Gods Life of Love: A Bible Study

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God’s life of love One o the scribes came to Jesus and asked: “Which

commandment is the frst o all? Jesus answered “You shall love

the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,

and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second

is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yoursel.’ There is no

other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28–31)

living right andmaking life right or others



God’s life of love Living right and making life right for others

Contents

Introduction and suggestions or use

God’s Great Git o Love

God’s Great ommission

God’s Great Requirement

Te Hard Work o Love

Great Generosity

God’s Interventions

God’s Great Surprises

Tim Dearborn and Don Posterski

Directors, Christian Commitments

World Vision International

June 2007

© 2007 by World Vision International



Notes

Living right and making life right for others God’s life of love

Introduction

A true story is told o a hristian man who had a son who was also a hristian Te son had given his lie to

hrist in high school Te ather loved his son so much he was prepared to do anything or him He loved

shing and he taught his son how to sh Tey always looked orward to the next shing trip Te son had a

very close riend at school who used to visit oten Te riend was not a hristian On one o the shing trips

the ather agreed to the riend coming along On this particular day the weather was just right or a wonder-

ul day o shing Te three were in the boat expecting a good catch Suddenly there was a strong wind Te

two boys were in the water ghting or their lives Te ather could not save both o them It was either the

son or the riend

What does the gospel teach us about God’s love?

God loves us

God wants us to know that we are loved

God wants us to learn how to love him, ourselves and others

God’s love changes everything It can change us It can change the world

God’s Lie o Love is or people who have come to know and believe in God And it is also or those who are

seeking to know God We have heard beore that God loves us unconditionally, sacricially and unselshly

We know we are to love others in the same manner ut we nd it hard to believe that we are loved that much

And hard to imagine how to love others the way that God wants us to

ut deep inside we know that i we can experience that love in an intimate and personal way, then our lives

will change We will understand why we are here and what we are to do in our lives

God’s Lie o Love is an invitation to be deeply loved and to learn how to love deeply It has to do with living

lie right and making lie right or others o understand how to do that, we need to return to God and learn

rom God and each other

Tis study will help us see our own lives as a mission to the world Oten when we hear the word “mission” we

think o “missionaries” Maybe we have met some missionaries and admired them—or wondered what exactly

they were doing?

We believe that we are all on a mission It is a mission o being loved and loving in return

Embracing God’s Love: We are loved by the God o love—a God who is prooundly wise—a God who

made the world with each person in mind, including you and me

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Notes


Te hristian aith is about God’s lie o love It is not to be understood to be ullling a set o rules Do this

Don’t do that Other times we may think there are no rules Do anything at all because God will orgive you

Te hristian lie is not about either o those things It is about being loved by God, loving God back and ol-

lowing hrist in the world

Sometimes when we try to ollow hrist, we only think about God when big things are happening We pray

about the big decisions Should I move my amily? Should I marry that person? Should I go to that church?

In this study, we will see that God is part o every moment o our lie God’s love can impact the biggest deci-sions, and the smallest choices

We believe that God wants the best or all o us And the best begins with knowing that we are loved and or-

given And it continues with living a lie that is dierent because o it Tat lie will involve seeking justice,

righteousness and compassion It will involve truth or our own lives and others It will be about taking what

we believe and making it what we do

Tis is not an easy thing ut it is a joyul thing We are people who want to pursue what God has designed

or the best o lie, or the rest o lie—however long or short that may be So we take God and the Scriptures

seriously We stand alongside other ollowers rom times past and we stand beside you today We welcomeinto our time and space Jesus’ promise and invitation: “Peace be with you As the Father has sent me, so send

I you” (John 20:21)

I we think o ourselves as part o a beautiul orchestra o instruments, voices and song, we will see that we

are all dierent We do not all play the same instrument We do not all sing the same way ogether, though,

we create something that the world has not heard beore It is a new song A God song o justice, love, humil-

ity and a world-change that can make things right

I you have ever wondered, “Why am I here?” then we know you can contribute much and take away much

rom this study

We will discover together that we are all here or a purpose Our purpose will turn our days and nights into a

liestyle o mission Join us on this adventure!



Notes


1

ession 1

God’s great

gift of love“God loves each o us as i there were only one o us.” —St Augustine

Welcome and Worship

In a typical Arican context, every phase o human development is accompanied by questions that are unique

to those stages It is a universal expectation that a baby will go through certain developmental stages Tis

may be sitting, teething, standing, or walking In Arican cultures, when these stages are delayed, people

wonder Tey start asking questions etween ages 25–30 years, it is expected that a young man will have a

job, and be making progress in nding a uture wie I that does not happen at this age, questions arise At

midlie, it is expected that a amily would have been established, and with it amily assets—house, urniture,vehicles etc However, when calamity strikes—the loss o a spouse, the amily house burnt down, amily sav-

ings gobbled by ination—people are perplexed Tey ask questions that oten remain unanswered People

ask all sorts o questions as they seek or meaning to varied lie’s experiences

Even i we have not asked those big lie questions out loud, we have probably thought about them at least one

time in our lives Asking questions is one o the things that is common to all people, wherever they live, what-

ever their work or lie circumstance Perhaps our children have even asked us those questions about them-

selves and their own lives Such are the questions o identity, purpose and destiny Like these:

Who am I?

Why am I here? Why am I alive?

Why was I born to this amily?

In this place?

At this time?

Where am I going in lie?

Why me?

Tose are big questions And they are good questions When we ask those questions we must think about our

lives We consider what we have done so ar, what our lives are like Are there any causes or celebrating the

things that make us happy and satised? Or do we eel there is something missing?

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Notes


We all know people with big regrets Tey wish they had done something dierently Or they wish they had

not done something that they know hurt others deeply When we examine ourselves, our lives, are there

things that we regret?

