Rediscover Groups- Community TITLE: Love Must be Lived TEXT: Romans 12:9-21 THEME: The believer should demonstrate the love of Christ to the good and the evil.

True love manifests itself in sacrificial action. Love and sacrifice goes hand-in-hand with husbands and wives, with brother’s and sister’s, with teammates, with business partners, with God and humanity.

Romans 12:1, 2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds that you might be able to prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

John R. W. Stott Romans 12 uses “staccato imperatives”

How is the sincere believer to demonstrate the love of God to:

1.Those who share your faith (9-13)

Romans 12: Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality

I Cor. 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1.Those who share your faith (9- 13) A. Love is sincere and morally discerning. (9.

1.Those who share your faith (9- 13) A. Love is sincere and morally discerning. (9. B. Love values others. (10)

1.Those who share your faith (9- 13) A. Love is sincere and morally discerning. (9. B. Love values others. (10) C. Love is zealously devoted to Christian service. (11)

I John 4:10-12 “10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

1.Those who share your faith (9- 13) A. Love is sincere and morally discerning. (9. B. Love values others. (10) C. Love is zealously devoted to Christian service. (11) D. Love responds positively to trials. (12

1.Those who share your faith (9- 13) A. Love is sincere and morally discerning. (9. B. Love values others. (10) C. Love is zealously devoted to Christian service. (11) D. Love responds positively to trials. (12 E. Love practices generosity and hospitality. (13)

Tony Campolo, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE “Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most: when they done good and make things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning, because that ain’t the time at all. IT’S WHEN HE’S AT HIS LOWEST and can’t believe in himself ’cause the world done whipped him so.

Tony Campolo, THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING LEFT TO LOVE “When you start measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you take into account what hills and valleys he came through before he got to where he is."

How is the sincere believer to demonstrate the love of God to:

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21)

Romans 12: Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

Romans 12: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

Romans 12: On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21) A.Love reacts positively to persecution. (14)

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21) A.Love reacts positively to persecution. (14) B.Love empathizes with the others. (15)

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21) A.Love reacts positively to persecution. (14) B.Love empathizes with the others. (15) C.Love humbly treats the down-and-out with respect. (16)

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21) A.Love reacts positively to persecution. (14) B.Love empathizes with the others. (15) C.Love humbly treats the down-and-out with respect. (16) D.Love refuses to react in kind to evil. (17- 18)

II.Those who are hostile toward your faith. (14-21) A.Love reacts positively to persecution. (14) B.Love empathizes with the others. (15) C.Love humbly treats the down-and-out with respect. (16). D.Love refuses to react in kind to evil. (17- 18) E.Love rejects all motives of revenge. (19- 21)

Jude 23 LB "Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. HATE EVERY TRACE OF THEIR SIN WHILE BEING MERCIFUL TO THEM AS SINNERS."

Love Love sacrifices the luxury of tearing into someone with your words or the luxury of a false-impression.

Love Love sacrifices the luxury of tearing into someone with your words or the luxury of a false-impression. Sincere love knows sacrifice.

Love Love sacrifices the luxury of tearing into someone with your words or the luxury of a false-impression. Sincere love knows sacrifice. Sincere love requires concentration on what is happening within ourselves and those around us. Sincere love requires effort on our part.

Love Love sacrifices the luxury of tearing into someone with your words or the luxury of a false-impression. Sincere love knows sacrifice. Sincere love requires concentration on what is happening within ourselves and those around us. Sincere love requires effort on our part. It means helping others become better people.

Quotation: “You are not necessarily called to do something great; you are called to do small things with great love.”

APPLICATION Our response to demeaning portrayals of our faith should be different than how some Islamic extremists responded to the “Innocence of Muslims”.

APPLICATION Our response to demeaning portrayals of our faith should be different than how some Islamic extremists responded to the “Innocence of Muslims”. Life groups are a key way in which we can demonstrate love. We want to be a caring community of believers who demonstrate sacrificial love to those who share our faith and those who are hostile to it.

The moral of the story is this: BY CLINGING TO THE GOOD IN ONE ANOTHER’S LIVES we became a blessing to others. Instead of focusing on the bad, they focused on the good and built on that good. And if we will do that in our relationships to one another it will help to make things right when things go wrong!

Life Groups allows us as a church to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” Romans 12:10

Life Groups allows us as a church to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” Romans 12:10 When we see good in people’s lives we should "give honor to whom honor is due." (Rom. 13:7)