rmy one
’s IN LOVE {leader manual } ’
IN LOVE
life s supreme quality
SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: The Song Book of The Salvation Army (2015 edition) IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following, remembering to include reference to the suggested Scripture and how it relates to the topic (see page 03 of the In Love book): 1. Picture a world without love. What would it look like? Romans 1:29-31; Psalm 53:2,3; Psalm 94:4-7; Mark 7:21-23 2. Discuss the variety of ways in which the word ‘love’ may be used in your culture. In what way is the love of God different? Psalm 103:11-14; Joel 2:13; Matthew 5:43-45; 1 John 4:16-18 3. Why do you think the song ‘O Boundless Salvation’ has won the hearts of Salvationists everywhere? What is its appeal? Ephesians 3:14-19; Isaiah 12:2-4; Habakkuk 2:14; 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2; Hebrews 4:16; Titus 3:4-6 4. What makes love ‘stronger than death’ and ‘more powerful than evil’? Romans 8:38, 39; 2 Timothy 1:10; Revelation 21:1-4; 1 Corinthians 13:8, 13 Activity Ideas •• Discuss what the consequences might be if a child or an adult is unloved. •• In your Army song book, search for some songs that speak about the love of God and put into your own words what the songwriters are saying about it. If you don’t have a specific section on this topic, then look through the book for such songs. You may like to sing some of them. in love
•• Ask each member of the group to write down one sentence, describing what is the most important thing about God’s love for them. Share what has been written. Or you could use the sentences as the basis for prayer. IN PRAYER Take time to consider ‘how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ’. Father God, we know we can never fully comprehend your love – it is too big for our human minds. But we are deeply thankful that your love for every individual person is never-ending. May our understanding and experience of your love grow ever deeper, day by day. SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that God’s love is eternal, strong and powerful, and is given to all. •• Understanding that God’s love is expressed in sacrificial giving, making it possible for us to be saved. •• Understanding that God wants everyone to know and experience his love.
– the love of god one
rmy leader’s manual
THE LOVE OF GOD one rmy
IN LOVE
THE LOVE OF GOD
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IN LOVE
SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: The General Next to God. Unsung Heroes. Heroes of the Faith.
IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 05 of the In Love book): 1. Consider how easy it might be for Salvationists to leave ‘loving the unloved’ to the Army (the 02 organisation), forgetting that loving is an individual, daily responsibility. 1 John 3:17; Romans 12:9-13 2. How might we arrange our lives so as to avoid noticing those who most need our love, including ‘the unlovely, ungrateful or uncooperative’? Luke 10:25-37; Proverbs 24:12 3. Consider how the Army’s principles of abstinence and its emphasis on prevention of ill-health are an expression of love. Ephesians 5:18; 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7; Matthew7:9-12 4. ‘Love is not worthy of the name unless it costs us something.’ Discuss. John 15:12, 13; Matthew 5:46-48; Luke 9:23-25, 57-62 Activity Ideas •• Read any of the chapters from Unsung Heroes or Heroes of the Faith. Or you could ask a member of the group to read one of the chapters beforehand, and give a summary to the group. •• Think of the society in which you live. Where are the unloved found? What kind of people are they? •• Think of the different faith groups in in love
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LOVE – MAN AND WOMAN SUPPORTING RESOURCES Books: Holiness Unwrapped. Issues (United Kingdom territorial publication). Daily newspapers.
your society. What are relationships like between them? Discuss whether there is anything you could do to improve the situation. •• If the group is comfortable with it, you could ask members to share any experience of a time when it has been costly for them to show love to someone else. •• If the group is comfortable with it, members could share any situations where they find it particularly difficult to show love. You could then spend time in prayer for each other. IN PRAYER Ask God to show you what qualities give true meaning and depth to love. Dear Lord, it is our desire that we produce the fruit of love in our lives. Please show us where we are lacking and help us to become more like Jesus in our attitude to others. SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that there are different kinds of love. •• Understanding that God’s love is expressed in service, particularly to the needy and unloved. •• Understanding that to show such love is costly.
