains the similar
command to “love one another”?
In your opinion, how do Jesus’s instructions in Matthew 18:15-22
help us implement the command in 1 John 3:18-24 to love “with actions and in
truth”?
In your opinion, how
could loving “with words or speech” which 1 John 3:18-24 warns against
be similar to the “idle and disruptive” believer of 2 Thessalonians
3:6-15?
In your
opinion, what do these passages from Deuteronomy, Matthew, 2 Thessalonians, and
1 John teach us about living as a Christian among other Christians?
In
your opinion, how do we share practical love in our interactions with other
Christians today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
