work of a r t FAITH DISCUSSION GUIDE
w e l c o m e t o y o u r fa i t h d i s c u s s i o n g u i d e ! It i s God ’s p rom i se to you th a t as yo u c o nt inue t o lo ve e a c h ot he r a nd se e k H i s w i s d om in y our re l ati on sh i p, He wi l l r e ve a l himse lf t o y ou in b e a ut if ul w a y s. Be s u r e to h av e y our Bibl e h a ndy. I f you don ’ t ha ve a c c e ss t o one , c he c k out t he B ib le Ga tew a y a pp av ailab le o n your Appl e or Android d e vic e . W e all hav e uni que s trengths a nd w e a k ne sse s. In a r e la t ionship , t he se c a n w o r k to g e ther like a bea uti fu l pi e c e of art ; oc c a siona lly , t he se d if f e r e nc e s c a n a lso c a u s e f r i c tion. A n importa nt l e ss on we c an le a r n f r om t he Ap ost le Pa ul’ s t e a c hing is h o w to p r a ct ice lov e in th os e m om e nts. 1 Cor int hians 13 :4-7: “Love i s pat ie nt a nd k ind ; love d oe s not e nvy or b oa s t; i t i s not arroga nt or ru de. I t does no t insist on it s ow n w a y ; it is no t ir r it a b le o r resent f ul; it doe s not rej oi c e at w r o ngd oing, b ut r e jo ic e s w it h t he t r ut h. Lo v e b ears all t hi ngs, be l i e ve s a l l th i n gs, hop e s a ll t hings, e nd ur e s a ll t hings. ” P a u l wrot e his l e tte r to the Cori nthia ns in a n e f f or t t o e xp la in t ha t se e mingly g o o d d e e d s could b e h a rm ful wi thou t l ovi ng int e nt . Pa ul st r e sse s t ha t lo ve is a ve r b ; i t i s a c ti o n, not t alk! I t i s very e a sy to a d mit our lo ve f or e a c h ot he r ve r b a lly , b ut l et th i s p a s sage challenge your dai l y a c ti ons. L e t ’ s w a lk t hr o ugh e a c h of it s c ha r a c t e r i s ti c s . A s y o u go, t alk t hrough th e di s c uss i on q ue st io ns a nd f ill in t he b la nk s t o ge t he r .
love is patient Fo r most , t his are a i s a n opportuni ty a nd gr ow t h. Pa t ie nc e c a lls f o r a d e lib e r a te a n d w i l l f ul at t it ud e, dem an di ng g e ne rous a mo unt s o f humilit y a nd se lf - c ont r ol. As y o u g o th r o ugh y our d a y, you m a y n ot be aw a r e o f just how ma ny o p p o r t unit ie s y ou h a v e to p r a ct ice p at ienc e toward e a c h othe r . Can you r ecal l a time when c ontinued p a ti e n c e th r o u gh a p a r ti c u l a r c i r c u m sta n c e l e d t o p o s i ti v e ch an g es in yo ur relatio nship? I f e el l oved wh e n you show me patienc e b y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
love is kind D o you seek t o m e e t th e n e e ds of yo ur p a r t ne r w it ho ut t hought of r e p a y me nt? A re y o u g e n tl e and f orgi vi ng whe n wronge d? Kind ne ss is a n a sp e c t o f t r ue se lf le ss lo v e th a t ca n make a grea t i m pa c t on th e l i fe of o ur lo ve d one . W hat p r omp ts yo u to be kind thro ugh o u t th e d a y ? ( To se e h e r sm i l e ? Wh e n h e d o e s s o m eth i n g n i ce first?. . . ) I f e el l oved b y yo u when you show me k i n d n e ss b y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
it does not envy or boast P a u l cont inues on “. . . l ove does not e nvy or b oa st ; it is not a r r o ga nt o r r ud e . I t do es n o t insist on its own wa y; i t i s not ir r it a b le or r e se nt f ul. ” To b e e nvious, b o a s tfu l a n d pr o u d is a v icio us c yc l e! We wa nt wha t ot he r s ha ve . W e w a nt ot he r s t o w a nt w h a t w e h a v e . To b e f re e from th i s c yc l e i n yo ur r e la t io nship w ill e na b le y ou t o a c t w i th s e l f less lov e. I d en ti f y on e or two idols in your life th a t m i gh t p u l l y o u i n to th i s c y c l e ( m o n e y , c a r e e r , s t at u s…) I f eel l ov ed b y yo u when you show me se l f l e ssn e ss b y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
it rejoices with the truth “ I t d oes not rej oi c e at wron gdoi n g, b ut r e joic e s w it h t he t r ut h. L ove b e a r s a ll th i n g s , be l i ev es all t hi n gs, h ope s a l l th i n gs, e nd ur e s a ll t hings. ” W e r e joic e in t r ut h w h en w e s e e our lov ed one ac t i n ac c orda nc e w it h G o d ’ s t r ut h. In t he sa me w a y , w e gr i ev e w h en th e y f all int o si n , j u st a s God g ri e ve s ove r our sin a nd r e jo ic e s in o ur r e p e nt an c e. L o ving someone i n th e i r s i n does not me a n t ur ning a b lind e y e . It c a n b e d if f i c u l t to c o n front sin, but to prote c t, tru st, h op e a nd p e r se ve r e is t o lo o k sinf ul st r ug g l es dea d i n the f ace and c onqu e r the m wi th t e nd e r ne ss a nd lo ve t oge t he r . C a n y ou r ecal l a time when a harmful d e c i si o n c a u se d y o u to c h a l l e n ge o r b e c h a l l e n g e d by you r p ar tn er? I f eel l ov ed b y yo u when you tenderly c h a l l e n ge m e b y _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
prayer and reflection T a k e a few minute s to refl ec t on yo ur a nsw e r s a b o ve . In w ha t a r e a s a r e y o u s tr u g g l i n g to s how lov e? F ee l free to el abora te on a ny a r e a s. C l o s e out y our di sc u ss i on wi th a ti m e of p r a y e r . If y o u’ r e not sur e w he r e t o s ta r t, pr a y th e se w ord s: D ear Lord , Thank Y ou for be i n g a l ovi n g, gr a c ious G od . Tha nk Yo u f or o f f e r ing us forgiv eness an d the g i ft of ne w lif e t hr o ugh Yo ur son. W e p r a y t ha t You w o u l d remind us dai l y tha t l ove i s a c tio n a nd t ha t no t hing is mor e imp o r t a nt t h a n i nt ent ionall y l ovi ng one an oth e r . C ha lle nge o ur he a r t s t o d e ny t he ir se lf i s h desires and l i ft e a c h othe r up i n love . Amen.
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