40 Days of Love Bible Study Guide: We Were Made for Relationships - Softcover

Warren, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0310326877 ISBN 13: 9780310326878

Publisher: HarperChristian Resources, 2009

Synopsis

What is your number one priority in life?

Your answer to that question reveals your dominant life value. Everyone has one whether they realize it or not. It’s what we unconsciously base our decisions on.

Through this six-session video-based Bible study (DVD/streaming video sold separately), 40 Days of Love, pastor Rick Warren―author of bestselling books The Purpose Driven Life and The Daniel Plan―teaches you how to constantly focus on authentically loving God and loving others as your deepest desire and highest aspiration.

God tells us that our dominant life value is to love and be loved. Jesus once said that of all the commands in the Bible, two are most important: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

In this six-session study, Warren shares practical, Christ-centered advice on how to authentically love God and love your neighbor as a normal way of life. With a focus on the spiritual truths of patience, kindness, truth, and forgiveness, you will learn to make love your dominant life value.

This Study Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, a helpful Leader’s Guide and much more. It's designed to be used with the companion 40 Days of Love DVD (sold separately).

Sessions include:

1. Love Matters Most
2. Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind
3. Love Speaks The Truth
4. Love Is Forgiving
5. Love Is Not Selfish
6. The Habits of a Loving Heart

About this title

About the Author

A Time magazine cover article named Rick Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Tens of millions of copies of Pastor Rick’s books have been published in 200 languages. His best-known books, The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, were named three times in national surveys of pastors (by Gallup, Barna, and Lifeway) as the two most helpful books in print.

Rick and his wife, Kay, founded Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He is the cofounder of Celebrate Recovery with John Baker.

Pastor Rick has spoken in 165 nations. He has spoken at the United Nations, US Congress, numerous parliaments, the World Economic Forum, TED, Aspen Institute, and lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and other universities.

Rick is executive director of Finishing the Task, a global movement of denominations, organizations, churches, and individuals working together on the Great Commission goals of ensuring that everyone everywhere has access to a Bible, a believer, and a local body of Christ.

From the Back Cover

What is your number one priority in life? Renowned pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren teaches us that LOVE is to be that priority -- loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself. But in today's world, consumed with everyday challenges, flooded by distractions, and bombarded with temptations ... how do you arrange your life to make loving God and loving your neighbors your deepest desire, highest aspiration, and constant focus? In this six-session group DVD study, Rick Warren shares practical, Christ-centered advice on how to authentically do just that ... love God and love your neighbor as a normal way of life. With a focus on the spiritual truths of patience, kindness, truth, and forgiveness, you will learn to love like Jesus---in 40 Days. The 40 Days of Love Study Guide will help you fully engage with the six-session group DVD study. The six DVD session titles are: Session One: Love Matters Most Session Two: Love is Patient, Love is Kind Session Three: Love Speaks the Truth Session Four: Love is Forgiving Session Five: Love is not Selfish Session Six: The Habits of a Loving Heart [Thumbnail DVD image] Designed for use with the 40 Days of Love DVD.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

40 Days of Love DVD Study Guide

By Rick Warren

ZONDERVAN

Copyright © 2009 Rick Warren
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-32687-8

Contents

Understanding Your Study Guide.................................7How to Use This Video Curriculum...............................11SESSION ONE: Love Matters Most.................................13SESSION TWO: Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind.....................25SESSION THREE: Love Speaks the Truth...........................39SESSION FOUR: Love Is Forgiving................................53SESSION FIVE: Love Is Not Selfish..............................65SESSION SIX: The Habits of a Loving Heart......................75Helps for Hosts................................................86Frequently Asked Questions.....................................91Small Group Calendar...........................................94Group Guidelines...............................................95Circles of Life: Small Group Connections.......................97Small Group Prayer and Praise Report...........................99Releasing Anger and Bitterness.................................103Serving the Lord's Supper......................................106Answer Key.....................................................108Key Verses.....................................................110

Chapter One

Understanding Your Study Guide

Here is a brief explanation of the features of this study guide.

