Good morning dear Church family and friends,

The church father, Jerome, said that when the apostle John was in his extreme old age, he was so weak that he had to be carried into the church meetings. At the end of the meeting he would be helped to his feet to give a word of exhortation to the church. Invariably, he would repeat, “Little children, let us love one another.” The disciples began to grow weary of the same words every time, and they finally asked him why he always said the same thing over and over. He replied, “Because it is the Lord’s commandment, and if this only is done, it is enough” (cited by John Stott, The Epistles of John [Eerdmans], p. 49).

As we come to these verses, we may identify with those early believers. John has already emphasized the importance of love in 2:7-11. He hit it again in 3:11-18. We may be prone to say, “Okay, brother, we’ve got that one down now. Let’s move on to something else.”  But John not only repeats the imperative to love one another in 4:7-5:4, but he also hits it longer and harder than at any other point in the book! He wants to make sure that we understand that love is NOT an optional virtue for the believer. It is to be the distinguishing mark of the church in the world. John goes so far as to say that if you do not love others, you do not know God (4:8). So we all need to examine our own lives by this supreme standard! [cited from Bible.org, Lesson 19: Why We Must Love (1 John 4:7-11)]

Ice Breaker: What was one thing that your parents reminded you to do that caused you to think, “Enough already! I got it, you don’t need to keep reminding me”?

Overview: 1 John 4:7-11 – (read the text)

Application Questions:

1. Practically, how should we show love to a “difficult” person? Do we confront his sin or overlook it? Where are the boundaries? Who will you show this kind of love to this week?
2. Why is it important to think carefully about the different ways that the Bible speaks of God’s love? What errors result if we ignore these differences? How do we integrate them? What are some practical ways you can practice “Biblical” love?
3. Since no one loves perfectly, how do we apply verses 7 & 8?  How much love must we demonstrate to know that we are born again? 
4. How does our demonstrating loving people the way that God loves us bear witness of Christ’s love for them?

May the Lord find you faithful in studying His word! Gayla and I are praying you have a good rest of the week and look forward to seeing you Sunday in worship service. Bring someone with you!