“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thess. 3:12, NIV).

Jesus prayed to His Father that His followers would “be one as we are one” (John 17:22, NIV). Summarize what Jesus was saying here, focusing specifically on the role of love needed in order to achieve this oneness.

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Unity among His followers was on Jesus’ mind in this prayer. Experiencing agape love is essential to this unity. “Agape” is the Bible word for God’s love used in this prayer and in many other places in the New Testament. Such love is God’s very nature (1 John 4:8), and it identifies Jesus’ followers (John 13:35). God’s love is not natural to the sinful human heart. It comes into one’s life as Jesus dwells with the believer by His Spirit (Rom. 5:5; Rom. 8:9, Rom 8:11).

“Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12, NIV). The disciple John, who wrote these words, was once not lovable but proud, power-hungry, critical, and hottempered (Mark 3:17; Luke 9:54-55; see also The Desire of Ages, p. 295). Later in life he remembered how Jesus had kept on loving him in spite of these traits. Jesus’ love gradually changed John, enabling him to love others in Christian unity. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV), he wrote, and “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NKJV).

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Try placing your name where the word “love” appears. How well does it fit? Ask Jesus to bring these qualities of love into your life by His Spirit. What changes might the Spirit prompt you to make in order to reach this Christian ideal?

Amen!(19)

Key Thought: Family members struggle with sinful, fallen natures. We need to allow the grace of Christ to make family unity a living experience.

May 18, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read John 17:19-22.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is the key to unity in the family in this passage?
3. Personal Application: What are some characteristics that don’t express love and causes disunity? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How can I find unity in my family? It seems like it is a mishmash of people all wanting their own way. Discussions turn into arguments and someone wins and the other feels like they lost.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read I John 3:16-18.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this tell us about living a life of selfishness?
3. Personal Application: How do we reveal or express selfishness in our lives? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “How does this text find its way into real life? You can give all your money to feed the poor of the world, and it wouldn’t be enough, and you would be poor also. If you give to those who refuse to work but demand the people or government to take care of them and feed their vices as well, how does that fit? Do we just pick and choose which people or organization to help? And if you do, fifty letters a day come asking for help.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Ephesians 5:21-6:9.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What counsel does Paul give regarding humility and submission and service in relationships?
3. Personal Application: What is the focus of family submission? If Christ is in the heart and home, why is there a battle for headship? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “Society through media and laws are basically taking the natural order of things and perverting them. Children are taught not to obey parents, not to respect teachers and police, and can sue their own parents for their “rights”.” How would you reply to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Hosea 1:2-6.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What does this text tell us about commitment in marriage?
3. Personal Application: Does Jesus promise of commitment to us affect our promises of commitment to our spouses? 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).

Amen!(1)