Building our love characteristic and practicing Christian love takes a lifetime and life’s trials and experiences to apply what we learn. We need to be conscious of what it is and make a decision and a conscious effort to apply it in our daily lives.
It is only possible with God being our side and reminding us what to do. We can do it on our own but when real, hard trials overcome us, we may fall and no one to depend on. Jesus is our super booster, to be with us through hardships, and happy times as well.
Even in times of tribulations, there is peace, hope, faith, and joy.
The LORD is GOOD ALL THE TIME.
God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, they live!
Roundtable Discussion Q: How do you love one another?
Let us go through these line by line and study what it says, and give examples.
The Bible Says
Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away;
as for tongues, they will cease;
as for knowledge, it will pass away.
– 1st Corinthians 13
Action Item for the week
Think about who you know that has hurt you?
How can you forgive and reconcile to show love to them?
A G A P E : Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure.
Agape love is sometimes referred to in modern times as universal love, charity, or even altruism. Essentially, it’s the love inside us that we give freely to others—regardless of our relationship to them. Agape love is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. It is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.
Why does God Love Us?
Because God’s Love has no limit
Who wants love that sets conditions? “If you hurt my feelings, I'll stop loving you.” “If you don’t quit that habit I don’t like, I'll stop loving you.” “If you break any of these rules I set, I'll stop loving you.”
Many people have a wrong idea about God's love for them. They think it's based on their performance. If it were, not a single human being would qualify.
Because God's love is based on grace, a free gift for you
And Jesus Christ had to pay terrible price. When Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross to pay for your sins, you became acceptable to his Father through Jesus's merit, not your own. Jesus's acceptance by God will transfer to you if you believe in him.
The Bible Says "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." – John 3:16–17
That means for Christians, there are no “ifs” when it comes to God's love. Let's be clear, though. We don't have a license to go out and sin as much as we want. As a loving Father, God will discipline (correct) us. Sin still has consequences. But once you accept Christ, you have God's love, his unconditional love, for eternity.
When you're trying to find love, you'll have to agree you won't get that kind of devotion from another human being. Our love has limits. God's does not.
Because God Made Us
He knows exactly what you need. You may think you know yourself, but only he knows best. In heaven, we will learn that God always made the right decision for each of us based on love, no matter how painful or disappointing it seemed at the time.
No other person can ever know you as God does. That's why no other person can love you as he can.
The Bible Says For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10
Because God’s Love is Sustaining
Love can see you through hard times, and that's what the Holy Spirit does. He lives in each believer. The Holy Spirit is our personal, intimate connection to Jesus Christ and God the Father. When we need supernatural assistance, he takes our prayers to God then provides us with guidance and strength.
The Holy Spirit has been called the Helper, Comforter, and Counselor. He is all those things and more, displaying God's power through us if we surrender to him.
The Bible Says "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other." – John 15:9–17
The Bible Says "God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways." – Galatians 5:22–23
When trouble hits, you don't want a long-distance love. You may not be able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence within you, but your feelings are not reliable when it comes to God. You have to go by what the Bible tells to be true.
God's love for you lasts through eternity, giving you endurance for your journey here on earth and complete fulfillment in heaven.
• Be grateful and thankful for everything, bad or good.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Be thankful to God that he gave his son to forgive our sins. – Psalm 136:1–3 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever. – Romans 10:17
• Learn about him through the Bible. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
• Sing praises He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. – Psalm 40:3
• Spread the word about him so more people will know of him You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5
• Obedience to his commands and his guidance. "But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him." – 1 John 2:5
• Love him with all your might, strength, heart and soul And Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." – Luke 10:27
• Love his people Humans and his creations. "We love each other because he loved us first." – 1 John 4:19
Round Table Discussion
Q: How have you experienced God’s love? If so, how so?
Q: How do we love God back?
Action item for the week
When you wake up every morning, think of one wonderful simple thing that God has done for you or or be grateful for what you have.
Continue to mingle with each other and pray for each other.
Family love, the affectionate bond that develops naturally between parents and children, and brothers and sisters.
