Live in God’s Love: Action Steps

*Read through the entire book of 1 John in one sitting noting verses that refer to love

*Write down thoughts that the Spirit brings to mind and uses to pierce your heart

*Love another person by identifying and meeting a practical need—physical or emotional.

*Identify your own “love language” or “Top 10 Relational Needs” and share it with a fellow “pilgrim disciple”

*Design an “application project” to obey one command that the Spirit impresses upon you (i.e. loving someone in a self-sacrificing, practical way)

*Ask the Spirit to empower you to obediently apply the truth in your everyday life

*Share your insights and/or application with an accountability partner, email to the pastor, on “pastor’s blog”, or on our Facebook page

*Prepare a word of testimony about God’s activity in and through your obedience

Sunday’s Sermon Slides:  Connecting w/ God: Live in God’s Love

8 Comments to Live in God’s Love: Action Steps

1. 

   When some of the young couples of the church got married the Zieglers invited us all to their house and gave us all this book….and i have to say from the time we started reading the content til now we Mathias and I realize(in most cases)how to react to each other. It is one thing to say that you are a Christian and you love God and you are trying to walk in Christ, but it is hard to understand and communicate with another person if you don’t know what they are initially or looking for. For example my biggest love language is quality time. And when my husband finally learned that and really to it to heart, he knew then how to give me the love that i require of him without having me have to beg him. So when i ask him to spend time with me or come home early from work so just hangout…whenever it is possible he comes home. He sees this as God’s love and his heavenly father speaking to him and telling him this is how to love your wife. And this works both ways I affirm his status in our relationship. I let him know that the role he has in the family is important and does matter and to encourage him to continue being what God wants him to be and that is a loving husband and father. I like that fact that we have these tools to help us…I don’t think there is anyway God would say we should “love our neighbor” without showing us how.
kenya on July 20th, 2010
2. 

   Kenya, thanks for the feedback! I grew up seeing “acts of service” modeled by my father so that’s what I gave Laurie thinking that was how I was to show love. While she appreciates the “acts of service” it didn’t have the impact of “words of affirmation.” When I learned that it made a big difference in our relationship. I, too, am grateful for tools like the “5 Love Languages.” I would encourage you to explore the “Top Ten Relational Needs” and seeing how that can bring a new dimension to loving relationships especially in your marriage. Ask me about it sometime. Now I communicate love to Laurie in a way that speaks loudly and clearly. Of course, I still have to make a choice–selfishness or self-sacrifice…or shall I say sinfulness or faith. If I die to myself and choose the way of faith, God strengthens me to give myself in self-sacrificing, practical ways to my wife. Learning to “love one another.” Scott
Scott on July 20th, 2010
3. 

   We were also among the recipients of the “love languages” book. A truly life-changing book for us. I can’t say enough how instrumental the understanding of different personality types has been in my life, both in relating to myself, to God and to others. I think I’d like to talk more about that in August…
Jeff on July 21st, 2010
4. 

   Jeff, I’ve really benefited from discussions about personality, one of the components of our God-given SHAPE [Spiritual giftedness, Heart's desire, Abilities, Personality, Experiences]. What resources have you found helpful and useful? I’ve enjoyed the “Type Talk” modified Myers-Briggs especially, but it is only a tool and not the final word! Let’s talk about it in August! BTW…cool picture! I’m jealous.
Scott on July 21st, 2010
5. 

   Myers-Briggs has definitely been a good tool for me, but I have read many articles and different books that all touch upon the subject from a different angle. The most important discovery for me was that many of my struggles came not from sinful attitude but rather from a different personality. I had to understand how God made me in order to find out how He can best use me.
Jeff on July 23rd, 2010
6. 

   Amen!
Scott on July 23rd, 2010
7. 

   Bless u Pastor Scott.
   in the message of sunday 25-07-2010, the Lord taught and especially reassured me where i very much needed it. the bible says to cross-check teachings and prove the spirits. i’ve been doing this for a long time now but i recently came under very strong criticism for that. so much so that i started doubting myself and badly needed that reassurance.
   u know, in my society of origin (west-central africa), a man of God is expected to be seen almost as the Pope: infallible, … u even said just like Paul said to the Bereans, that we cross-check even your own teaching, that it is o.k. to do so.
   finally, the thing about the three persons of God and the error of emphasizing on one alone, was very eye-opening as i look at the churck landscape.
   bless u.
siven on July 27th, 2010
8. 

   Yes, Siven, “testing the spirits” is an important discipline that we all should practice–inside and outside the church. Discernment is needed to filter through a lot of what is presented as God’s truth in sermons, Bible studies, books, internet; but we also need discernment to guard our minds and hearts from the subtle yet powerful “anti-Christ” messages that bombard us from outside the church. For example, even though I enjoyed watching the movie “Avatar” I think it important to critically evaluate the message that it presented–while the earth is indeed the good creation of God and is to be cared for in ways that honor God, the earth is not an object of worship. Regarding, a “trinitarian balance”…I think that ALL of us good benefit from moving toward a greater understanding and more practical application of Father-Son-Holy Spirit in our everyday living. Bless you back!
Scott on August 4th, 2010

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