1 Thessalonians 2:8- "we loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."
Last time we talked about the importance of love in sharing the truth of the Gospel. My personal struggle is to remember that. There are people that are easy for me to love and then there are others that are difficult. Sometimes in the corporate church world it is tempting to just "do church." It is tempting to just find a structure to operate the pieces of the church under and forget about opening our lives with love to share the gospel. Sometimes it is tempting to lead a small group as a program. Sometimes it is tempting to just spit out truth forgetting that the truth must be accompanied by love.
This week we talked about how important this idea is at our HomeGroup Leaders and Hosts dinner. Without love for people in our group it is impossible to succeed in leading or hosting a HomeGroup. No doubt discussing the truth of Scripture is part of being in a HomeGroup at Community Bible Church, but Home Groups are so much more than just sharing the truths of Gospel of God, but is about sharing our lives as well. It is about loving the people in our group. Even those that don't easily fit into our lives. Even to those that might be different than us. Even those that might be difficult to love.
At our HomeGroup Leaders and Hosts dinner we talked about how appropriate this verse is for us to remember as we plan and pray about next year's HomeGroups.
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