None o us wants to end or live with regrets like that Every man and woman wants to be able to say: “My lie

was good Tank you God or the lie I have lived Tank you or the lie I am living”

And it is a git when others can say that o us: “Tank you God or that person Tank you or the lie they have lived Tank you or the lie they are living”

At the end o our lie we all want to be able to say: “My lie was good I lived right and helped make lie right

or others Tank you God or the lie I have lived Tank you or the lie I am living”

Let’s pray and ask God to help us live right and make lie right or others

alk in a group about people you know who you think live lie right and made lie right or others Perhaps

you think o a person who has died, but lived lie to the ullest

Why do you admire this person? What did they do in their lie to make you think they lived lie well?

How did they help make lie right or others?

Presentation 1: What is God’s Great Command?

We know that God made us God put us here In this place At this time We believe it was or a reason o

nd out the reason, let’s nd out more about God and his Great ommand As hristians, we tend to think

that i we knew God better, or loved God more, we would be more satised, and our lives would count

or more

From the Bible:

“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus: ‘eacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal lie?’ He said

to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your

God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your

neighbour as yoursel’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer, do this, and you will live’”

(Luke 10:25–28)

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together One o them an expert in the

law tested him with this question: ‘eacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied:‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind Tis is the rst

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Notes


and greatest commandment And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yoursel All the law and the

Prophets hang on these two commandments’” (Matthew 22:34–40)

What does it mean to love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all strength?

Who is your neighbour?

What is the signicance o loving your neighbour?

In what sense is loving neighbour like loving God?

What does Matthew mean by the whole law and the Prophets?

He asks us to love the Lord our God with our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength

Tink and respond:

What does this mean or me? Is there a part o yoursel that you wish to open more to God? Your heart? Soul?

Mind? ody? Do I love God? Is he my treasure? Is he the most important valuable person in my lie?

Here is the good news:

God is love God lives in a love relationship: Father, Son and Holy Spirit We are created to live in healthy

relationships hrist invites us to live lives o love Living in a restored relationship with God changes us andhow we view others We are invited to live in powerul, new relationships with each other With God’s help,

we can live right and make lie right or others

Going back to our story about the ather, his son and the riend who went shing, who would you save? Why?

In this true story, the ather actually chose to save the riend Te son drowned His reason or making such

a difcult decision was that his son was a hristian He knew that his salvation was surely secured, but not

the riend

From the Bible:“Tis is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live

through him Tis is love: not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrice

or our sins Dear riends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another … God is love, and all

who live in love live in God, and God live in them” (1 John 4:11–20)

“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 lie” (John 3:16)

What is God’s greatest demonstration o love?

What is the impact o that love?

Have you believed and responded to God’s love?

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Notes


Te command to love sel: love your neighbour as yoursel

(Luke 10:27, Matthew 22:39)

It is directed at us and all o creation We do not earn it or work or it God sends it to us And we can

respond to it First, we must deal with the surprise part o this Yes, God loves us because we are created in his

own image thereore we have dignity and worth We are earully and wonderully made We are his artistic

workmanship Genesis 1:26–27: Psalm 139:14

Some o us have heard that our whole lives ut God also calls us to love ourselves God’s call or us to love

ourselves is a surprise to many Many o us are much better at hating ourselves (What activities, behaviours

do we do to hate ourselves?) y doing that, we do the exact opposite o what God asks us to do

ut what God, through God’s love, enables us to do, is to love ourselves! For some o us, that will take much

prayer and a lot o hard work I we have not been loving ourselves, or even liking ourselves, it takes work to

change those patterns o thought and eeling ut it is possible Many, many hristians have broken a lie-

long habit o not loving themselves Tey have dealt with the hurts o the past, their own mistakes or others

that have made it hard to love themselves Te rst step o healing is almost always basking in God’s love or

us God loved us rst Accept that Live that reathe that And then, slowly, it is possible to love yoursel

We are here today because we want to respond to God’s love We want to live a lie that is dierent because

we know that God loves us and wants us to love as God does God’s love reached out and touched us

Encountering God’s love changes us

And we want to let love change us Loving others as ourselves means that we actually do love ourselves

Here is the good news: We do not need to hide God loved us rst He keeps on loving us every day Day in

and day out Even when we mess up Even when we make big mistakes

When we really believe that, we can believe that we are truly loved by God We can start to accept ourselves

We can begin to love ourselves When we begin to love ourselves, we begin to love others better Our love

or others becomes healthy and strong It is coming rom a good and healthy place And it does good and

healthy things

When we know we are loved, we can live dierently in the world Te world does not control us Instead,

knowing that we are loved rees us to love

ry saying these words to yoursel: “God loved me rom the very beginning o my lie And God still loves

me today”



Notes


Tink and respond:

What does this means or me?

Remember the difcult decision the ather made to save the riend, and not his son? When the riend came to

understand the reason why his riend’s ather saved him, he must have elt especially loved by this man

Later on that young man gave his lie to hrist as Lord and Saviour He became a devoted hristian Te

ather went on to become the pastor o a local congregation oday the riend serves in the same church

an you remember a time that you elt especially loved by God? Describe the eelings that memory brings

back to you

alk in a group:

Why is it hard to believe that God loves us?

Is it hard to believe that loving God and others is actually the reason we are here, at this time, in this place,

living this lie? Share rom personal experience why it is difcult to love sel?

Presentation 2: Loving our neighbours (John 15:12, 17; Romans 12:9–10)

“Love is an attitude and aection expressed in benevolent behaviour and action which seeks the ultimate wel-

are o another” (1 or 13:4–7)

(Note: Gal 5:14; 1 Tes 3:11–12; 4:9–10; James 2:8; 1 Peter 1:22; 3:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11–12, 21; 2 John 5)

Questions:

Who does not have a neighbour?

Do you know who your neighbours are?

Have you ever visited them?

We believe that God loved us rst Tat he loves us still No matter what We try to love God back Most o

us are not very good at that ut God is very good at love Jesus hrist helps us learn how to love He shows

us God’s love He responds to God’s love or us and with us

Te ible says that we are alive in hrist Te Holy Spirit helps us eel God’s love or us Te Holy Spirit helps

us love God and others in a new and powerul way

As we grow in love or God with everything we are—our emotions, our spirits, our bodies and our minds—

we nd that we are given a job in the world A purpose We are sent out into a broken world and asked to

share God’s love there One way we love God is to love our neighbours who are the people in our lives and thepeople we share the world with

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Notes

10 God’s life of love Living right and making life right for others

Love is our job Love is our business Love is our purpose

We are ree to love people reely, because God loves us reely

We began with a very big question: Why are we alive?

