02 Jun Discussion Guide: Love Where You Live Week 4

Prayer

Take the first 10 minutes of your time together to listen to what God is doing in one another’s lives and pray for any specific needs people in your group may have.

Today we continue our Love Where You Live series. Over the next few weeks we will be discussing how we can create a sense of community in our neighborhoods and serve our neighbors as we seek to obey Jesus’ command to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We will watch a short video and then talk through a few questions to help us make the theory of neighboring a reality we live out together.

Watch Lover Where You Live Week 4 Video: Forgiveness

Discussion Questions

When we hear another person’s story of forgiveness, we’re often challenged to examine our own life and ability to forgive. No doubt, Michael Morton’s story is a very powerful (and perhaps incomprehensible) example of forgiveness. What was your immediate reaction to hearing Michael’s story and his ability to forgive?

In the video, we heard that forgiveness can be one of the most difficult yet important aspects of any relationship. At some point in our lives, all of us experience the need to extend and receive forgiveness. If you feel comfortable, share a time someone personally wronged you. What is the status of that relationship today?

Michael shared the quote about how unforgiveness, and holding animosity, revenge and anger in your heart, is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It’s easy to see how that anger and resentment could build up and become a daily reminder of the conflict. Do you have unresolved conflict with someone in your life, perhaps even in our neighborhood, that you need to forgive?

Forgiveness is a conscious, deliberate decision, which can bring freedom and peace to you, and possibly the other person. We all know this is difficult. Where do you personally find the strength to forgive?

Project Discussion

Take the next 20-30 minutes to talk about potential service projects your group can execute for a neighbor of one of the people in your group. Think through what supplies would be needed, how many people would be involved, and what tools would be required? There is an evaluation worksheet on the website. After a couple of weeks you’ll want to narrow down the possibilities to one or two and then decide how your group is going to make that happen.

Prayer

Take the remaining time to pray for your group and for your neighbors as we look to reflect God’s Kingdom into the lives of the people we live near.