““The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”” (Mark 12:29–31 NIV11)
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The great thing about these commandments is that they are positive. God does not begin with negatives, “Thou shalt nots”, but if the main commands are absorbed on a heart level, the “do nots” follow out of love. c.f. Ps 40:8, Rom 13:10.
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Theme scripture for 2020 for the Thames Valley church.
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Highly significant for our emphasis on local group ministry in 2020.
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How might this scripture bear on our plans for the monthly Family Group Friday evenings?
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How might this passage bear on our relationships with one another as disciples?
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How could we help one another more to draw closer to God and grow in Christlikeness?
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Do we have people to whom we can confess our sins? Do our relationships have enough depth for this?
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Can we find ways to serve our neighbours? What opportunities is God offering you right now? If you cannot see any, could you pray for God to open doors for you to love your neighbours?
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Love draws people, not plans, techniques,
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Perhaps we could partner up more often to help one another love our neighbours.
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Can we make more of the opportunities to connect our neighbours with our friends at church, such as inviting them to the carol service?
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What initiatives could we take locally? Can we work better as groups, supporting one another?
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Thanks again for listening. Have a super day.
God bless,
Malcolm
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