We discover that the answer is not ound striving or success in the world It is ound in God It is accepting

God’s love or us It is also ound in loving God, in loving ourselves and in loving others

alk in a group:alk about love being a “eeling” and love expressed as “behaviour”

When do you have positive eelings about God, about yoursel and about others?

omplete the sentence… “I eel (think) good about God when…”

“I eel (think) good about mysel when…”

“I eel (think) good about other people when…”

Tink about the events o your lie in the next week What “acts o love” do you want to express – toward

God, toward yoursel and toward others? How will the way you live this week be dierent?

ClosingPray together



Notes

Living right and making life right for others God’s life of love 11

2

ession 2

God’s greatcommission

“Tere is no smaller package in all the world than that o a person wrapped up in onesel. Love is the fnal measurement o our stature. Te more we love, the bigger we are.”

—William Sloane ofn

Welcome and Worship

Te rst session reminded us that we are deeply loved by God Love changes everything It changes how we

see ourselves Love changes how we see others It also changes how we see our relationship with other people

and the world God’s love helps us live lie right It helps us want to make lie right or others Share in small

groups how you thought or acted dierently this week because o this “love reminder”

Presentation 1: Love changes everything

God loves us just as we are We do not have to become something else God loved us rst and God loves us

best Just the way we are Every living person longs to be loved like that It is a git rom God And we can all

receive it We can be very good people and pray all day, every day It does not make God love us more Tat is

why it is called grace It is not about what we do to earn it It is a ree git rom God (Ephesians 2:8)

Tat is the good news o the Gospel And more good news is that it is about more than just us and God It isbeautiul to be loved by God ut the Gospel is about more than “Jesus and me” It is about being open to

that love, accepting it, being changed by it, and then being inspired by it to change our lives and the world

God does love us just the way we are ut God loves us too much to leave us the way we are God does love

the world ut God loves the world too much to leave it the way it is

We know ourselves We know our hearts and our minds We know that we can be better in terms o living

right We know that the world can be better by making lie better or others We want to change We want

the world to change Sometimes, we eel weak We eel insecure We eel trapped by our problems We see

other people who are weak and hurt We suer We watch as others suer We want transormation or our

lives and or the world Love has the capacity to change everything Te Great ommission is about takingGod’s mission o love to a hurting world It challenges us to live right and making lie right or others



Notes


alk in a group:

alk in groups about places and situations that need to change Places where there is great hurt Places and

people that need to experience God’s love We have talked about making lie right Where is lie wrong now?

Presentation 2: Love and the Great Commission

Te world is not how God wants it to be Tere is much that is wrong with the world God calls his peopleto help in the work o transorming and changing the world Ever since brokenness and despair entered the

world, God has been working to heal it God wants our help (Reect briey on the Fall, its consequence and

why hrist came Link it to the Great ommission)

God’s vision or change involves us God’s plan or change calls us to be agents o change Te world is our

workplace Our calling is to let God work through us We know God’s love and we have believed it We are

changed by it We begin to change the world with it

(Note: olossians 1:15–21; 1 Peter 2:13–25; Matt 16:17–19)

From the Bible:“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them When they saw

him, they worshipped him; but some doubted And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and

earth has been given to me Go thereore and make disciples o all nations, baptizing them in the name o the

Father and o the Son and o the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded

you And remember, I am with you always, to the end o the age’ ” (Matthew 28:16–20)

Questions:

Why did the disciples worship him?

Why did others doubt?

What did Jesus mean by “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me?” What did the disciples understand by “all authority?”

Are there places we go and eel like God did not come along with us?

We do it in God’s name I we work to change the world in our own name, using our own power, based on

our own love, we would grow tired

Jesus sends us out in his own name, using his power We are sent with Jesus’ authority Jesus is the Son o

God When he sends us, we are sent with his presence, in his name and with his authority!

Te word authority brings up questions Lots o people, governments, schools and even businesses use theword authority Sometimes, their authority seems to be the opposite o Jesus’ authority Rulers, leaders, gov -

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Notes


ernments, nature and even orces o evil seem to have authority What do we do? Do we ignore them? Do we

live under them and submit to them? Do we believe that God is stronger?

Jesus does have authority over everything God’s love, through Jesus, extends to everything and every part o

lie Tat means that God’s love can change everything Every part o lie

o reduce the reality o Jesus to personal salvation only is an incomplete gospel Te Gospel is political, eco-

nomic, spiritual and social Everything on earth is to be made new under Jesus: people, nations, principalitiesand powers—everything Our aith is not just about “Jesus and me” We are thankul that Jesus does love us

so much He also trusts us with God’s work (Romans 6:4; Ephesians 4:24; olossians 2:6–12)

Remember, the Gospel is about:

our lives

politics

economics

the environment

society

Matthew 28:18 is called the Great ommission Tere is nothing else like it It is bold It extends to every-

thing It gives us our job in the world Remember this line rom Te Lord’s Prayer: “Your kingdom come,

Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven”

How will that happen? Jesus’ Great, and bold, ommission is part o the answer It gives us three ways to

change the world, with God

ulture can change “Go and make disciples o all nations” When we hear that, we think rst o

girls and boys, women and men who need to hear about God’s love Tat is part o it ut there is

more When Jesus said “nation” he also meant culture or group I the world is to change, wholecultures need to be transormed Not everything in our cultures is good Tere are things in cul-

ture that Jesus came to change God can help any culture become more like God’s Kingdom

Our lives can change God calls us to change as individual people God’s love can change us in

big and small ways Our new lie in God is a git, and so are the changes that can happen ater

aptism is part o this In aptism, we are buried with Jesus We rise with Jesus We live a new lie

in Jesus We are part o our culture As we change, so can our culture We can work together as

“culture changers”

