25246 The Fullness of God’s Love

Ephesians 3:14–21 After that day at Edna’s, as I began to know and experience more of God’s love, one of the first Bible passages to come alive to me was from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3. Paul prayed, “That you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy …

25245 Love Fulfills the Law

Galatians 5:13–25; Romans 13:8–10 When I was young, my mother taped a hand-written note to the refrigerator door: “God doesn’t love us because we are good; He makes us good because He loves us.” As a teenager growing up, I thought these words were just wishful thinking. But, in my ongoing journey of learning of …

25244 Knowing and Experiencing God’s Love

Galatians 2:16.–3:3 In the process of coming to understand how much God really loved me and seeing love as the foundation for His rescue of humanity, I also came to understand how God had created us human beings. He made us to be recipients and givers of His great love. God designed us in His …

25242 Nothing Without Love

1 Corinthians 13 The first few verses of 1 Corinthians 13 became real to me one memorable summer day in 2004. Eighty-two-year-old Edna and I were visiting in her mobile home. For seven or eight years she and I had been meeting regularly to study the Bible and pray. Almost 40 years my elder, Edna …

25221 Introduction

Have you ever watched an ant colony? The ants move along invisible trails that other ants have somehow marked out. Working together they carry tiny bits of dirt to the top of the anthill. When something falls on the trail or the anthill, they scurry about frantically. Now suppose you really care about ants and …

25216 Suggestions for Study

About this Bible Study The Bible passage included in this study guide is from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible. Feel free to use a different translation if you like. The study questions are designed to encourage you to think deeply about God’s Word and to help you open yourself to more of …

25215 Loving with Perfection

Luke 15:11–32 Years ago, I copied a quote I’d read somewhere into the front of my Bible: The greatest of saints is simply the greatest of receivers. Think about that. Can it be true? Is it really possible that our Father simply desires us to receive from Him? I became a Christian when I was …

25214 Loving the Self-Righteous

Luke 15:25–32 Have your good deeds as a Christian ever made you feel that you were better than someone else? Mine have. Before I’d committed the sin referred to in the introduction to the first lesson, I’d been obedient to Christian rules and worked hard to be a good and productive person. Based on these …