Who is this Man? Part 6: Us & Them

Matthew 5:43-48

Worship: Sing or listen to the worship song reflecting on the love of God.

Welcome: When you were high school which was the school that was considered to be your greatest rival?

Word: Read Matthew 5:43-48

Do you think that most people live by the philosophy of “Love your neighbour – Hate your enemy”?  How does it evidence itself?  What about amongst Christians? 

Jesus encourages us to “Love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us”.  Is this difficult to do?  How can we do this?

Jesus says that when we do that “you may be children of your Father in heaven.” How does this behaviour reflect God?

Jesus talks about the common experience of being human (v.45)   What is the point that Jesus is trying to make? 

Read verses 46-47 what is the message of these verses? 

Jesus goes on to say a difficult statement, “be perfect as I am perfect.” God is not requiring moral perfection from us, but he does want us to aspire towards completeness.  In this scripture it implies completeness of love.  God loves both neighbour and enemy.   How do we fall into limited loving or “us” and “them” thinking and behaviours?

Do you have any groups of people that you have a hard time loving? How can we be more loving to groups we have a hard time with?

What is one thing you can apply from this lesson?

Witness:  Continue to pray for the people that you want to see come into a relationship with Christ. What are some practical ways that you can show the love of Christ to your family, coworkers and neighbours, particularly in light of the COVID 19 pandemic?

Pray for these people and each other.