Our communities can change “each them to observe all that I commanded” o ollow hristmeans that we hear his word, and then we live it We hear and we obey It is true that we are saved

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Notes


by God’s grace, not by how good we are ut God’s grace is so great that we want to do what God

asks us to do What God asks us to do impacts our society and our personal lives

Some o Jesus’ instructions:

urn the other cheek

Love your neighbour as you love yoursel

Love your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength

Don’t take other hristians to court Don’t make money the most important part o your lie

Tereore when we ollow Jesus, it is an adventure o change Te Holy Spirit helps us turn what we believe

into how we act in every part o our lie

Remember, Jesus’ love is about a personal relationship with each one o us Tat is true ut it is also about

more than that It is about layers o relationships at all levels It is about how amilies work, how governments

rule, how the economy operates, how global power is held

A long time ago, God made the whole world God has something to say about how the whole world is todayTat is true or every woman or man, every culture, every society, every government, every country and every

girl and boy Te Gospel is personal and beautiul Te Gospel is political and bold It is intimate and private,

and it is very, very public

Tink and respond:

What surprises you about this verse in Mathew 28? Why?

What new things have you learned about the Great ommission?

What changes could God bring to your personal lie? Your culture? Your community?

Divide into small groups Each group will take one area o change

In your group, discuss what change in your area would look like

Now, have some un and draw pictures or write words that describe your area made new You have drawn a

picture o what God’s Kingdom could look like!

ClosingDiscuss as an entire group what you learned during that activity How did it make you think about making

lie right or others?

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Notes


Read together:

Jesus said: “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me … Remember I am with you always, even

to the end o the age” Jesus has authority over all things Tere is nothing outside his authority

God loves us God’s love changes us Jesus sends us into the world to help change the world that God loves

Tere is nothing that God can’t change

We are not alone in our work Jesus is with us always Everywhere and every timeWe serve together with God’s strength

Tink and respond:

Tink about areas o your own lie where God could help you change Tis is about making your own lie

right What are those areas? Ask God to help you do that

Tink about areas o your society and culture that God might be asking you to help change Tis is about

making lie right or others What are those areas?



Notes


3

ession 3

God’s greatrequirement

Te whole teaching o the New estament is oreshadowed in Micah 6:8 …God has told you “what is good; and what does the Lord require o you, but to do justice, and tolove kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”

Welcome and Worship

We have learned that God loves us We have been reminded that God’s love can change us It can change our

lives, our culture and our community It can alter relationships orever It is about making our lives right and

it is about making lie right or others

We hear that God’s love or us helps give us a purpose in the world It could be called a job Most jobs have a

job description We know what is required o us

o plant a garden, we need seeds and tools o build a house, we need building materials o prepare a meal,

we need ood and heat We do jobs well when we know why we need to do them

Presentation 1: What does God require o us?

In our last study we drew pictures o what changed lives, a changed community and a changed culture mightlook like It’s one thing to draw it It is harder to do it What is God really asking o us? Te answer is simple

and very practical

From the Bible:

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require o you but to do justice, and to love

mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)

At the end o our last study, you were asked to look around you to see areas that could be changed in your

community and culture Tat is what Micah did Micah lived sometime between 750 and 696 BC He saw

what was wrong in the culture he lived in He saw how social sin impacted the small towns and villages o hiscountry o Judah



Notes


Micah saw how the rich treated the poor It wasn’t right He saw the poor lose their homes and their land It

wasn’t right He saw a lack o kindness, a lack o justice, a lack o humility He saw religious leaders, business

people and other people in authority use their power in evil ways

Micah called out and said what was wrong in that time, at that place He teaches us what God expects o peo-

ple who are trying to live lives o love

During our last session, we saw how Jesus gave us the Great ommission Te one command had three lie-changing, world-altering dimensions Te prophet Micah reminds us, reminds us o the Great Requirement

Like the Great ommand to love God, love yoursel and love your neighbour, the Great Requirement is also

one command, with three lie-changing, world-altering dimensions It is a call to justice, mercy and humility

It applies to everyday situations and it applies to world-wide situations

Jesus gave the Great ommission Micah reminds us o the Great Requirement It is one command, in

three parts:

Do justice

Love mercy

Walk humbly with your God

Let’s look at justice rst

What is Justice?

Tinking about the concepts o justice, mercy and humility in the vernacular could help the discussion

In the ible, justice means to make things right When you see the word justice in the ible, you almost

always see these words near it: widow, atherless, orphans, poor, hungry, stranger, needy, weak, oppressed

Te call to do justice means that something is not right Something is wrong with the way things are We are

called to work with God to make them right

It means that people like widows, orphans, the poor and the oppressed have a air chance to live right Tey

have a chance to work, to live with dignity and to provide or their amilies

Justice means giving ood to the hungry so that they can live It also means asking why they don’t have ood

in the rst place—and making that right too Justice responds to the need we see, but it also works to solve

the bigger problem (restoration o human dignity) It means giving people a chance to start over again It

means removing the walls that keep them in a bad situation



Notes


Justice means responding to the basic needs so that people can live

God changes us, in hrist, so that we can begin again God asks us—requires o us—that we work to change

the world by doing justice

Tink and respond:

What is your denition o justice?

What groups o people in society might be opposed to seeking justice? What attitudes and behaviors cause people to be indierent toward injustice?

Tink again about yoursel—about your church Does your church give attention to one thing

(justice, mercy or humility) more than the others? Why do you think that is?