rmy leader’s manual
IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 07 of the ‘In Love’ book): 1. Read again Matthew Henry’s comment on Genesis 2:21-23 and discuss if this is how your culture sees the relationship between men and women. Genesis 2:21-23 2. What makes any relationship sacred? Genesis 1:27, 28; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 3. What is ‘faithfulness’? Why is it essential? Psalm 85:10, 11; Psalm 117; Jeremiah 9:1-6; 1 Kings 2:4; Hebrews 8:9 4. What changes need to be made in attitudes if we are to show that men and women are truly ‘all one in Christ’? Galatians 3:28 Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from Holiness Unwrapped (see text on page 08). •• Read the passage from Issues (see text on page 09). •• Give time for members of the group to reflect on this and make comments. •• Look in newspapers or recall from news bulletins situations where relationships have gone wrong. You could also distribute copies of newspapers to members and ask them to find examples of spoiled relationships and their consequences. Then take time to pray for these situations in love
LOVE – MAN AND WOMAN one rmy
THE COST OF LOVE one rmy
IN LOVE
THE COST OF LOVE
•• Find a suitable song or chorus to sing which speaks of God’s faithfulness. Give time for silent prayer for members of the group to make personal confession or ask for God’s help to be more faithful to promises they have 03 made. IN PRAYER Pray (whatever you culture or situation) that God will help men and women truly support one another and understand more fully what it means to be ‘one in Christ’. Dear Lord, we thank you that you have shown us that each person is created in your image. Thank you that in Jesus we are one. Give us a deeper understanding of this truth and help us to reflect your love in the way we treat others. SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that marriage is a Godordained relationship between one man and one woman for life. •• Understanding that in any relationship there should be a mutual loving respect. •• Understanding the importance of faithfulness.
– love – man and woman one
rmy leader’s manual
SUPPORTING RESOURCES Book: Love – Right at the Heart
IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 09 of the ‘In Love’ book): 1. What are the implications of loving others as Christ loves us? John 13:34, 35; 2 John 6 2. How might our daily choices and priorities show that we are more concerned about our own comforts than loving others? 04 Proverbs 20:14; Proverbs 22:22; Proverbs 23:4 3. What does my attitude to giving – money, time and skills – to the Lord’s work say about my love for him? How might I improve this? Luke 21:1-4; Matthew 6:2-4; Acts 5:1-6; Malachi 3:10 4. How might we bring the love of God to situations where others’ lives have become complicated, sometimes through their own choices or decisions? Galatians 6:1, 2; 1 Peter 3:8, 9; John 8:2-11 Activity Ideas •• Read the passage from Love – Right at the Heart (see text on page 09). •• The passage suggests that Jesus frequently acted counterculturally. Think of your own culture. In what situations should Christians behave in a different way from the majority? •• It is suggested that Christians should ‘be Jesus’ to others and ‘see Jesus’ in others. Think of some situations where this might be put into practice. Involve the group in some short role plays. One couple could enact a scene where a daughter has an overbearing mother; in love
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IN LOVE
THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE another a scene where one person has a friend who is constantly trying to be involved in the person’s life, because the friend has a ‘need to be needed’; another a scene where one person has a friend who dramatises every incident because he/she is seeking attention. The group should discuss the best way to show love in each case. If role plays do not suit your group, you could ask the group to think of some difficult relationship issues, and how those involved could or should show Christian love. IN PRAYER Take time to consider the depth of the love of Christ to us – ways in which it shows itself – and pray that the Lord will give us grace to love one another as he loves us. Dear Lord, when we think of how you love us, we realise that we fall short of your standard in the way we treat others. Give us grace by your Spirit so that our love to others will become more and more like your love for us. SESSION OUTCOMES •• Understanding that showing love to others should be part of daily living. •• Understanding that there are many different ways of expressing love. •• Understanding that decisions we make about how we use our gifts should be directed by love. •• Recognising that making decisions in a loving way can be very challenging in some situations.
rmy leader’s manual
SUPPORTING RESOURCES Song: ‘As I have loved you’, Love – Right at the Heart.
