Work Crew Talk: LOVE ONE ANOTHER

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Instructions: Teach about how God designed us to be loved, to love others, and that through this love, people will be drawn to Him. Use personal stories and give lots of examples. Hit the main point over and over. Assign scripture out before starting and instead of reading them, have the WC read them. End by sending work crew off into small groups to answer questions together.

CONTROLLING THOUGHT: We ought to love one another. Based on John 13:34-35. 

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. 

Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

INTRODUCTION

A little bit about me is that I didn't know Christ until my last semester of college, when I was 22. Every time I was told or shown the Word was a seed planted and many were along the way. Sometimes, however, I would experience what the "opposite" of love is by someone who claimed to know Christ, and their lack of love so nullified whatever seed God might have given them to plant. One example of this was a roommate I had in college my freshman year we'll call "A." "A" became a fast friend and it was easy to see why anyone would be drawn into friendship with her. She was cool, fun, friendly, smart, etc...but I saw a different side of her when she got angry with me one night. She went through our dorm hall and lied to each girl, telling them I had done something I had not. When I came back, every girl had turned against me and "A" had poured alcohol on my bed, ripped up my pictures, thrown my dirty laundry into the hallway, and told the Resident Director I was providing booze to all the kids in the dorm. I came to find out later she was even going through training at the time to become a leader. If there was any chance of her showing me who Christ was through her love, it had long passed through her actions. When it actually came time in my heart to begin asking questions about Christ and seeking to know Him, the people I knew I could go to for such a thing were those who I knew were 1) concerned about the things of God and 2) had loved me. "A" did not fall into this list.

Transition: The love we have for others is a sign to us of our "status" with God. 1 John 3:14 says, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death."

POINT 1 - 

• Even just our ability to love others comes from a deep understanding of our own "status" as being loved by God. 

1 John 4:19. "We love because God first loved us." One of the things that happens when we know we are loved by God is that we are compelled to love others. 2 Corinthians 5:14. "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." Ansley misunderstood her own "status" as an utterly depraved sinner, deserving only of death, but saved and fully loved beyond her own comprehension, placed into the family of God. When we operate out of the understanding that we are redeemed and we are loved by God, we naturally pour out love on others. When we operate in our old mindset of not knowing God, we try to perform, hold grudges, justify our behaviors, etc etc. But love isn't always just a natural outpouring for us, it's also something we have to be mindful of.

• Love is intentional. It's doesn't always just happen "on accident."

God intentionally loved us when He sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us. 

Give an example: Thinking of your family at home, what's an example of a way you find it easy and natural to love? What's an example of a way you have to intentionally love your family?

 

Transition: There is a reason why we are designed to love one another...I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22-23)...because by doing so, we show Jesus.

 

POINT 2 - 

•  We live as God designed us to when we love one another!

When we do, others see God through that love. The invisible God literally becomes visible through our love for one another. Just like people say they can "see" God by looking at nature or by being in nature (seeing the beauty of a sunset, the perspective from a mountaintop, the mystery of the depth in a forest, etc), people can likewise "see" God by looking at humans when they function as they are designed and are loving one another. When we love one another, people can literally see God. The good news of Jesus is told when we love one another.

What are some ways we are meant to love one another? After each, brainstorm what the opposite of each would be.

1. Colossians 3:13-14. "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Forgiving. Opposite: hold a grudge, don't forgive.
2.  1 Corinthians 13:4-8. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, 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." Patience. Kindness. Humility. Respectful. Selfless. Slow to anger. Gracious. Loving good. Protective. Trusting. Hopeful. Consistent. Opposite: various.
3. 1 Thessalonians 5:15. "See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people." Not taking justice into our own hands. Opposite: Revenge.
4. Romans 15:5-6. "May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Patience. Encouragement. Opposite: Quick-tempered, withholding encouragement or discouraging.

• When we love one another, it becomes a refreshing thing that God blesses.

Read Psalm 133.

^1-3 How wonderful, how beautiful,
    when brothers and sisters get along!
It’s like costly anointing oil
    flowing down head and beard,
Flowing down Aaron’s beard,
    flowing down the collar of his priestly robes.
It’s like the dew on Mount Hermon
    flowing down the slopes of Zion.
Yes, that’s where God commands the blessing,

ordains eternal life.

What is it like to God when we love one another? So refreshing! He actually blesses it. Because having unity and love for one another is so important to God, it makes sense why Jesus reiterated the words of the law given to Moses in Mark 12:30-31. "'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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

POINT 3 - 

• Love is not always easy, but it's worth it.  

Even driven by the knowledge that others will see God by our love for another, there are still many obstacles we will face in trying to love others. We can all think of examples when love was absent or when it was hard to "do." 

Is loving hard? Romans 12:3. "Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us." --- The fact that we must take an honest look at ourselves can make loving others hard. Don't think of yourself as better than anyone else. There's not point for it. Does God love you more than the next person? No and if you think He does, you need to check that. Don't waste time comparing yourself as more or as less to anyone else. Quitting the comparison game can be freeing.

