Online Connect Group // Renewed // Week 7
Posted August 1st, 2020 — Lincoln Berean
August 2nd, 2020 // Help Others Do the Same: Part 1 // Luke 10:25-37
Introduction
This week, we started unpacking the final section of our vision statement: Coming together: to know Jesus, be more like Him, and help others do the same.
As Ryan explained, seeking to know and be more like Jesus should transform our hearts and actions. The natural outflow of being like Jesus is loving God and our neighbors.
We don’t provide a lot of space for your answers to these questions, so we suggest having a journal handy to write down your thoughts. You’re not expected to have time for all these questions during your online meeting, but we encourage you to reflect on them and jot down thoughts on your own.
Getting to Know Each Other (Suggested time: 30 min)
Begin your group time by learning more about each other. Open up and have some fun!
- Have you always lived in Lincoln? If not, what brought you here?
- Other than your home, what place do you visit most often, and why?
Getting Started
Begin to transition into group discussion.
1) Hosts can pray to open the group or ask someone else to lead out. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. God to reveal His truth and love for the group
b. Openness to each other and God’s voice
c. For friendships to deepen and grow
2) Invite someone to read Luke 10:25-37 to the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.
1) What part of Ryan’s sermon stood out to you most?
2) In Luke 10:25-28, the law expert paints a correct picture of what is necessary to inherit eternal life, and it’s a pretty tall order. First, we are to love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind.
Read Deuteronomy 6: 4-9.
a. When it came to God, what was your house/family like growing up? Did He play a significant role in how your family lived, was He only thought of occasionally or was He not brought up at all? What effect, if any, did that have on your upbringing?
b. What role does God play in your household today?
3) The second command is to love our neighbors as ourselves. We’ll see later in this passage that Jesus redefines ‘neighbor’ as anyone in our sphere of influence.
a. Can you list the names of all your ‘neighbors’?
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- Neighbors
- Work/School
- Places you shop/Visit
b. On that list, who is the hardest for you to love? This week, what could you do to love them more than yourself?
4) In verse 29, the expert in law pushes Jesus to clarify. He wants to know the boundaries so he can stay in the lines (i.e., “He can’t mean everyone. There have to be some people I don’t have to love!”).
Read Jonah 3:10 -4:10
a. Why do you think God wants us to show love – even to the people that have wronged, frustrated or annoyed us?
b. Are there areas in your Christian life in which you may be like the expert in the law, seeking only to do the bare minimum (prayer, patience, generosity, love, moderation, integrity, perseverance, etc.)? What’s keeping you from fully being like Jesus in those areas?
5) Ryan challenged us, not to just act like Jesus sometimes, but to be like Jesus in every situation.
a. The Good Samaritan loved his neighbor no matter the cost or cultural implications. If Lincoln Berean were filled with people who loved like that, how might it help us achieve the last part of our vision statement (Coming together: to know Jesus, be more like Him, and help others do the same)?
b. If we’re too focused on the road or destination, we can miss opportunities to be like the Good Samaritan. What could you do this week to make sure you’re looking for opportunities to love your ‘neighbor’ as yourself?
Group Prayer (Suggested time: 10 min)
Consider your answers to the questions above and take a few moments to prepare a prayer request.