ADVENT – The greatest of these is…
Week 3: LOVE
Day 1: What is Love?
via TJC
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13
This week’s Advent focus theme is Love. What is love? The passage above from 1 Corinthians 13 provides the answer. Read the passage above to yourself, then, read it again, but out loud. You will find it to be impactful the first read-through. You will find it to be personal when you read it out loud.
When Jesus came to this earth to live and to die for our sins, he made love personal toward each of us. He demonstrated what love is. He lived out 1 Corinthians 13 so that we could live here on this earth knowing His example and so we could live eternally with Him if we accept Him as Lord and Savior. Jesus is Emmanuel. God with us. He loves you. Have you accepted Him?
Daily Battle Order - QUIET TIME CHALLENGE
During this Advent, we are using parts of the Every Man a Warrior Method for Bible Study.
With this method, we engage the scriptural verses by answering a number of questions.
Try and “put it all together” today, focusing on all of the questions below.
Find a Quiet Place.
Pray to Jesus Christ and ask for his presence guiding you in your studies.
Read 1 Corinthians 13 and ask yourself the questions below!
ASK THESE QUESTIONS: my answers included for example.
Is There:
A command to obey? There are many in this passage. Verse 4a is poignant – “Love is patient and kind.” The founder of the company that I work for had a saying that is a part of our company culture: “There is always time enough for kindness.” Something to think about when we are tempted to respond impatiently or unkindly to someone else.
A promise to claim? From verse 8a – “Love never ends.” The promise that God’s love never ends. That’s an amazing promise to claim!
A Sin to Avoid? There are many in this passage in verses 4-6; envy, boasting, arrogance, rudeness, insisting on our own way, irritableness, resentfulness, rejoicing at wrongdoing.
An application to make? Applying verses 4-7 to life, yourself, relationships, work, play
Something new about God? He cares enough about us to share His wisdom of what love is with us through His Word and through the example of Jesus Christ
Write your answers down in a journal or a note on your phone. Share them with a friend, or with us at the Joshua Commission (simply reply to this email). This really helps to lock in what God has shown you in your time with Him.
ABOUT EVERY MAN A WARRIOR
Every Man A Warrior is a discipleship Bible study that “Helps Men Succeed in Life". It helps them win the battles they fight every day. Since 2011, 50,000 men in 40 countries and in 18 languages have been impacted by the Every Man A Warrior curriculum. The Every Man A Warrior ministry joined Trans World Radio (TWR) in 2017 in order to take discipleship around the world. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT EMAW and learn about how you can implement this training series in your men’s group. TJC will be helping several groups to start in January. If you would like to be part of learning this process that has impacted so many of us at the Joshua Commission, sign up here.
If you want to understand more Click here to read: THE ABC'S of the EMAW QUIET TIME BIBLE STUDY.
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