Summary: “Beginning to Live with Love” [Beginning to Live] Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 April 13/14, 2013 Pastor Matt Erickson “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) A Life Not Worth Living The Beginning of it All The God Who Loves Us and the Us Who Responds to God The Us Who Loves Others and Others Who Respond to God What Really Endures Discussion Questions: We are concluding our series, “Beginning to Live,” this week with attention to the topic of love. Who is someone that has exemplified love for you and why? Whether on your own or with a group, begin your study by asking God to speak to you. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 out loud. Up to this point in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul has been addressing the topic of spiritual gifts; that is, special abilities or gifts given by God to followers of Jesus. Given that context, what do you think Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3? How would you describe the difference between someone who does the right thing without love and someone who does the right thing with love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 speaks about love with some positive and negative statements. One way to think of love is to remember what is written elsewhere about God: “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 with ‘God’ in place of the word ‘love’. How does this impact you? Of course, the real goal of Paul’s words here are to convey that we are supposed to live with love. Now, put your name in the place of the word ‘love’ and consider how your life reflects love. Where are the places you love well? Where are the places that you could grow in love? 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 contrasts what is enduring, or complete, and what is temporary, or incomplete. Paul uses some different metaphors to talk about this. What are those metaphors and what does that tell you is unique about love? What is one specific thing that God is speaking to you from this study? Write it down. If you are in a small group, discuss this together. Take time to pray that you will grow in love.
