series artseries art

How to Love Your Neighbor

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. Romans 13:8-10 NLT

LOVE LIKE JESUS LOVES US

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34 NLT

LOVING LIKE JESUS STARTS WITH RECOGNIZING AND RECEIVING THE LOVE OF JESUS

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:21 NIV

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 NLT

LOVING LIKE JESUS REQUIRES LOVING JESUS

Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you. Matthew 22:37 TPT

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 NIV

LOVING LIKE JESUS POINTS OTHERS TO THE LOVE OF JESUS

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:35 NIV

My Notes

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a place and a time where you can best focus on God. Turn aside from the daily concerns and focus your mind and heart on God alone. Eliminate distractions and, when you are ready, begin your time by imagining God thinking about you. How do you think he feels when you come to mind? What thoughts do you think he thinks of you? As you consider God’s thoughts toward you and his love for you, what feelings or emotions come to the surface? Talk to him about those emotions. There may be things you need to confess to him in this moment, but his thoughts toward you are mercy and grace and love. Take some time to simply sit in and celebrate his great love for you. As you allow yourself to experience and be overwhelmed by his love for you, what loving response does that trigger in you? Talk to God about the ways you find it easy to love him. Talk to him also about some of the ways that are more challenging for you. Spend some time planning ways to address those challenges. Finally, ask God to reveal to you ways that you can better reflect him to others around you, leading them to understand God’s love in new and deeper ways. Think of at least one way to engage one person this week and point them toward the love of God.

Discussion Questions

  1. What have you been learning about yourself, God or others in your personal Bible reading time? What stood out to you this week?
  2. Read Jude 1:21 and Romans 5:8. What happens in your head and heart when you think about recognizing and receiving the love of Jesus? What questions come to mind?
  3. Take a moment to answer a question straight from the sermon: If you were to imagine God thinking about you, how do you think he feels when you come to mind? What thoughts do you think he thinks of you?
  4. Read 1 John 4:1. As you think about the ways that Jesus has loved you, how does that affect your love for God? Are there ways in which it feels easy to love God? Are there ways that you wished you loved God more?
  5. Read John 13:35. Taking this verse into account, what is one way that you love others that shows God’s heart for them? What is one way that you are not loving to people and how do you think that could negatively affect the way people understand God’s love?