Presentation 2: Justice, mercy and humility

Now, let’s talk about mercy and humility, the other parts o Micah’s call

Justice and mercy are good riends Tey work together One cannot live without the other Mercy opens the

door or people to grow and ourish, whether they deserve it or not Justice makes sure the door does notslam shut ever again

Mercy allows people to ail and begin again

When justice and mercy work together, the changes we make in the world and in our lives can last ogether,

justice and mercy are lie changing, and have the potential to be lie-long gits o change Justice and mercy

mean that when we work to make our lives right and make lie right or others, the changes have a chance o

being long-lasting

We don’t do justice well when we do it with anger, judgment or criticism We don’t do mercy well when we doit just to make people eel good at the moment, instead o making things right or the long term

When justice and mercy are done right, and done together, they produce something that might not have

been there beore It is humility When people around us work to make our lie better, we are humbled We

can hardly believe they are doing this or us Trough their mercy, we see God’s mercy God’s mercy leads

to humility

Te third part o Micah’s call was or humility with God He said to “walk humbly with our God” When we

pray, we are reminded who God is in comparison to who we are God is the reator We are the created ones

Walking humbly with God protects us rom being consumed by our sel-importance Humility keeps us cen -tered on God



Notes


Tere is another dimension o humility to understand Te word humility shares the same root as the word

humus, or soil When we walk in humility with others, we walk on level ground We are not better than

them Tey are not better than us God sees us as the same, no matter how much we have, or how little we

have Rich or poor, we are equal in God’s eyes We are also the same in many ways We all need God’s mercy

We all long or God’s justice As we look or justice, we walk together with those who are victims and even

with those who are victimizers Tat is a radical call

We receive mercy We give mercy We live in mercy We seek just ice to ma ke lie r ight or others We work together to help each other reach our God-given potential We walk humbly with God and each other Tis is

our Great Requirement Micah said it a long time ago We live it now

Tink about a time when you received mercy rom someone How did it eel? Who needs your mercy right

now? Tink about times when God extended mercy to you How did it eel?

Tink and respond:

alk about what Micah claims God requires rom us

Does it make sense to you?

Do you value the three dimensions in a balanced way? Does the uture invite you to give more emphases to one or two o the requirements?

How can that happen?

Closing:Say together Psalm 85:10: “Mercy and truth have embraced, justice and peace have kissed”

Share a time o singing and prayer

End with the prayer o St Assisi:

“Make me an instrument o your peace; where there is hatred; let me sow love; where there is injury; pardon;

where there is doubt; aith”



Notes


4

ession 4

the hard workof love

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture o charity. It is an act o justice.” —Nelson Mandela

Welcome and Worship

In our last session we talked about justice, mercy and humility Tey work together Tey can change us and

help make our lives right Tey can help us make lie right or others Tey can change the world It sounds

easy ut, o course, it is not

alk in a group about how Micah made you think this week Did you see justice, mercy or humility in any place or situation? Did you see a lack o it?

Presentation 1: Love is hard work

Jesus said that the world would know we were his disciples by our love or each other Love is hard work It

may mean loving someone we don’t like o do good works can make us eel uncomortable Issues are not

simple Te answer to a problem is not always clear

o ollow Jesus and do what Micah says takes courage and conviction We have to be strong We have tobelieve It takes courage to do the right thing in many dierent situations: at home, in marriages, with chil-

dren, at church, in the government and in the world

Tink about one or two issues in the areas named above that concern you now Are they easy? Are they very

hard? Why? How can they be solved?

alk in groups about what you think What are the big issues in your community now? Write them on paper

Put them on the wall



Notes


Presentation 2: Conviction and compassion

onviction and compassion help us work or change

onvictions are what we believe Tey are what we hold most important We believe them to be true Tey

guide what we do onvictions are our belies, our values and our moral compass onvictions impact

our actions and direct our path in lie Without conviction, we can become sloppy in our lives We will

do whatever we want, whenever we want, with whomever we want We will not have principles to guideour behaviour

ompassion helps us eel what others may eel We see through others’ eyes We have room or other people

in our hearts and in our lives When we have compassion we can “walk a mile” in another’s shoes We can eel

what they are eeling We can see what they are seeing Without compassion, we can become judgmental and

mean We will have problems in our relationships It will be difcult to love and be loved

Tink about what lie would be like without conviction—without compassion

The Conviction/Compassion DilemmaWe have probably all met someone who had lots o compassion but little conviction Or lots o conviction but

not much compassion Sometimes, a lot o one means a little o the other When either one exists without the

balance o the other, there can be trouble Our actions can become hurtul, or our love can smother or not

really help another person We may become lazy Or we may become overzealous I our goal is to live right

and make lie right or others, we need to nd the right balance between conviction and compassion

Tink and respond:

alk in groups about compassion and conviction Sometimes people have lots o compassion, but little convic-

tion Sometimes, they have lots o conviction, but little compassion Tis is a problem What can go wrong?

Presentation 3: Bring compassion and conviction together

From the Bible:

“Jesus went to the Mount o Olives Early in the morning he came again to the temple All the people came

to him and he sat down and began to teach them Te scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had

been caught in adultery; and making her stand beore all o them, they said to him, ‘eacher, this woman was

caught in the very act o committing adultery Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women

Now what do you say?’ Tey said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him

Jesus bent down and wrote with his nger on the ground When they kept on questioning him, he straight-



Notes


ened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the rst to throw a stone at her’ And

once again he bent down and wrote on the ground When they heard it, they went away, one by one, begin-

ning with the elders; and Jesus was let alone with the woman standing beore him Jesus straightened up

and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one sir,’ And Jesus said,

‘Neither do I condemn you Go your way, and rom now on do not sin again’” (John 8:1–11)

It was a lie-or-death moment Te Pharisees were going to kill the woman Tey were also looking or ways

to hurt Jesus by trapping him ut Jesus says that all people sin Everyone is guilty When we are talkingabout morals, no one can throw stones

Jesus uses compassion and conviction in this story He protects the woman He sets her ree ut he tells her

to sin no more

Our world needs compassion and conviction Lie works well when we use both When one lives without the

other, there are problems

onviction can become too hard It can lead to arrogant judgment ut compassion, driven by love, can

become too sot Not everyone is right Not everything is good hristians need to hold conviction and com-passion at the same time

Tink and respond:

alk about how Jesus acted in the story

What was his balance between conviction and compassion?

Let’s divide lie into ve big areas: social, political, global, religious, interpersonal Pick one issue in

each area that needs to be solved

Write the issues in the table below Write examples o things done by conviction and things done

by compassion in response to the issue Discuss how both could work better together

How do compassion and conviction work together to help you live right and help make lie right

or others?

