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2: Covenantal Love – Teaching Plan

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Key Thought: God’s love is profoundly relational. This loving relationship with God cannot exist without human response to His loving benevolence.
January 11, 2025

1. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter 3:9, I Timothy 2:4, Ezekiel 33:11.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
  2. What does this teach us about God’s desire to save everyone?
  3. Personal Application: How can we unconditionally show our love and respect for every human being? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Some people are beyond saving. They are paedophiles, mass murderers, hateful, rude, selfish, and prideful people who have no care or concern for others and may actually torment or kill those who follow God. Does Jesus actually love these despicable characters as well? Am I supposed to love them even though I hate their evil attitudes and sins?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 7:6=9..

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. What does this teach about the relationship between God’s loving kindness and His covenants?
  3. Personal Application: How does our relationship with God change how we behave and act with people from our family, work, and neighborhood? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “I want to help people who really need help, but those who have wasted their time, money, and energy in drugs, alcohol, gambling, and debauchery don’t get any sympathy from me. If they are starving, I’ll feed them. If they are dying, I’ll save them. But I refuse to enable them or make them feel good about their stupidity.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read I John 4:7-20.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. What does this tell us about the priority of God’s love?
  3. Personal Application: Think about what you have done and been forgiven for. What should this tell you about forgiving others? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “I can never forgive my uncle for what he did to my family. It is beyond forgivable. I can’t let go of my utter loathing for him and his actions.” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read John 15:12, I John 3:16, I John 4:7-12.

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. What do these verses teach us about God’s love, our love for Him, and our love for others?
  3. Personal Application: What can you do to show your love for God to show His love for others? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-covenanted-love-teaching-plan/

Adventist Young Professionals in Kenya Fight Government Abductions in SDA Churches

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06 January 2025 | On December 21, Ronny Kiplangat was forcibly abducted from the Kikuyu Central Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church after attending a Sabbath service. His was one of countless abductions that have been occurring across Kenya for the last few months. Though this alone would be harrowing news, the alleged abductions are done by […] Source: https://atoday.org/adventist-young-professionals-in-kenya-fight-government-abductions-in-sda-churches/

This is How You Can Spread Hope

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Discover how your support can continue a legacy of hope and redemption, from broadcast to baptism. Learn how prayers, donations, and sharing these inspiring stories can make a real difference. Click the like button, subscribe for more content, and share your thoughts in the comments! #SpreadingLight #SupportForChange #FaithInAction #awr #adventistworldradio #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckYHMlbROrU

Aunty, must church workers work themselves half to death just because they’re doing God’s work?

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6 January 2025  | Dear Aunt Sevvy, I just heard someone using the example of Jesus and His long days of ministry to justify my school’s expectation that we work evenings and weekends for free. To me, that’s taking following Jesus’ example wildly out of context to justify a toxic work environment. What do you […] Source: https://atoday.org/aunty-must-church-workers-work-themselves-half-to-death-just-because-theyre-doing-gods-work/

Tuesday: Conditional Relationship

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Daily Lesson for Tuesday 7th of January 2025

God calls and invites every person into an intimate love relationship with Him (see Matthew 22:1-14). Responding appropriately to this call involves obeying God’s command to love God and to love others (see Matthew 22:37-39). Whether one enjoys the benefits of this relationship with God depends on whether one freely decides to accept or reject His love.

Read Hosea 9:15, Jeremiah 16:5, Romans 11:22, and Jude 1:21. What do these texts teach about whether the benefits of God’s love can be rejected—even forfeited?
Jesus Teaching the Law

Image © Phil McKay Goodsalt.com

In these and other texts, enjoying the benefits of a love relationship with God is repeatedly depicted as conditional upon the human response to His love. Yet, we should not make the mistake of thinking that God ever actually stops loving anyone. As we have seen, God’s love is everlasting. And, although Hosea 9:15 includes God saying of His people, “ ‘I will love them no more,’ ” it is important to remember that later in the same book God declares of His people, “ ‘I will love them freely’ ” (Hosea 14:4, NKJV). Hosea 9:15 cannot mean that God entirely ceases to love His people. It must refer, instead, to the conditionality of some particular aspect or benefit of a love relationship with God. And how we respond to His love is crucial for this relationship to continue.

“ ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him’ ” (John 14:21, NKJV). Likewise, Jesus proclaims to His disciples, “ ‘The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father’ ” (John 16:27, NASB).