Many examples of family love are found in Scripture, such as the mutual protection among Noah and his wife, the love of Jacob for his sons, and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus.
The Bible Says However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. – Ephesians 5:33
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. – Exodus 20:12
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. – Colossians 3:20
CS Lewis on Storge Love:
Round Table Discussion
Q: The closer and more familiar we are as families, and when disputes/misunderstandings happen, how do we reconcile to each other?
Q: What are the attitudes to take when that happens?
Action Item for the Week
Take this opportunity to reconcile and show love and forgiveness to a family member or build better and closer relationships
Continue to mingle with each other and pray for each other.
E R O S : Intense sexual and passionate love
This sort of love is intense like a drug, you lose control in heat of passion, your mind could be in cloud 9, you can’t see clearly, you yearn, and wean like a love sick person, you get obsessive, or jealous, it turns your life upside down and some would die and kill for that sort of love. Wow what an incredible feeling.
Eros was a Greek god of lust and primal sexual desire. In fact, the word erotic comes from his name. He is personified in all kinds of love and lust, both heterosexual and homosexual, and was worshiped at the center of a fertility cult that honored both Eros and Aphrodite together. Love in the form of Eros seeks its own interest and satisfaction (Could be selfish)—to possess the object of love. God is very clear in the Bible that eros love is reserved for marriage.
The Bible uses Eros love in a marriage for husbands and wife. Eros is the word often used to express sexual love or the feelings of arousal that are shared between people who are physically attracted to one another. Eros is used in the Old Testament to express the physical and sensual intimacy between a husband and a wife.
The Bible Says
“Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is more delightful than wine. The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; your name is perfume poured out. No wonder young women adore you. Take me with you, let us hurry. Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers.”
– Song of Solomon 1: 2-4
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” – Hebrews 13:4
“Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” – 1 Corinthians 7:5
Round table Discussion
Q: Have you experienced this kind of love before?
Q: When eros, passion fades, how do we keep the flames burning? Or what are the things to keep the fire burning?
Action item for the week
- How can you build your relationship to a level of showing love?
- Continue to mingle with each other and pray for each other.
There are four types of love: philia . eros . storge . agape.
The strongest and most unselfish love is agape.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
– 1 Corinthians 13:13
P H I L I A : Friendship love, non sexual
Philia (Pronounced: FILL-ee-uh) is the type of intimate love in the Bible that most Christians practice toward each other. This Greek term describes the powerful emotional bond seen in deep friendships.
Philia originates from the Greek term phÃlos, a noun meaning "beloved, dear ... a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant held dear in a close bond of personal affection." The least demanding and and jealous kind of love!
Philia is the most general type of love in Scripture, encompassing love for fellow humans, care, respect, and compassion for people in need. The concept of brotherly and sisterly love that unites believers is unique to Christianity.
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
The Bible SaysJesus said philia would be an identifier of his followers: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." – John 13:35
Let brotherly/sisterly love continue. – Hebrews 13:1
And godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. – 2 Peter 1:7,
Introduction
The subject will be on the universal language of love - it will be a general discussion about a topic that everyone can relate to, both believers and non-believers.
We will study the essential kinds of love: philia, eros, storge and agape. These are the attitudes of love.
We will also study why God loves us, and how to love God and people. These are the two most important requests that Jesus taught us to practice in life.
The Bible Says And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” – Luke 10:27 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31
Patrick Duffey is a miracle child! God's love is amazing!
Round Table Discussion
Q: Introduce yourself 10 mins.
Name, where they came from, what they do?
Q: How did you hear about this group and come to join this small group?
Q: In loo, of all that has been happening in regards to the protestors and racism, how can we show another way of a loving statement?
Action item for the week
At the least, pick one name and spend 10 mins in a week, getting to know the other during the week. It could be as simple as sending a text or photo as a way of saying “Hello, what’s up?”, or sending an email to give info of interest to the other, etc., or sending your social media footprint.
This will go on for the next 6 weeks. At the end of this, you will know at least 6 or more people, apply and remember the love lessons to build your character in love.