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Discussion as a large group (10 minutes) Let us hear rom two small groups as they name their issue, and describe what they think a combi-

nation o conviction and compassion look like in response to it Discuss as an entire group ways in which the integration o conviction and compassion enhance

our response to lie’s complex conicts and sorrows—and add urther insight into our calling in

the world

Closing:In quiet, read this prayer o Jesus:

“My prayer is not that you take them out o the world, but that you protect them rom the evil one Tey are

not o the world, even as I am not o it Sanctiy them by the truth; your word is truth As you sent me into

the world, I have sent them into the world … My prayer is not or them alone I pray also or those who will

believe in me through them, that all o them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me … I in them and you in me, so that

they may be brought to complete unity Ten the world will know that you have sent me and have loved them

even as you have loved me” (John 17:15–23)

Tink about the lists o issues we made earlier Pray that both conviction and compassion will help solve them

•

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Dimension Specifc issue Compassion-driven

behaviour

Conviction-driven behaviour Integration o both

Social

Political

Global

Religious

Family, interpersonal

Notes



Notes


5

ession 5

greatgenerosity

“Locked in every human being is a store o love that partakes o the divine—the imago dei, the image o God that is within us.” —Huston Smith

Welcome and Worship

Last time we met, we spoke o conviction and compassion We claimed that both virtues need to be held in

balance When we act like Jesus did with the woman in the story, we nd balance We begin to live right and

make lie right or others We see God more clearly We hear God’s call in our lie more clearly We express

“Micah moments” when we can act with justice, mercy and humility

Presentation 1: Grace God’s way

Te hristian lie is a grace story God gives it We live in it Grace helps us live God’s way Te word char-

ity and grace are related Tey come rom the same Greek root harity is grace in action It is God’s grace in

action oth are part o living lie right and making lie right or others

Tink about a time you have received a git o grace rom someone Tink about a time you gave it How did

you eel receiving? Giving? How were they dierent?

Most people like to give Tey preer it Every religion says it is good to give o give to the poor is central to

every aith, not just hristianity We are made in God’s image God is the great giver We all have that poten-

tial or giving

From the Bible:

“We want you to know brothers and sisters, about the grace o God that has been granted to the churches o

Macedonia; or during a severe ordeal o suering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have over-

owed in a wealth o generosity on their part For, as I can testiy, they voluntarily gave according to their

means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly or the privilege o sharing in this ministry to thesaints—and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves rst to the Lord, and by the will o God, to



Notes


us … For you know the gracious act o our Lord Jesus hrist, that though he was rich, yet or your sakes he

became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich … It is a question o air balance between your

present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be or your need, in order that there may be a

air balance” (2 orinthians 8:1–5, 9, 13–14)

Look or the grace in that ible reading It is ull o grace

People give money and things away or many reasons o help o be popular o win respect o eel good

Te ible seems to say there is another good reason to give It is about air balance It is about making lie

right! Te receiver needs the git Te giver needs to give it Lie is not right or the giver or the receiver unless

this happens Reusing to receive and reusing to give both create injustice Tis is two-way humility at work

We stand on equal ground God teaches us how In hrist, God gave us grace God orgives us and gives us

what we need ut God also works in us to make our lives right again

Some o us have a lot Some o us have little For those with a lot, it is easy to think o giving as a nice thing

to do, an option It is not about nice It is about three things:Te Great Requirement we saw in Micah

Te Great ommission we heard rom Jesus

Te Great ommandment we received rom God

Tink and respond:

alk in groups about why we give

Does it matter why we give?

Justice and giving are related What does a “air balance” have to do with giving?

How does generous giving relate to living right and making lie right or others?

Does your own church give like the one in the ible? (2 or 8) What are the severe trials, which your church is acing?

How are they aecting the giving pattern o your church?

What do you see as an opportunity to express the wealth o generosity?

What do you have as your surplus?

How can your church make right or others through resources available?

Presentation 2: It is good to give

From the Bible:

“Seek good and not evil, that you may live … Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate … utlet justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-owing stream” (Amos 5:14–15, 24)

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Notes


“We know love by this, that he laid down his lie or us—and we ought to lay down our lives or one another

How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet

reuses help?” (1 John 3:16–17)

I we want to know how to give, we can look at Jesus He is the best example o how to give In act, we give

in response to Jesus’ giving to us Te church in Macedonia was not rich Teir joy in God, not their money,

helped them give Generosity came rom joy, not riches

Giving is a lie-or-death matter Not giving, or being selsh, makes us blind We do not see moments to love

We do not see times to give We limp through lie when we do not give I the world is to get a air balance,

we need to give We give not rom our wealth, but rom our joy in God

We give because God gives so much to us We do not need to be surprised when people who don’t ollow God

give Tey are made in God’s image too We do not give because we think there will be a big reward We give

because it is the right thing to do Jesus gave everything, and he suered He has scars to prove it We may get

scars rom giving too It may not always be a happy thing to give ut it will be the right thing

Tink and respond:alk about being generous

When have you seen great acts o generosity?

What happens when we do not give?

What would the world look like i everyone was generous? Draw a picture o that

How does generosity help us to live right and to make lie right or others?

How can you make lie right or someone in your community as a way to express generosity?

