CITY - Compelled by Love

Read 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:13

What do you notice? What is challenging for you? What parts do you have observations or questions about?

Discuss

Paul focuses in chapter 5 on love motivating the Corinthians and changing their perspective on people, and how this then leads to transformation.

• What are some other motivations that can creep into our desire to see our city or other people change?
• How do we guard against the temptation to make change about what suits us, rather than what is genuinely best for others?
• What has love (for God and for other people) motivated you to do recently?
• How do we put aside “the worldly point of view” of others in our interaction with them? How do we also maintain boundaries in these relationships?

In chapter 6, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the importance of their ‘today’ in responding to God’s grace, the challenges that helped him prove the sincerity of the love that motivated him, and his desire for them to join him in this sincere love.

• What things erode the urgency we have to live in the grace that God has extended to us, and our willingness to let this change our priorities and actions? [you might want to consider Matthew 13:18-23 here]
• How do we, like Paul, avoid letting the hard things in life harden our attitude toward God and others? [2 Cor. 6:3-10]
• What does Paul identify as the resources that he leans on in hard times [v.6-7], and what does it look like for us to lean on these too?
• We have been talking at various times about people of peace, people who like you, listen to you and serve you. Paul identifies that he is looking for people who respond with open hearts in v.11-13 – who are the people in your life that are responding to you with open hearts, and how might you pray for opportunities to share Jesus with them?

Pray: Phil focussed on how knowing God’s love for us and others compels us to make a difference in our city.

• Take some time to pray for our city, for the parts of the city people in your group participate in, for places in our city where you see need, and invite God to increase the love you have for the people of Christchurch and beyond.

Now go into the world, equipped with the good news of the Gospel, the power of the Spirit and the vision of God’s coming Kingdom. Go as agents and ambassadors bringing transforming hope to a lost and broken world.