Lent 2018: Living God’s Love

Week 1 – 21 February
To Live Your Love With Generosity
Bible Study: Luke 14.2-9; Matthew 20.1-16; 2 Corinthians 9.6-15

Week 2 – 28 February
To Live Your Love With Joy
Bible Study: Luke 15; John 16.16-24; 1 Thessalonians 5.16-21

Week 3 – 7 March
To Live Your Love With Imagination
Bible Study: Exodus 35.30-35; Luke 7.12-16; Hebrews 4.14-16

Week 4 – 14 March
To Live Your Love With Courage
Bible Study: Joshua 1.6-9; Romans 8.35-39; Matthew 14.25-31

Week 5 – 21 March
To Live Your Love For The Sake Of The World
Bible Study: Ruth 1.16-18; Mark 5.21-43; Acts 6.1-7

 

Format

This course is divided into five sessions to be studied over the five weeks of Lent.

Each of the first four session takes one of the qualities mentioned in the Living God’s Love prayer: generosity, joy, imagination and courage. The final session looks at the context in which these qualities are set: “to live your love … for the sake of the world”.
There is a lot of material in each session – probably too much to consider it all. It is intended that different people and groups will choose to focus on those aspects that help them most.
With that in mind, each session is divided into a number of sections:

  1. An opening story sets the scene and helps to put the theme into context. Some of these are the personal experiences of the contributors, while others are the accounts of famous people from history.
  2. Some comments and observations give some definition to the quality being described and draw out some initial points.
  3. A section entitled Christian belief shows how the particular quality fits with the doctrines that underpin our faith.
  4. Some suggestions for Bible study show where these ideas are explored and expanded in the Scriptures. Three Bible passages are suggested for each session, but it may be wise not to attempt a detailed analysis of them all; they can be taken home for personal study.
  5. A response section gives some ideas for prayer or practical action as a result of the session.

Throughout each study a number of questions are given to guide your thinking. Again, not every question will be equally relevant to each individual or group.

Contributors
Alan Smith – Bishop of St Albans
Richard Atkinson – Bishop of Bedford
Michael Beasley – Bishop of Hertford
Jeffrey John – Dean of St Albans
Tim Bull – Diocesan Director of Ministry

 

Living God’s Love: The Prayer

Living God, 
Draw us deeper into your love;
Jesus our Lord, 
send us to care and serve;
Holy Spirit, 
make us heralds of good news.
Stir us, strengthen us, 
teach and inspire us 
to live your love 
with generosity and joy, imagination and courage;
for the sake of your world 
and in the name of Jesus, Amen.

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