STARTING to go where God wants you to be
Session 1: "What on Earth am I Here For?"
Friday, September 3, 2004
We were not meant to live life alone--God surrounded us with people (other brothers and sisters in Christ) to live and share our lives with. Sometimes, we say we want to be left alone but often times, we really mean the opposite. We end up pushing people away due to many things--fear, rejection, etc.
What's so important while living on this earth is relationships. Not superficial relationships but real true deep meaningful ones. The more we learn about God's word, the better we'll understand how God created us to be in these deep and meaningful relationships. We need to start building a relationship with God so that we can build a closer relationship with others.
In order to really put our real selves out there, we need to start allowing others to get to know the real "us". Once this starts to happen, we will begin to experience a deeper, richer, and more rewarding life. This can change you forever!
We all know that everybody hides behind a "mask" to some degree. It might be because we don't want to reveal too much of ourselves too soon in fear of getting hurt so we test relationships with little bits of information at a time when we think it's safe. But if you want others to really get to know the real you, the challenge will be to put yourself a little more at risk by being more open than you normally feel comfortable doing. If you stop hiding from relationships and start putting yourself out there, you'll start to build stronger relationships and friendships. It'll be worth the risk. Besides, no one is perfect so why should others expect you to be perfect? Sometimes our imperfections are what help us build stronger friendships with others.
Scripture: Matthew 22:34-40
Questions:
What do you know about the Sadducees and the Pharisees? Why would they try to test Jesus? What kind of test was this?
In your own words, what does it mean to love God? Jesus says to “love your neighbor as yourself.” What does he mean?
Does every person love himself or herself? Explain your thinking. What implications do your ideas have about loving others the way Jesus commanded?
What’s one extreme act of love you’ve seen someone else show (either to you or someone else)?
Loving God and loving others cannot be separated in our daily living. Living life together with God means living life together with others and vice versa. When we truly love God, he will give us the power to love others as well. One of the main points of life on earth is learning to love.
Reflection:
Think about any fears you experienced the last time you took a risk to get to know someone on a deeper level.
Why do you find it difficult to open up with others?
What keeps you from loving God like you want to?
For Further Study....
Leviticus 19:9-18
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ; 10:12-13
Proverbs 4:23
1 John 3:16-18 ; 7:7-12; 7:20-21
Daily Bible Reading:
Jeremiah 29:11
Philippians 3:7-11
Matthew 5:13-16
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
John 1:12-14
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 6:5 | 
