7.45pm-9.30pm
WELCOME (15mins): Warmly
welcome everyone, introducing newcomers.
Ask the
cell group to order itself from the shortest to the
Tallest as quickly as possible and stand
in a line.
WORSHIP (30 mins): Ask
the worship leader to choose songs on the Love of God.
Eg. Come
on and Celebrate, Boundless Love, Think About His
Love, I Love To Love You
WORD (45 mins) :
Read through the material
together - the facilitator can ask
different
individuals to read different sections and relevant
verses. Follow any given instructions.
After each
point allow a discussion time asking individuals
to share
their own experiences, problems etc.
This should lead to a time of praying for
individuals as the Lord
Leads.
The word
that should fill the blank is ‘LOVE’.
WORKS (15mins): The last 15 mins are the most importance ones! Take time
Praying
for non-believers and people with problems. Pray for any
Church
events that are forthcoming (evangelistic or otherwise).
Member’s Copy.
________________________________________________________________
Read together : 1 Peter 2:1-3
Read together – “Parents desire that their children grow
up, isn't that true? And if the children fail to grow physically according to
certain criteria, parents take them to the doctor and find out what they can do
so that the children will grow correctly.
Even so, our heavenly Father, who has given us new birth, desires that
we grow up. To do so we need a proper diet. Junk food is tasty, but it is
harmful and destructive to health. How
can we rid ourselves of spiritual junk food and come out of wicked spiritual
anorexia and emaciation? We need to listen attentively to what the St. Peter is
saying to us in this passage..…..”
Read First Peter 2:1, 2.
What does the word "therefore" refer to? Discuss.
Read John 13:34 -
What is the result of loving one another deeply ? Discuss.
Love is action based on the example of Jesus Christ. It is
laying down our lives for another. It is the heart of Christianity. This type
of love is shown by those who have grown up, and this is what is commanded in 1
Peter 1:22. Read Acts 2:32, 42-45 and comment on how the early Church showed
this love in action.
Read: “In order to love in this way, a Christian must
grow. How can we aid our growth? In 1 Peter 2:1, Peter instructs us to rid ourselves
"of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every
kind." Putting off is preparation for growth. No one is going to grow
in God unless he or she does this first. Just as people take off their dirty
clothes completely and put them away, so also we must take off our old habits
and old ways of life and put them away.”
Go through the highlighted list of things you are to rid
yourselves of – ask each person to talk about what one of them means and what
has been their own experience with it.
In 1 Peter 2:2 we are told to "crave pure spiritual
milk." We are told to not only rid ourselves of evil behaviours, but also
to crave something.
What does craving mean? Discuss.
And what are we to be craving? Discuss (what is ‘Spiritual
Milk’ ?)
Someone read: “What are you longing for? Fame? Power?
Money? Do you want the word of God, or are you looking at everything else? The
Holy Spirit warns you to turn your eyes away from all that nonsense to
something that can really nourish you.”
Read Acts 20:32 and
2 Timothy 3:16-17 and discuss the effect the Word of God has on us.
The Word Must Be Pure – Discuss the importance of this.
What is the purpose of this diet of God's word? Growth. In 1
Peter 2:2 it says "that by it you may grow up in your salvation." By
it! "It" refers to what?
In Ephesians 4:12-16 we are told how God gives apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to the church. What is God's
purpose in doing so ?
What do apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers do? They preach the word. Why?
When an individual grows by the nourishment of the word of
God, the whole church is also growing. But notice, how does it grow? In
____________.
Read together: “And then our passionate interest is to
love others from the heart deeply. We become interested, not in ourselves, but
in the other. The husband is not interested in himself, but in his spouse. His
wife is not interested in herself; rather, she is all taken up with the
interest of the husband. The children are not taken up with themselves but with
the interests of their parents. If you are a Christian and you don't have this intense longing, then you must
confess that you have neglected God's word and your growth is not what it
should be. I pray that you will repent and begin to study the word, add faith
to it, and practiced it, that you may grow up in your salvation "now that
you have tasted that the Lord is good." “
Ask each person…”are you growing in love ?” – pray for each other.
Copyright
2001 Gibson Productions
E-mail Tim (Web Master)