Closing:Sing worship songs together Tank God or being so generous

Pray that God would use every part o our lives or God’s work



Notes


6

ession 6

God’sinterventions

“Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.” —ono, U

Welcome and Worship

Last session our ideas about giving were put to the Jesus test Does the way we give, whether we are rich or

poor, match the way Jesus gives? We talked about when we have seen—or received—great giving rom others

Te way we give, or don’t give, impacts how we live Our giving impacts our ability to live right and make lie

right or others

It is amazing how God can help us learn to give y now, we have also seen that we are not in this alone It isnot about “Jesus and me” It is about Jesus and us and the whole world We are God’s partners when we turn

our minds to living right and making lie right or others In this session, we will see more how God is deeply

involved in our lives—sometimes in miraculous ways

Presentation 1: God meets practical needs

We know that God cares about justice or the poor We know that the Gospel is about the personal, but it is

also about the public Jesus had something to say about the structures that keep the world an unair place

Oten, those unair structures create great personal need in the lives o people Tere are so many verses in theible that show that God cares deeply about our personal needs Tere are many stories about God meeting

needs in ways that seem to be miracles

In the Old estament book o 2 Kings, there are two that stand out In 2 Kings 4:2–7, God’s prophet Elisha

instructs a widow to gather all the empty jars she can nd God provides an endless stream o oil rom one jar

to another, until each one is ull Te widow is able to save her son rom slavery to a cruel man because o it

God provides or the widow, through his servant Elisha, in a miraculous, but very practical way

Te other story happens a little later in 2 Kings hapter 7 tells the story o a city on the brink o starvation

Samaria is the capital o Israel and they have been cut o rom ood supplies or months Te people are weak and hungry Death on a grand scale seems imminent



Notes


Elisha, again, delivers a message rom God He tells the people that God promises there will be ood or

everyone by tomorrow And there is Te enemy army that is surrounding the city ees that night because

they are sure they hear the sound o thousands o attacking riders Tere were no riders in sight Tey leave all

their supplies and the hungry can eat at last

Tink and respond:

alk in groups about these stories

What do you eel and think when you hear these stories?What injustice is evident in the two stories?

Is God still perorming miracles today?

Do you have a miracle story to share?

What do you learn about God rom these stories?

Stories like that one tell us about an event that happened in a certain time and place Tey also tell us some-

thing about the character o God About God’s passion When we hear these stories, or experience something

like it in our own lives, we know that God cares We know that God acts We know that God uses God’s peo-

ple as partners in getting the right things done at the right time

Presentation 2: God invades history

When we think o God breaking into human history, we think o Jesus, born in ethlehem Tat is true And

it is the most vivid, world-changing example

Te ible, and our own stories, though, show us that God breaks into human history beore and ater the

birth o Jesus in smaller ways: when God parted the sea so the Israelites could ee their slavery in Egypt;

when God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice; when God helps protect the baby who will grow to be Moses,

using a small basket, a small girl and a willing heart

When we read the many accounts o God invading human history, we can see that God cares about justice on

a large scale And God cares about the individual people caught in the trap o injustice God cares about the

world God created God cares about how people live, how people die and how the world is run We can read

that in the ible, in the laws and instructions that God gives ut we can also see that concern or justice and

mercy in the actions that God takes throughout human history And, perhaps in our own lives?

Trough it all, God is God We are not Sometimes we want God to act, and it eels like God does not Tere

is a mystery in how God works Jesus did not heal every sick person he encountered Sometimes God does

seem to act in a way that can only be called a miracle Other times, God gets us through our bad times by simply caring or us in our pain, and through God’s people and the presence o the Holy Spirit

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Notes


What we do know is that we are never alone Never orsaken Never without hope

Tink and respond:

alk in groups about God in history, in your history

How do you eel about God’s mystery in history?

Share a time where you have elt disappointed by what seemed to be God’s lack o response

Share a time where you knew, without a doubt, that God was present How did you know that?

How do you dene hope?

Presentation 3: God’s hope or God’s people

From the Bible:

“Tereore I tell you, do not worry about your lie, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you

will wear Is not lie more important than ood, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds

o the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father eeds them Are you

not much more valuable than they? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’

or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run ater all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that youneed them ut seek rst his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”

(Matthew 6:25–26, 31–33)

We can have a real hope that is built on God’s love or us

Tis is how one dictionary denes the word hope: Expectation and desire combined, or a certain thing to

occur A person, thing or circumstance that gives cause or hope A eeling o trust

hristians can bring hope to people who are living without hope When people are born into poverty, there

can seem to be ew options or them Even or those who are rich, lie can seem hopeless

Into all this pain, the Gospel comes Te ible is a book o hope Hope comes in Noah’s rainbow Hope

shines in the stars that Abraham counts one dark night Hope rests in God’s promise to never “orsake us”

and the expectation that Jesus will come again

Jesus brings good news to the poor, or every type o poverty that exists Where we are born does not dene

our whole lives Whether we live with all the odds against us or we are born with everything going or us,

Jesus can change our lives In hrist, we see new lie, new birth, a new amily, and a new community, even a

new citizenship

God’s mission in the world is to change spiritual and social or economic poverty with better things Tat

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Notes


gives us hope Te Gospel gives us back our dreams Peter said it at Pentecost Te Holy Spirit gives all peo-

ple—men, women, old, young, rich and poor—the ability to dream new dreams and live with a new vision

or the world and or our lives

Te Holy Spirit gives us the power to do more than just cope with our circumstances and nish lie It pushes

us and empowers us to live right and work to make lie right or others Te Holy Spirit mixes compassion,

conviction, generosity and obedience in our lives so we can bear ruit

Hope is not just a dream, or a thought, or a eeling Hope is practical Hope helps us deal with problems

Followers o hrist can point toward what is good Tey can be ound in the centre o solutions to the prob-

lems o the world

Poverty and despair is not the end o the story Te nal pages o the ible speak the truth o what is to come

It says that all tears will be wiped away Injustice will end Poverty will end Hope won’t even be needed any-

more (Note: Matthew 6:9–13; Revelation 21:3–7; 1 orinthians 15:49–57)

Tink and respond:

alk in groups about hope and dreams What gives you hope?

What takes away your hope?

What happens when you lose hope?

I you could make one change in your lie to better reect God’s love, what would it be? an you

do that? How will you make that change?

How can we help people with no apparent hope dream again?