These and other texts teach that maintaining the benefits of a saving relationship with God depends upon whether we will accept God’s love (which involves willingness to be vehicles of that love, as well). Again, this does not mean that God’s love ever ceases. Rather, just as we cannot stop the sun from shining but can cut ourselves off from the rays of the sun, we cannot do anything to stop God’s everlasting love, but we can finally reject a relationship with God and, thus, cut ourselves off from what it offers, especially the promise of eternal life.

What are ways that people can see and experience the reality of God’s love, whether or not they return it? For example, how does the natural world, even after sin, reveal His love?

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-02-conditional-relationship/

God First: Your Daily Prayer Meeting #878

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Matthew 21:22 – "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Tag someone in need of prayer, and kindly share your prayer requests here. https://wkf.ms/3DBuapQ Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6vckwLDOSM

Atti 2:39 – Apri la porta del tuo cuore

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“Perché per voi è la promessa, per i vostri figli, e per tutti quelli che sono lontani, per quanti il Signore, nostro Dio, ne chiamerà” 📖 Atti 2:39
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💌 Apri la porta del tuo cuore
👉 Rubrica a cura di Anna Cupertino
🗣 Speaker: Daniele Magliulo Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4rF2uxhKgA

La Iglesia Adventista de Papúa Nueva Guinea recibió 250 mil dolares por sus 100 años de existencia en la comunidad

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El 26 de diciembre, el Primer Ministro James Marape hizo una donación gubernamental de K1 millón, aprox. 250 mil dolares, para apoyar la Misión Adventista del Séptimo Día en Bougainville. La donación formaba parte de la celebración de dos semanas de la comunidad por los 100 años de la iglesia en la Región Autónoma de […] Source: https://atoday.org/la-iglesia-adventista-de-papua-nueva-guinea-recibio-250-mil-dolares-por-sus-100-anos-de-existencia-en-la-comunidad/

Lesson 2.Covenant Love | 2.2 Covenant Love | THE GOD OF LOVE AND JUSTICE | LIVING FAITH

