Us For Them – Week Three
Opening
Overview
Us for Them- Week 3
Our love for people is our witness to who God is and what God is doing in the world. Where do your neighbors see God’s love in you? Give every group member time to share before praying together.
People are the point, but people often feel like the problem. They require our sacrificial love and compassion. They require our repentance and forgiveness. They require our trust and vulnerability. Often, instead of offering these qualities to one another, we burn out, lash out, and check out.
To love like Jesus requires us to learn a different way to live. Intercessory prayer is one way. Intercessory prayer transforms our hearts and minds to love others. Only the power of the Spirit multiplies our love for others and the nations.
Discussion Questions
- Who have you been praying for?
- How have those prayers changed your life?
Practice
1 Thessalonians 3 11 May God our Father and our Lord Jesus bring us to you very soon. 12 And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13 May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen.
Invite everyone to get comfortable and listen as you read 1 Thessalonians 3:11- 13 aloud. Before you read, invite them to consider what stands out in the reading. After a few moments of silence following the reading, give people an
opportunity to share. Read the verses slowly again inviting everyone to reflect on where their love is (or is not) growing and overflowing. Brainstorm ways you can show people in the church community love. Then think of ways you can show love to people in your neighborhoods and communities.
Practice for the week
Sometime this week, take fifteen or twenty minutes and walk around your neighborhood if possible. If not, choose a safe walking location near where you live. Ask God to reveal where He is at work in your location. Ask Him to help your love for those specific people who live near you to increase.
Closing
Pray over each other as the Spirit directs.