Message Series: Hello Neighbor
Week 1
Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40
Group Check in:
How is it with your soul?
Prayer Request? Praises?
How has God shown up in your life this week?
Icebreaker:
How many neighbors do you truly know in your neighborhood, beyond just names?
Overview:
Jesus puts it simple for us: LOVE GOD & LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS
What if when Jesus said to love your neighbor, he means your ACTUAL, PHYSICAL neighbor?
You cannot love God without loving your neighbor as yourself.
It’s not complicated. We aren’t saying it’s an easy task, but it’s simpler than we have made it out to be. God has been chasing the transformation of the world around us since the beginning of time. The solution to all this is YOU…it is US! We are the solution. We must follow Jesus’ command to love God AND love our neighbors. You can’t have one without the other. If we do these two commandments, then the implications of all of this will be extraordinary.
You cannot understand those who you do not engage with. Isolation of each other causes us to misunderstand one another. It causes frustration and anger. As we increase our understanding of one another, we can decrease the fear. As a result, the fear diminishes so does the anger.
Discussion Questions:
Read Matthew 22:34-40. Why does the lawyer ask Jesus this question? What is his goal?
What does Jesus mean by the word “love”? See also Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Leviticus 19:18, and Galatians 5:13-15.
Jesus invites us to love God with all our heart. What does it look like to love God with our entire heart? What holds us back from loving God with all our heart?
Jesus invites us to love God with all our mind. How can we love God with our mind this week?
Jesus invites us to love God with all our soul (Matthew 22:37). Read the following passages together: Matthew 11:29, Mark 8:36-37, Luke 1:46. And 1 Peter 2:11. How do all these passages provide guidelines on what it looks like to love God with all our soul?
Which of these two commandments is more difficult for you to keep? Why?
What does it look like to love your neighbor?
What does it look like to keep ourselves accountable to joining with God on his mission in our neighborhood?
Apply this to your life: Think about this last week. In what ways did you fall short of the command:
To love God with all your heart, soul, and mind?
To love your neighbors as yourself?
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