02 Life on the Vine - Love

8/19/2019 02 Life on the Vine - Love

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41 5 # you love those who love you$ what credit is that to you? 9vensinners love those who love them! 44 :nd i# you do good to thosewho are good to you$ what credit is that to you? 9ven sinners dothat! 4; :nd i# you lend to those #rom whom you e%pect

repayment$ what credit is that to you? 9ven sinners lend tosinners$ e%pecting to be repaid in #ull! 4+ (ut love your enemies$ dogood to them$ and lend to them without e%pecting to get anythingback! <hen your reward will be great$ and you will be children o#the =ost High$ because he is kind to the ungrate#ul and wicked!40 (e merci#ul$ >ust as your ather is merci#ul!

Q) What do you think is @esusA key instruction in this passage?What were some phrases that stuck with you?

Q) What are some common ways$ both good and bad$ that.hristians in our society distinguish themselves #rom non3.hristians? How could you spot a .hristian in public?

With this reading in mind$ how would we spot .hristians?

Q) Why isnAt it enough #or @esus to say$ 5love everybodyB andleave it at that? Why does he tell us to love our enemies?

Q) n this te%t$ what does @esus tell us to do besides love ourenemies

9%amples o# loving our enemies, When an e%pert on the lawasked @esus what he had to do to be saved$ @esus replied "whatdoes the law say?"! <he man s reply was to love &od and loveyour neighbor! @esus was then asked "who is my neighbor?"! <his

is a standard rabbinical Cuestions' the teachers o# @esus time werealways setting limits$ saying what constitutes #ollowing the lawand what strays #rom it! <hey set limits on what is actually work#or the abbath$ how much you should give to both &od and thepoor$ how many times you were to #orgive people$ etc! o "who ismy neighbor?" is a natural Cuestions #or a @ew!



@esus replies to the Cuestion with, 5: man was going down #rom @erusalem to @ericho$ when he was attacked by robbers! <heystripped him o# his clothes$ beat him and went away$ leaving himhal# dead! 48 : priest happened to be going down the same road$

and when he saw the man$ he passed by on the other side! 41 otoo$ a /evite$ when he came to the place and saw him$ passed byon the other side! 44 (ut a amaritan$ as he traveled$ came wherethe man was' and when he saw him$ he took pity on him! 4; Hewent to him and bandaged his wounds$ pouring on oil and wine!

<hen he put the man on his own donkey$ brought him to an innand took care o# him! 4+ <he ne%t day he took out two denarii c E andgave them to the innkeeper! F/ook a#ter him$A he said$ Fand when

return$ will reimburse you #or any e%tra e%pense you may have!A40 5Which o# these three do you think was a neighbor to the manwho #ell into the hands o# robbers?B

42 <he e%pert in the law replied$ 5<he one who had mercy on him!B

@esus told him$ 5&o and do likewise!

Q) how is this an e%ample o# loving your enemy?

Q) How essential to being a .hristian is loving our enemies? Why?

<he notion that &od s people should seek to embody &od s lovingcharacter is not a minor theme in the (ible!

8 @ohn ;,86318

86 We love because he frst loved us! 17 Whoever claims to love &odyet hates a brother or sister is a liar! or whoever does not lovetheir brother and sister$ whom they have seen$ cannot love &od$whom they have not seen! 18 :nd he has given us this command,:nyone who loves &od must also love their brother and sister!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25399c

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV#fen-NIV-25399c



9phesians +,831

8 ollow &odAs e%ample$ there#ore$ as dearly loved children 1 andwalk in the way o# love$ >ust as .hrist loved us and gave himsel#up #or us as a #ragrant oGering and sacrifce to &od!

8 @ohn 4,8038-80 <his is how we know what love is, @esus .hrist laid down his li#e#or us! :nd we ought to lay down our lives #or our brothers andsisters! 82 # anyone has material possessions and sees a brotheror sister in need but has no pity on them$ how can the love o# &odbe in that person? 8- Dear children$ let us not love with words or

speech but with actions and in truth!

Q) What is at stake i# .hristians do not love their enemies? Whatis the problem?

s the ability to love as &od loves a gi#t or is it something that weshould attempt to cultivate! <he answer is both,

*omans +,+:nd hope does not put us to shame$ because &odAs love has beenpoured out into our hearts through the Holy pirit$ who has beengiven to us!

et Iaul ends his discourse on love in 8 .orinthians 84 with thisstatement #rom 8;,8Iursue love!! !

o what are obstacles in our society that impedes thedevelopment o# the pirit s #ruit?

8) we are taught to promote our own sel# interest! "What s in it #orme" is a common rallying cry #or people in our nation!

1) We put a price on everything! or our system to work$everything must have value!!! including people! We value people



by how much they contribute to society$ and how much they areworth!

4) We are not encouraged to interact with others$ in #act we are

discouraged #rom doing so! When was the last time you talked tothe #armer who grew your #ood$ or the truck driver who brought itto your grocery store? We rarely even talk to the shoppers aroundus or the person who checks us outJ

Q) How do you see these three things showing in our church li#e?

o how do we show love in our culture?8) pay attention to others! We cannot love others without payingattention to them! 9ven though our society tells us to beindiGerent to those around us$ we must pay attention to learntheir needs!

1) We must receive and give graciously! <he heart o# .hristian#aith is giving o# gi#ts! &od has abundantly given to us$ we mustseek to be avenues o# &od s grace by giving gi#ts to others! Wemust seek out those who truly need them$ not >ust give gi#ts tothose around us!

4) ustaining tewardship! Kur possessions can easily becomemeans to separate and divide us! Kur culture encourages us to#orm links to our selves and our possessions Ldoes your car oryour home really reMect who you are$ etc)! nstead o# looking #orways to #urther our own cause with our possessions$ we must look#or ways to use our possessions to #urther &od s cause!

9ach chapter ends with practical suggestions to encourage theparticular aspect o# the pirit that we are studying!

8) .onsider beginning each day by asking &od to give you eyes tosee the needs o# others! /ook #or ways to promote others$ even i#it means setting aside your own agenda and preoccupations!



1) Devote time to reMection on your personal relationships! Howdo you view them 3 >ust as ways to help yoursel#? How can youimprove them?

4) .onsider how our culture$ and its preoccupation with sel#3interest$ has aGected your relationship with &od! Do you look to&od >ust as a means to obtain things? Have you come to worshipand asked "what s in it #or me" or " didn t get anything out o# ittoday"?

;) Do you "keep score" at .hristmas$ birthdays$ etc? How muchdid my #riend spend on me? :re you upset with how little theyspent? Do you #eel the need to spend more on them than they did#or you? Do you seek out ways to give without any hope o# evergetting anything back?

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02 Life on the Vine - Love