Is loving hard? 1 Kings 11:2. "They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, 'You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.' Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love." --- It can also be hard to love others because we give our love away to things other than God and people. 

Give an example: What are some of those things we can give our love away to that hinders our love for other people through Christ?

• The ability to love at all is a gift from God!
  

We shouldn't take for granted that we can even love at all; it is a gift from God. 2 Timothy 1:7. "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." It might not always be such an easy thing, but it's not like carrying a heavy burden on your own. It's an honor and a privilege to even have the capacity to love and you get to lean on Christ in it all.

CONCLUSION/CHALLENGE

We ought to love one another.  

The ability to love others comes from a deep understanding of being loved by God ourselves. And we know that we are able to love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). Love is intentional; it doesn't always just happen "on accident." God was intentional with loving us when He sent His only Son to die on the cross for us. We can be intentional in loving others sacrificially. 

We live as God designed us to live to the full when we love one another. Because God is seen by His children's love for one another, we can show others who God is by our love for one another. It blesses God and us to the point of being totally refreshed when we love one another (Psalm 133)!

Love is not always easy, but it's always worth it. We shouldn't take for granted that we can love at all; it is a gift from God (2 Timothy 1:7). Let's thank Him for the ability to love and be loved.

Love one another

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." JOHN 13:34-35

SCRIPTURE                                                                 TAKE AWAY FOR LOVING OTHERS

1 JOHN 3:14
1 JOHN 4:19
2 CORINTHIANS 5:14
JOHN 17:22-23
COLOSSIANS 3:13-14
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8
1 THESSALONIANS 5:15
ROMANS 15:5-6
PSALM 133
MARK 12:30-31
ROMANS 12:3
1 KINGS 11:2
2 TIMOTHY 1:7

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

1. Together, brainstorm specific ways you can intentionally love someone while here on Work Crew (could be anyone!). Perhaps consider what makes them unique. What could you do that would help show them not your love necessarily, but God's love for them? Put that love into action and do it this week!
2. Read 1 Thessalonians 2:8. On Work Crew, you are clearly sharing your lives for the sake of Christ being known through your service! What is a way you already share your life for Christ at home/school? What is a way you would like to share your life that you don't already?
   
3. Name a time God helped you overcome a lack of love for someone by understanding His love for you.
4. Read 1 Samuel 16:7. Talk as a group about what you think this might mean in relation to what we can do to love others. When somebody does something unloving (this could even include yourself), what should you seek to understand better?
5. Pick a loving characteristic that you want more of. You may pick your own or one of the below traits. Share an example of why you would like to have more of this trait. Take time to pray for each person. The key isn't to TRY to do "better," but to ask GOD to transform us into the likeness of His Son, making you more and more like Him everyday. HUMBLE --- COMPASSIONATE --- CARING/KIND --- SYMPATHETIC --- PEACEFUL --- GENEROUS --- GENTLE --- GRACIOUS --- ENCOURAGING --- PATIENT --- RESPECTFUL --- MERCIFUL

A-Team Devo: DO NOT WORRY

Don't worry, be happy! 

No...rather, have joy! The joy of a hope that doesn't put you to shame. 

That is, the hope we have in our victory, Jesus.

As He does, the Lord has continued this year to bring back around, and around...and around again a very important lesson. It goes something like this: 

STOP WORRYING! Stop it! Don't! Don't do it! DO. NOT. WORRY.

If there's one thing that steals my joy the most, it is unchecked, unrestrained worry. Not that I even really recognize it most of the time. One, it's not of God, two, it steals more than just joy, and three, He flat out tells us He doesn't want us to do it! Do not worry. 

Easier said than done though, right? 

You may say to yourself that you're doing good because you certainly don't worry about everything...or even many things. Perhaps you've found answers in the past to general recurring situations you face in your life with work, friends, family, etc. 

 But that's not it. 

We don't worry about things we already understand, do we? No! We worry over the things we don't understand! The things that leave us puzzled or unsure about what God could possibly be doing or making good out of.

Is it my own wisdom that will know the answer when a problem comes? Never. Not in any situation would I say this has been true. It will always be God's wisdom. Is a trouble given to me at random to solve, or is it God who deals my hand? The God who knows all and sees all and is in all is making good out of whatever He has laid before me. I must trust that.

A simple, but clear message I heard from Mama Joyce Meyer earlier this year continues to ring in my ears: "If you worry, you're not allowed to pray. And if you pray, you're not allowed to worry." 

If I can at all help it, I certainly don't ever want to choose to put myself in a situation in which I am not allowed to pray. And if it is true that God tells us not to worry, but to pray, I'm not really following what His Word tells me if I somehow consciously choose to do both. It's really only a half-trust if we choose to still allow room for ourselves to worry, even if only but just a bit! 

No, we must let go of one or the other. If you decide you want to be a person who keeps an open, honest line with the Lord, you must give up worrying. But if you are more intent on holding onto your worry with everything you've got, why keep on praying? You already know God's will is not for you to do so.

Philippians 4:6 says,  

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."

