08.05.07
Small Group Plan - August 5, 2007
“Lovers’ Quarrel”
Small Group Plan
August 5, 2007
Dear Group Leader…
If God has a lovers’ quarrel with the world, what is the nature of His love? Using the Fruit of the Spirit, one writer described love like this:
Joy is love exalted
Peace is love in relaxation
Patience is love enduring
Kindness is love in society
Goodness is love in action
Faithfulness is love on the battlefield
Gentleness is love empowered
Self-Control is love in training
What do you think love is?
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· Why do lovers quarrel?
· How do lovers quarrel?
· Who wins a lovers quarrel?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
God loves us – John 3:16-17
16 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 life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
· What do these verses tell us about God the Father?
· What do they tell us about Jesus the Son?
· Imagine their conversation about the condition of the world, and their conclusion regarding the only true answer. How would that conversation sound?
· If God’s true purpose is to save and not to condemn, why does the condemnation message flow so easily from so many of His followers?
God has a quarrel with us – John 3:18-19
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
· How is it possible to love someone and quarrel with them at the same time?
· What does light do? Why is it valuable? How would you explain Jesus as “light” coming into the world?
· If God’s quarrel is with our darkness, what would you say is the darkest part of humanity? Explain your answer.
· What are the “doors” that lead into that darkness? How do you know when you’ve stepped into the shadows?
God’s quarrel has a purpose – John 3:20-21
20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
· What is it about “light” that evil “hates” ?
· Why is darkness afraid of God’s light?
· How does God expose our “deeds” and for what purpose?
· Even thought we often avoid the light, how does it feel after the exposure, after our lives are “seen plainly” ?
· If someone wants to “come into the light” how would you help and advise them?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· Parents sometimes say, “This will hurt me more than it hurts you.” How would God describe His own pain in exposing our failure?
· What is God biggest quarrel with you?
· How does love risk?
· Would it be easy or difficult for your love to risk a quarrel with the darkness in someone you love?
· How do we imitate God’s quarrel with the world?
Close by praying for the humility to love and not to condemn.