Looking Ahead/Catching Up: You will open each meeting with an opportunity for everyone to check in with each other about how you are doing with the weekly assignments. Accountability is a key to success in this study!

Key Verse: each week you will find a key verse or Scripture passage for your group to read together. If someone in the group has a different translation, ask them to read it aloud so the group can get a bigger picture of the meaning of the passage.

Video Lessons: There is a video lesson for the group to watch together. Fill in the blanks in the lesson outlines as you watch the video, and be sure to refer back to these outlines during your discussion time.

Discovery Questions: each video segment is complemented by several questions for group discussion. Please don't feel pressured to discuss every single question. Give everyone ample opportunity to share their thoughts. If you don't get through all of the discussion questions, that's okay.

Living on Purpose: in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, Rick warren identifies God's five purposes for our lives. They are worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. We will focus on one of these five purposes in each lesson, and discuss how it relates to the subject of the study. This section is very important, so please be sure to leave time for it.

Diving Deeper: The material in this small group study is designed to complement the book, The Relationship Principles of Jesus, by Tom Holladay (Zondervan, 2008). Each week, this section will direct you to readings from the book for greater understanding of the topic.

Prayer Direction: At the end of each session you will find suggestions for your group prayer time. Praying together is one of the greatest privileges of small group life. Please don't take it for granted.

Your group will not just be studying love-you will be practicing love. Everyone will greatly benefit by doing the Putting it into Practice and reaching out Together activities.

Putting It into Practice: This is where the rubber meets the road. We don't want to be just hearers of the word. We also need to be doers of the word (James 1:22). This section provides an opportunity for each group member to focus on one relationship each week (a "One Person Assignment"). It is introduced in more detail in Session one on page 21. Because it encourages individuals to develop or deepen relationships, it is an important part of 40 Days of Love.

Reaching Out Together: A practical action of love that your group will plan and do together for someone else. This ministry project is introduced in Session Two (page 35) and also discussed in Session Five (page 71).

Host Tips: These brief instructions are helpful coaching hints for your group host. Here's your first tip:

HOST TIP

The study guide material is meant to be your servant, not your master. The point is not to race through the sessions; the point is to take time to let God work in your lives. nor is it necessary to "go around the circle" before you move on to the next question. Give people the freedom to speak, but don't insist that they do. Your group will enjoy deeper, more open sharing and discussion if people don't feel pressured to speak up.

How to Use This Video Curriculum

Follow these four simple steps for a successful small group meeting:

1. Open your group meeting by using the Looking Ahead or Catching up sections of your study guide.

2. Watch the video lesson together and follow along in the outlines in this study guide.

3. Complete the rest of the discussion materials for each session, including the Living on Purpose and Prayer Direction sections.

4. Review the Putting it into Practice and Diving Deeper assignments and commit to doing them before your next meeting.

READ THE BOOK!

To maximize the impact of this study, we recommend that each participant have a copy of this study guide and the book The Relationship Principles of Jesus, by Tom Holladay, teaching pastor at Saddleback Church. Reading assignments and in-group review of The Relationship Principles of Jesus are a vital part of this learning experience. The book will become a valuable, permanent resource for review and sharing once you have completed this study.

Looking Ahead

1. Welcome to 40 Days of Love. If your group is new or if you have new members, take time to briefly introduce yourselves and to review the Group Guidelines on page 95-96.

2. Share with the group what you hope to get out of this study.

3. If you search the internet for love songs, you will find more than thirty-nine million entries! Name some of your favorites, and discuss what they say about love.

Key Verse Let love be your highest goal! 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NLT)

HOST TIP

The key verse establishes the theme and binds the group with the "glue" of God's word. Have someone read the passage aloud.

Watch the Session One video now and fill in the blanks in the outline on pages 15-18. Refer back to the outline during your discussion time.

Love Matters Most

The Bible can be summarized in one word: relationship.

Three Reasons Why Love Needs to Be Your Number One Priority

1. Love is the ____________________________ in life.

37 Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39 NLT)

Get the message: relationships-love-is what matters most in life.

The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14 NIV)

Human love wears out, but God's love lasts forever.

2. Love is the ______________________________ of life.

If I don't live a life of love ... nothing I ______________ will matter.