It comforts me that we have a God that does not want us to worry. There is immense relief in putting my trust back in God and giving up the worry so tightly wrung in my hand. Not that it always happens instantly; it can be quite a process! But when I am able to give over the burden I am carrying and trust Him with it, I am released to have joy and hope in Jesus. I end up being more available to Him in the meantime too.   

In Luke 10:38-42 we read,  

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.^" But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

What did Mary choose? To be with God. To be with God is greater than to serve God, or at least, one precedes the other. I've heard a pastor say it this way, "Lovers of God always outwork workers of God" (Mike Bickle). 
  
To be with God first is to choose not to "do" the task in front of you before first connecting with Jesus. Martha was worried enough everything wouldn't get done that she even asked Jesus to make Mary come away from Him too! When we worry, we may even have the tendency to bring others into our worry and away from Christ. 

The less time we spend worrying, the more time we have to spend listening to Jesus. So we must be people who pause, listen to Him, and lastly move. Jesus is life and being alive means movement, but the purpose for the movement comes first and straight from His mouth; His Word.

I envision a person standing in the middle of a high-walled maze, handed a new situation to walk through. There are many paths to choose from, but not all allow exit. All have words written over them. Some say, "control," others, "love." One is labeled, "worry," another, "trust." The "worry" path sometimes allows for exit with the situation in hand, but the carrier never feels peace about it even then. "Trust" is a sure-fire exit every time, but it often is a difficult path to pass. But it never fails.

When I worry, I recognize my own decision to put faith on the back burner. Worrying never seems to help me much in the end. It usually not only eats up my joy, but wastes my time too.  

Just like Jesus says in Luke 12:25, 

 And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?

I recently looked up the word "worry" in the NASB translation. 80% of the time it was preceded with "do not." The other 20% of the time, it was paired with warnings against it. 

What happens when you worry?

1. Lost time (it's not even efficient! - luk 12:25)
2. Word becomes unfruitful (choked - mat 13:22)

What kinds of things are we getting worried about?

• being provided for (food, clothing - mat 6:31, luk 12:22, 29)
• things to come in the future (mat 6:34)
• saying the right thing  (mat 10:19, mark 13:11)
• including how to defend yourself (mark 12:11)
• worldly things (specifically money - mat 13:22)
• things that seem hard to us (luk 12:26)
• having freedom, submitting to others (called while a slave - 1 cor 7:21)

This is not so much a word of encouragement as it is a thing that when I remember it...it makes my day SO much better. 

I must first remember this valuable Word from the Lord: DO NOT WORRY. Then, I must recognize it and call it our for what it is...worry. Lastly, I must trust Jesus. So much of worry has to do with time. We must seek His Presence right now in the PRESENT moment. What is it you worry about? Seek Him right there.

End Challenge:  

Take 5 minutes right here to be alone with just you and God and ask Him to help you trust in Him and His plan for whatever it is that worries your spirit. What is something you can do today that you would normally go ahead and just do, but in which it would be better to first pray? Do that. Be with God first. Go join Mary and listen to the Lord.

Blessed Days

Tonight was a sweet night. This whole week so far has been a sweet week, day by day. Perhaps it's the Lord's way of saying "Happy Birthday!" Which will be this weekend, and no doubt being surrounded by friends will only bless me more. 

Monday was the first official Shadow Mountain Young Life club since 2005. God is faithful. "Baby" club...hilarious. What's not to love about 25 or so full grown humans walking around with diapers over their outfits? So awkward. Glorious. We've been working hard with hopeful eyes to see what the Lord wants to do at Shadow. It's tiresome, yes, but so fulfilling.

{Isaiah 40:28-31}

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Tuesday held our weekly RC (redemption community) with our church family. I love them all - it was a time of laughter and sharing and learning. We spoke of men and women and how they are created. Although it wasn't necessarily relevant to the conversation - the Lord cast my vision and thoughts to think about the present...and there is contentment in the now, rather than the past or the future.

{Proverbs 27:1}

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Wednesday. There were many joys of today, including conversing with my dad about spiritual things and spending time talking about life over a DQ Blizzard with the most adorable, spunky Young Life girl I've ever met. The most joyous part of my day though was this: a night hike with a couple Young Life girls who recently graduated and have moved into the "college-age" phase of their life. They are best friends and make me laugh a ton. During our hike, which really entailed walking for 5 minutes and plopping on a mountain top for an hour (hehe) the wind was blowing beautifully.

{John 3:5-7}

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit was very present in our time together, leading. I could sense the Lord strongly both in my heart as well as physically on our pathway. One of these girls (women, now!) accepted Christ last month and the other re-dedicated her life to Him this past Sunday. I was even overcome at times with tears, a surprised emotional response...I think just to God! I may have imagined it, but I thought I saw one of the girls wiping a tear from her face at the same time my eyes watered during our conversation about this newness.

{Colossians 3:1-16}

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

The world and all of us people in it have many ideas about who Jesus was and is. When we meet again next week - here was my challenge to them and to myself - the same question Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" Who do they believe Jesus really is in their life?

{Mark 8: 27-29}

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”