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Words from John Wesley
“Walk in love” as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us. All is contained in humble, gentle, patient love... Every right temper, and then all right words and actions, naturally branch out of love. In effect, therefore, you want nothing but this – to be filled with the faith that worketh by love.
From a letter to Philothea Briggs (1771)
Words from Scripture
“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
1 John 4:7-12
Hymn
Thou God of truth and love, Singing the Faith 620
As we begin
To consider alone
- For a moment, ask God to help you bring “humble, gentle, patient love” to today’s meeting.
To consider together
- Consider how we might approach the agenda so our words and manner show that “God lives in us and his love is perfected in us”?
As we continue
To consider alone
- How might God be encouraging you to make his love more evident in how you relate to this meeting? To consider together
- Wesley wrote, “All right words and actions naturally branch out of love”. Pause together to ask God’s help to show the truth of his love in all the words and actions of this meeting.
As we finish
- Looking forward, where do you feel the greatest sense of confidence that the work of this group is moving with a “faith that worketh by love”?
- In groups of two or three: listen to each other share these areas of confidence, and commit to praying for this area of work for a couple of minutes each week until the group meets again.