01.14.08
Small Group Plan - January 13, 2008
“Ground Zero”
Myspace or Ourspace?
Small Group Plan
January 13, 2008
Dear Small Group Leader,
I read of a middle-aged woman who unloaded years of frustration when she told her husband of a new insight she had gained. “The only reason our marriage has stayed together all these years is that we are both in love with the same person – you!” Selfless love and selfish love. Two people, but only one extending love. Frustrating, unhappy and very much at risk. How different is the relationship where both are selflessly loving the other. Working to outdo the other in patience, kindness and sacrifice.
Success in marriage is more than finding the right person:
it is a matter of being the right person.
– Rabbi B. R. Brickner
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· Broadly list all the ways the term “love” is used today?
· Is our use of “love” too broad? Explain.
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
MySpace
1 Corinthians 12:14-20
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
· How is our individuality a gift from God?
· Why were we given it?
· What does it look like when individuality is over-played or pushed too far?
OurSpace
1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
· Come up with a working definition of the two levels of love - “love because of” and “love in spite of.”
· What are the weaknesses of, “I love you because of _____” ?
· What are the strengths of, “I love you in spite of _____” ?
· Why is love greater than both faith and hope?
GodSpace
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
· Which of these qualities of love has helped you the most to be more flexible in your relationships? How?
· Which has brought you closer in your relationships? Explain.
· On Sunday we used God’s name and our name to convert these verses into a very personal chart – (example: “God is patient with Bob.”) I asked you to pick the one(s) that were the most difficult for you to believe. What did you choose and why?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· How can we practice selfless love without losing our self?
· What is the connection between accepting God’s love in MySpace and using God’s love in OurSpace?
Close by asking God for a clear understand of His amazing love.