Tink about where we have come rom in this study We are almost done Here is a list o the sessions we have

done Tey represent a lot o thinking, praying and learning or all o us Tey represent an eort to learn to

live right and make lie right or others

Session 1: God’s Great Git o Love

Session 2: Te Great ommission or You, or Me and or the World

Session 3: Te Great Requirement

Session 4: onviction and ompassion: Te Hard Work o Love

Session 5: Great Generosity

And today’s Session 6: God in ontinuing History

alk in a group about something you remember rom each session ake some time this week to think about

what we have learned I you are able, read all the ible verses again Pray that God will use them to shapeyour lie

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Notes


Closing:

Pray together Share requests I you have drawn pictures that now hang on the walls, look at them again

Pray about the concerns they show

End with the Lord’s Prayer



Notes


7

ession 7

God’s greatsurprises

Welcome and Worship

In our last study we talked about how God has worked in human history and in our own lives We see rom

God’s pattern o breaking into the world, that God cares about injustice and God cares about its victims God

wants you and me to partner with God in changing the world We have great reason to have great hope God

can do big things with open hearts, open minds and open hands God can help us live lie right and make lie

right or others

Presentation 1: Being bold

We are on a lie journey We know where we have come rom And we know where we will end up ut it’s the

middle part o lie that we are not so sure o Te sessions we have shared give us a better idea now, how we

can live the lie God calls us to Te Holy Spirit works through us to empower us to live that lie

Lie is adventure We are in it with God and with each other It is all more than we could ask or imagine It is

not all good ut it is not all bad either It is a God-mix o real lie with real hope and real aith

We serve a God o big surprises Just when we think we know all about God, we learn more Many o us arein a place we never thought we would be—because o God What is the connection between our plans and

God’s plans? Do our plans count?

Here is some o what we have seen:

God calls us and God equips us

We need God’s Holy Spirit and God’s love to do what God has called us to do

Te ible shows us what a godly lie o love looks like—to live right and make lie right or others

It is good to obey the part o God’s will that we can see and understand

It is okay to not see or understand all o God’s will No one does

God is ull o surprises

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Notes


A personal testimony: in what sense has your lie been a journey and an adventure?

From the Bible:

About surprise places

“Moses was keeping the ock o his ather-in-law Jethro … He led his ock beyond the wilderness, and

came to Horeb, the mountain o God Tere the angel o the Lord appeared to him in a ame o re out o

a bush … When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out o the bush, ‘Moses,

Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am’ Ten he said, ‘ome no closer! Remove the sandals rom your eet, or the

place on which you are standing is holy ground’ … then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery o my

people who are in Egypt … I know their suerings and I have come down to deliver them … So, come, I will

send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out o Egypt’ ut Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that

I should go?’” (Exodus 3:1–11)

About surprise people

“Tere was a man named ornelius, a centurion o the Italian cohort … ornelius replied [speaking to Peter],

‘Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzlingclothes stood beore me He said, “ornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remem-

bered beore God Send thereore to Joppa and ask or Simon, who is called Peter” … Tereore I sent or you

immediately, and you have been kind enough to come So now all o us are here in the presence o God to

listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say’ Ten Peter began to speak to them ‘I truly understand

that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who ears him and does what is right is acceptable

to him’” (Acts 10:1, 30–35)

About surprise results

“A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’ … Te Samaritan woman

said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink o me, a woman o Samaria?’ … Jesus answered her, ‘I you knew the git o God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him,

and he would have given you living water’ Te woman said … ‘Where do you get that living water?’ … Jesus

said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks o this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink o the water that I

will give them will never be thirsty Te water that I give will become in them a spring o water gushing up

to eternal lie’ Te woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water’ … Just then his disciples came Tey were

astonished that he was speaking with a woman … Ten the woman let her water jar and went back to the

city She said to the people, ‘ome and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the

Messiah, can he?’ … Many Samaritans rom that city believed in him because o the woman’s testimony”

(John 4:7–15, 27–29, 39)



Notes


Tink and respond:

alk in groups about these ible passages Here are questions to ask:

What did God do that was a surprise?

What happened in the end?

What do we learn about what God is like? About our walk with God?

Tink about what your lie looks like Have there been surprises? Imagine your lie were a river, what would it

look like? Draw a picture

On your river o lie, mark the times when God surprised you When is your river calm? When is it stormy?

When did it cut new channels? When did it pool? How do you understand God’s role in your journey?

alk in groups about your picture

Presentation 2: Conclusion

Here is what we know: God does not leave us alone We know what is right and good We know what Godwants God calls us to obey Sometimes we do not obey We know we are not perect We are likely to all

We need God’s mercy We need God to lead the way because we cannot see the uture

God can do amazing things with the rest o our lives Our time together has shown us many things about

how God can work with us to live right and make lie right or others

God invites us to receive God’s love

God loves us so we love others God gives us opportunities in the world

God can use us to make things right Tat is our call

onviction and compassion help us do that right

Justice matters to God

eing generous is key God breaks into human history to make things right on a big scale, and on a smaller scale in indi-

vidual lives God asks us to work with God to do that now

We have hope or now, and hope or eternity

God is ull o surprises Great things can still happen in our lives

Tink and respond:

Tink about how you will invite God to be with you:

In love—will you accept God’s love or you? How will you love God more in mind, heart, spirit

and body? In the world—do you hear God’s call? How will you obey the Great ommission?

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Notes


In the Great Requirement—do you hear God asking you to help make things right? What is your

personal mission in this world?

In your compassion and conviction—do you see how the two work together? How will you grow

in both compassion and conviction?

In your giving—do you hear God’s call to be generous? What will you do to become

more generous?

In your hope—do you have that wild, holy hope or the uture o your own lie? For the uture o

the world? How will you live as someone with hope?

In surprises—do you see God as a source o surprises? an you live in expectation o all that God

can do?

alk about some o your answers to these questions Share what you are most pleased about as you begin to

live the rest o your lie

Closing:

Look at the pictures you have drawn during these workshops Sing and pray together

End with this prayer, taken rom Ephesians 3:

For this reason I bow my knees beore the Father, rom whom every amily in heaven and on earth takes its name.

I pray that, according to the riches o God’s glory, he may grant that you be made strong in your inner being with

power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through aith, as you are being rooted and

grounded in love.

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height

and depth, and to know the love o Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be flled with all the ullness

o God.

Now to the God who is able by the power at work within us to accomplish abundantly ar more than all we can ask

or imagine, to God be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, orever and ever. Amen

May God be with you as you begin this new lie o mission: living right and mak-

ing lie right or others!

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Gods Life of Love: A Bible Study

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