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2.2 Covenant Love
Covenant Love – God’s Faithfulness and Our Response
Read Deuteronomy 7:6–9. What do these verses teach about the relationship with God, who makes covenants, and about God’s loving kindness?
The verses in Deuteronomy 7:6–9 highlight the special relationship that God enters into with His covenant people. They show that God’s love is immeasurable and steadfast, but the covenant relationship itself is based on mutual commitment and faithfulness. This dynamic reveals two central aspects of God’s character: His unwavering kindness (chesed) and His justice.
God’s Chesed – Loving Kindness
The Hebrew word chesed emphasizes the depth of God’s mercy, faithfulness, and enduring love. It is a love that does not merely exist passively but actively seeks relationship. It calls people to respond—not because God needs this love, but because it forms the framework for a fulfilling life. This love is reliable, unchanging, and yet not taken for granted: its full blessings can only be experienced when the covenant people respond with faithfulness and obedience.
Unconditional Love, Conditional Covenant Benefits
It is important to understand that God’s love for His people is not contingent upon conditions—He loves regardless of human behavior. However, the blessings that flow from the covenant relationship are tied to the willingness to live in accordance with God’s commands. This demonstrates the balance between God’s love and His expectation that His people take responsibility.
Christ as the Perfect Expression of Federal Love
The greatest expression of God’s love is found in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ. John 15:13 and Philippians 2:8 illustrate that God’s love surpasses understanding: He gave Himself to renew and strengthen the relationship with us. This sacrifice calls us to live our response to God’s love in the form of dedication, obedience, and love for others.
Application in the Faith Life
  • Encouragement to Faithfulness: God’s faithfulness inspires us to take our commitments to Him seriously, not out of fear but out of love.
  • Gratitude for Grace: Realizing that we can never fully reciprocate God’s love leads to gratitude and the desire to live a life that honors Him.
  • Sharing God’s Chesed: When we experience God’s love, we are called to live the same kindness and mercy in our relationships with others.
In our relationship with God, we experience that His federal love both uplifts and challenges us—a call to receive the love and respond with faithfulness.
How Can You Keep the Reality of God’s Love Constantly in Mind? Why Is It Important to Do So?
Keeping the reality of God’s love constantly in mind is a deliberate decision that can shape our thinking, actions, and faith life. Here are some ways to do this and why it is important:
How to Keep the Reality of God’s Love in Mind:
  1. Daily Prayer and Meditation:
    • Set aside time each day to reflect on God’s love, especially through prayer and quiet moments.
    • Use Bible verses like John 3:16 or Romans 8:38-39 to remind yourself of God’s unconditional love.
  2. Bible Reading and Reflection:
    • Regularly read sections of the Bible that reveal God’s love, such as the Psalms, the Gospels, or 1 John 4.
    • Write down your thoughts and experiences with God’s love in a journal.
  3. Cultivating Gratitude:
    • List the blessings in your life that are expressions of God’s love.
    • Gratitude helps focus on God’s presence and care.
  4. Fellowship with Other Believers:
    • Surround yourself with people who encourage you and remind you of God’s love.
    • Share stories together about how you have experienced God’s love in your lives.
  5. Praise and Worship:
    • Sing songs or listen to music that praise God’s love. Praise aligns the heart with God’s truth.
  6. Recognizing God’s Love in Nature:
    • Spend time in creation to recognize God’s greatness and care.
    • Observe how nature reflects His goodness.
  7. Putting Love into Action:
    • Express God’s love by serving others and showing compassion.
    • When you share God’s love, it becomes more vivid in your life.
Why It Is Important to Keep God’s Love Constantly in Mind:
  1. Strengthening Faith:
    • Remembering God’s love provides security and trust, especially in difficult times.
  2. Overcoming Fear and Doubt:
    • Knowing you are loved allows you to let go of fears and uncertainties and rely on God’s faithfulness.
  3. Motivation for a Christian Life:
    • God’s love inspires you to live a life of dedication, obedience, and love for others.
  4. Avoiding Self-Doubt:
    • God’s unconditional love shows that your worth is not based on achievements or mistakes but is rooted in Him.
  5. Focus on Eternity:
    • The assurance of God’s love directs your focus to what is eternal and helps you put earthly worries into perspective.
  6. Joy and Peace in Daily Life:
    • Awareness of God’s love brings deep inner joy and peace, regardless of external circumstances.
By consciously engaging with God’s love, you build a close relationship with Him. His love becomes not just a theological truth but a living reality that permeates your life and faith.
The reality of God’s federal love is not only a theological truth but also a transformative power that accompanies us directly in our daily lives and faith journey. Here are some connections:
  1. Faithfulness as a Daily Invitation
    • Realizing that God’s love is unwavering inspires us to take our own commitments seriously. In daily life, this means:
      • Taking responsibility in our relationships, such as in the family or at work.
      • Deliberately setting aside time for prayer, Bible reading, and communicating with God.
      • Showing faithfulness even when challenges try to distract us.
  1. Gratitude for God’s Steadfast Grace
    • Reflecting on God’s love helps us be more grateful in daily life. This is evident:
      • In handling difficult situations positively.
      • In the ability to recognize and celebrate blessings—even the small ones.
      • By not only giving thanks for ourselves but also interceding for others.
  1. Living Love for Neighbors Daily
    • God’s chesed motivates us to reflect this kindness in our relationships. Practically, this means:
      • Being patient, even when people hurt or disappoint us.
      • Practicing forgiveness instead of harboring resentment or bitterness.
      • Helping others regardless of their gratitude or ability to give something back.
  1. Focus on Eternity
    • God’s faithfulness reminds us that our lives extend beyond the earthly. In daily life, this is shown by:
      • Remaining calm in setbacks or losses because we know our security lies in God.
      • Desiring to invest our time and energy in things of lasting value, such as relationships, faith, and love for others.
  1. Joy and Peace Through God’s Love
    • The assurance that we are anchored in God’s love grants us peace and joy that are independent of external circumstances. This is expressed:
      • In a sense of security and confidence, even when challenges arise.
      • In the willingness to encourage and inspire others with joy.
  1. Dedication and Obedience in Faith
    • Federal love calls us to consciously shape our lives in response to God’s love:
      • By following His commands, not out of duty but out of love.
      • By honoring Him daily through our actions and thoughts.
  1. Practical Application Examples
    • Start the day with a prayer of thanks that centers on God’s love.
    • Be patient with a difficult coworker or neighbor, knowing that God’s chesed also applies to you.
    • Share your time or resources with people in need to make God’s love visible.
Why This Connection Is Important
Constantly remembering God’s federal love not only strengthens our faith but actively influences our thinking, decisions, and relationships. It gives our daily lives meaning, shows us how to find hope amid challenges, and makes us living witnesses of His goodness and faithfulness.
This connection between God’s love and our daily lives makes our faith not only visible but also experiential—for ourselves and for others.

God’s Faithfulness Is the Anchor That Holds Us in Every Situation – An Invitation to Respond to Him with Love and Devotion

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-2-covenant-love-2-2-covenant-love-the-god-of-love-and-justice-living-faith/

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