If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT)

Words without love are worthless.

If I don't live a life of love ... nothing I _________ will matter.

I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge ... if I do not have love, then I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2 NCV)

Brilliance without love equals zero.

If I don't live a life of love ... nothing I ______________________ will matter.

Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love. (1 Corinthians 13:2 TLB)

Faith without love does not matter.

If I don't live a life of love ... nothing I _________ will matter.

If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body ... but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever. (1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT)

Giving is not necessarily loving.

If I don't live a life of love ... nothing I ______________ will matter.

No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. (1 Corinthians 13:3 MSG)

Relationships are more important than accomplishments.

3. Love is the ________________________ in life.

There are three things that will endure-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT)

God has shown us how to leave a lasting legacy-fill your life with love.

To deepen your love:

Commit to meet with your small group these next six weeks.

Commit to go to church together each weekend during this study.

Do the daily reading in The Relationship Principles of Jesus.

Practice acting in unselfish and loving ways.

Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (Ephesians 5:2 MSG)

Discovery Questions

HOST TIP

Please don't feel pressured to answer every question.

1. "I love ice cream. I love my kids. I love God. I love those shoes." What does this tell us about the meaning of the word "love"?

2. Who is the most loving person you have ever known, and what did their life look like?

3. What practical advice do you think they would give about how to show love to the people in your life?

4. Pastor Rick said that if we don't live a life of love, nothing we say, know, believe, give, or accomplish will matter (see pages 16-17 in your outline notes). Which of the five speaks to you the most? How can you improve in that area?

Living on Purpose: Worship

Have a group member read the following passage aloud. When asked "what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus said:

37"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.... 39 Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37, 39 NLT)

What does it look like to love God with your whole being?

Sometimes the second part (love your neighbor) is more difficult than the first part (love God with all you've got). How can loving others be an act of worship?

Putting it into Practice: The One Person Assignment

How does a person go from talking about love to living a life of love? This one Person Assignment exercise will give you an opportunity to show love to at least one person each week. Take time as a group to read and discuss these guidelines, then follow the suggested action for this session.

One Person Assignment Guidelines

Turn talk into action by reaching out to one person in a loving, unselfish way this week.

1. You can pick the same person or a different person each week.

2. It can be a close relationship or a distant one. The relationship doesn't have to be one in crisis-it can be a good relationship you want to improve.

3. The individual you choose can be:

a person in your group

a family member

your spouse

a person who needs the Lord

your neighbor

someone you work with

a person on the fringes of your life or church

a lonely person

anyone the Lord puts on your heart

4. Each week you will receive a suggestion on how to reach out to the person you have chosen. You may want to write down the person's name next to the key verse in the Small Group Resources section (page 110). Pray for that person at least once next week and make a connection to develop or deepen your relationship.

Action for Session One

Think of someone you haven't shown love to recently-a friend, family member, colleague, etc. In what way can you apply this week's lesson to that relationship?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Take them out for coffee.

Send a note, card, or email.

Give them a call to see how they're doing.

Ask how you can pray for them.

Invite them to join your group.

Choose a practical action step and tell your group what you are going to do.

Diving Deeper

How do we bridge the relationship gap-the gap between what we hope for in a relationship and what we actually experience? Begin to explore this issue by reading chapters 1-7 in The Relationship Principles of Jesus. Be prepared to share your thoughts and insights with the group next week.

Prayer Direction

1. We love God because he first loved us. Think about a time when the Lord showed you that he loved you. Take a few moments to voice thanks to God for loving you at that point in your life.

2. Ask the Lord to help you choose love. Use this concluding prayer as a guide:

"Thank you, God, for loving me in spite of my imperfections. I have to admit that as hard as I try, I have difficulty loving some people. Help me trust you for the power to love. Lord, I turn to you for wisdom as I focus on one person to love this week. Help me to show that I love you by loving others. In Jesus' name, amen."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from 40 Days of Love DVD Study Guideby Rick Warren Copyright © 2009 by Rick Warren. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: HarperChristian Resources
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0310326877
• ISBN 13: 9780310326878
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112