4Ws for Week 8, 20-26 February 2012

WELCOME (10 minutes)

(If you have first time guests, begin with a round of introductions and warmly welcome the new visitors.) You, Me, Left, Right This is a fastpaced fun activity that helps move people around and memorize names. Have the group form a circle, with the leader in the middle playing as the first "caller." Ask the participants to introduce themselves to all the people. Explain to the group that the person in the middle will point to someone in the circle and say either "You" "Me" "Left" or "Right" and count to three at a reasonable pace. "You" is the person being pointed at. "Me" is the caller. "Left" is the person to the left of the one being pointed at. "Right" is the person to the right of the one being pointed at. The person being pointed at must correctly name that person before the caller counts to three. If they succeed, the caller moves onto a different person of their choice. If they do not succeed, they become the new caller. You can add multiple callers as the game moves on.

WORSHIP (10 minutes)

You may use the following suggested worship songs: 1. For Who You Are 2. You Are My World

WORD (45 minutes)

Sermon Title: The Love of A True Disciple Part 3 by Pastor Angie Fernandez on February 19, 2012 Scripture Reading: John 13:34-35 New King James Version (NKJV) (Have the whole cell read the passages together.) 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

What kind of love does Jesus command? "As I have loved you, that you also love another." It is a love patterned after Jesus' love for us. This is what makes it a new and higher standard of love! The implication is that such love will be visible and observable. And visible by ALL, not just by brethren! Love is an immaterial thing, expressed materially.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love fails, only when we fail to love.-- J. Franklin

To love at all is to be vulnerable. --C.S. Lewis Jesus is not impressed by our success in anything other than love. - Shawn Bolz It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend his faults. So to love a man that you cannot bear to see a stain upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words, that is friendship. - Henry Ward Beecher Love makes everything lovely; hate concentrates itself on the one thing hated. - George MacDonald Whatever a person may be like, we must still love them because we love God. ~ John Calvin Love is the sum of all virtue, and love disposes us to good. ~ Jonathan Edwards You can see God from anywhere if your mind is set to love and obey Him ~ A.W. Tozer 1. Love is Patient. We are patient on people, not on circumstances. Loving patience is the ability to allow ourselves to be inconvenienced or taken advantage of by a person over and over again.
2. Love is Kind. Kindness is sweetness to all. It is not an act of love or kindness to look for the fault in others or point out their failures. Kindness is going out of you way to help others. 1. Love Knows No Envy. There are two kinds of jealousy: 1. We want what someone else has. 2. We wish that someone else didn't have what they had.

2. Love is not Boastful.

Love quiets our heart and mouth. Love humbles us before our God and before others.

3. Love is not Proud.

Pride is always associated whenever we have problem with someone. We do not want to ask for forgiveness. We do not want to forgive.

4. Love is not Rude.

Rudeness usually occurs when selfish concerns are at heart. Being rude means I'm not concerned about 'your' problems.

5. Love is not Self-seeking.

Love is concerned with the well-being of others, not solely with its own welfare. Love is prepared to give up for the sake of others even what it is entitled to. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves. His sacrificial life is the model of self-denying love.

6. Love is not Easily-Angered.

Love puts a long fuse on our emotional bombs. -- Lewis Smedes

7.

Love does Not Keep Record of Wrongs Love keeps no record of wrongs for love is too busy healing and mending. It is impossible to love somebody and think well of them and at the same time hold the bad things they may have done in the past against them like a register of unpaid debts.

Q1. Has someone hurt you? Have you ever been wronged? What is the most
painful experience we have had?
Self check: Am I holding anything against another? Am I storing up everyones wrongs to bring up in the next argument?

Q2. How do you handle forgiveness? How do you respond when others forgive you? What do you do with opportunities that our Lord has for you? Q3. What can you do to look for the positive things that happen in your relationships? How would this help you affirm others? Who will you start with?

8.

Love Does Not Delight in Evil Love, instead, would mourn that the person had made an unwise choice and saw things play out badly. Love would seek to bring the person to righteousness through truth. Delight: A feeling of extreme gratification aroused by something good or desired. Evil: Something that is a cause or source of suffering, injury, or destruction: the social evils of poverty and injustice. Q4. Have you ever unintentionally found yourself being 'OK' with another person's hurt or suffering? What is God putting on your heart?

9. Love Rejoices With The Truth There is only one way to tell the truth and that is truthfully. No exaggerations, no stretching or coloring the story. If we can't remember details, we don't make up some and figure it's close enough and then call it truth. If it's not a pure, original, unadorned story you're telling, it's no longer the truth. Q5. Is it okay to tell the truth even if it hurts? Why? Q6. How do you know if something is true? How do you know if someone is truthful? When do you know that you have been truthful with God, another person, and yourself? 10.Love Always Protects The verb means to cover, to pass over in silence, to keep confidential. It is used to describe a roof. When we want to stop discussion of something we may say that we want to 'put a lid on it.' Love throws a cloak of silence over what is displeasing in another person.

Love always protects by silence, by not gossiping about our neighbor's faults, for in the retelling of them the truth is often embroidered until they bear little resemblance to reality. Love always protects through mitigating explanations. 11.Love Always Trusts Love always trusts because love has the highest of expectations. Love always trusts because love does not see the darkness causing mistrust. Love is willing to invest fully in every person because love knows even in defeat and personal disappointment there is victory when love reigns. Love always trusts for love dominates all of the disappointments of life causing us to mistrust. Love knows there is nothing to lose and everything to gain by holding the highest of expectations. Love always trusts, even after disappointment comes for love is too powerful a force to be stopped by disappointment. Love trusts, for love is God. Love trusts, for in God there is infinite security, infinite hope, and infinite expectations of future glory.

ALL FOR LOVE

VERSE I Standing here, in Your presence Thinking of the good things You have done Waiting here, patiently Just to hear Your still small voice again Holy, righteous, faithful to the end Savior, healer, redeemer and friend CHORUS I will worship You for who You are I will worship You for who You are I will worship You for who You are Jesus BRIDGE My soul secure, Your promise sure Your love endures always My soul secure, Your promise sure Your love endures always My soul secure, Your promise sure Your love endures always

YOU ARE MY WORLD

My Father, I adore You more than anything my heart could wish for I just want you And Jesus, my beloved Saviour Everything I am I owe to You I owe it all to You And angels come and adore You And we Your children worship You Chorus: You are my world You are my God And I lay down my life for You You are my Lord The One I love No one could ever take Your place And everything I have I give to You, my Lord, the One I live for I live for You And all my days are gifts from You I pray I'd use them as You want me to Use them for you