(These Discovery questions go with the Bible lesson for July 12, 2020: “Perfect Love Living in Me” For a detailed explanation of how to use Discovery Bible Study, click here.)
By Leigh Mackenzie
1. Name one thing for which you are grateful today.
2. What challenges did you encounter last week as you sought to walk in obedience to God’s Word?
• Did you share God’s love with anyone this past week? If so, tell us more about it!
Ask three people—two readers and one reteller—to help. Ask the two readers to read 1 John 3:24 one after the other (preferably from different Bible versions). Repeat the process for 1 John 4:7-21.
Ask the third person to summarize (not interpret) what these two passages are saying as a whole. (Keep it simple; about 60 seconds is all the time that’s needed.)
3. What main themes do you see in these passages? (Look for repeated words and phrases.)
• What roles does each member of the Godhead—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—play in this passage, and how do they interact?
4. Let’s dig deeper into some of the specifics in this passage:
• From these passages, how would you define love?
• How are love and God intertwined or related?
• In your own words, describe the relationship between God’s love for us and our love for others.
5. What do you learn about God from these passages?
• What do you learn about what it means to live in God and him in us?
6. What do you learn about people from these passages, especially about how we should and shouldn’t respond to God’s love?
7. What is the Holy Spirit convicting you about from this passage?
8. With whom will you share the message of God’s love for us this week?
9. Based on these passages of Scripture and our discussion, complete this sentence: “This week, I will . . .”
10. What challenge will you face this week?
For next week: Sometime over the next week, read and reflect on Joshua 1 as we begin our new theme, “Strong and Courageous.” You can also read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
Author: Michael C. Mack
Michael C. Mack is editor of Christian Standard. He has served in churches in Ohio, Indiana, Idaho, and Kentucky. He has written more than 25 books and discussion guides as well as hundreds of magazine, newspaper, and web-based articles.