IN DISCUSSION Take time to discuss the following (see page 11 of the ‘In Love’ book): 1. Identify the difference between ‘worshipping’ God and ‘loving’ God. How can the two commands come happily together in our daily living? Deuteronomy 6:13 with Matthew 4:10, and Deuteronomy 6:5 with Mark 12:28-31 2. In what ways does the Army’s longstanding slogan ‘Heart to God and hand to mankind’ reflect the two greatest commandments? Mark 12:29-31 3. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7* and see how your life compares with a life of love. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4. Consider each life – abilities, gifts, achievements and actions – being measured finally by the law of love. Matthew 7:2; Matthew 25:31-46 * You could ask the members of the group to read aloud the Scripture verses, but slightly alter the text so that it becomes personal. ‘I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I am not proud’ etc. It helps everyone to measure themselves against what they ought to be. You might ask each person to in love
THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE one rmy
LOVE – DAILY LIVING one rmy
IN LOVE
LOVE – DAILY LIVING
choose just one aspect and make it their goal to improve in this area. Pray for each 05 other in the group, as a whole or in pairs or triplets. Activity Ideas •• Find a song that expresses a desire to be filled with God’s love. •• Jesus said that we should love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Discuss what this means. •• As this is the last module of the programme, you could review the whole series by reading these words together (see page 2 of the Introduction book): We are one Army: in Calling, in Covenant, in Christ, in Truth, in Purpose, in Prayer, in Fellowship, in Service, in Faith, in Holiness, in Hope, in Love. •• Take time for members of the group to share highlights of the course – what they have learned, how they have changed. •• Go to www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/vision to watch and listen to the song ‘A Godraised and Spirit-filled Army’. It was published in Sing to the Lord in 2013 and the words and music are also available for download on the website, so why
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REFERENCED RESOURCES one rmy
THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE one rmy 06
REFERENCED RESOURCES FOR THIS UNIT This unit relates in particular to doctrines 2, 6, 9, 10 and 11.
not try singing the song or reading the words together in your group? •• Another song, ‘As I have loved you’, from Love – Right at the Heart, is also available at the same website. •• Sing ‘The Founder’s Song’ – ‘O Boundless Salvation’ – to conclude. It is number 509 in the 2015 edition of The Song Book of The Salvation Army. IN PRAYER Consider that, more than anything else, God wants our love. Then confirm your love for him – heart, mind, strength and soul.
SESSION OUTCOMES •• Recognising that loving God and loving others is at the heart of the Christian faith. •• Recognising that humankind could not exist without love. •• Understanding that although a person may have many good qualities and gifts, without love they cannot fulfil God’s purposes. •• Recognising that love is supreme over every other good quality.
Dear Lord, we praise you that you are love, and you love each of us with a deep unending love. We know that, above all else, you desire that we should love you in return. We commit ourselves afresh to do that – to love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. May our love for you be seen in the whole of our lives, in all we think, say and do - by your grace and in your name. Amen.
in love
– the supremacy of love one
rmy leader’s manual
BOOKS The Song Book of The Salvation Army (2015 edition), IHQ. The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis, Collins. The General Next to God, Richard Collier, Collins. Holiness Unwrapped, Robert Street, IHQ and Australia Eastern Territory. Love – Right at the Heart, Robert Street, IHQ. ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Issues, United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland. WEBSITES www.salvationarmy.org/onearmy www.salvationarmyspirituallife.org
@TSAOneArmy What resources would you add? Let us know by emailing OneArmy@salvationarmy.org or visit www.salvationarmy.org/ onearmy/resources
referenced resources
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PART THREE ‘LIKE HIM I’LL BE’, Faithfulness – pp 97, 98 in Holiness Unwrapped. Think of yourself as unfaithful. Imagine you frequently fail to keep your word. You tell lies, cover them up with fanciful stories and do things in secret which damage your friend’s reputation. You have forgotten why other people are loyal and trustworthy, and everything you do is for your own ends. You are simply using other people as it suits you. It isn’t a good picture – and it spells out why faithfulness is an essential part of our Christian walk. The gospels show Jesus as being completely dependable and true to 08 his word. They tell us that he is the Truth (John 14:6). If we aim to ‘be like Jesus’ we cannot avoid faithfulness. It is integral to who we are and what we do. The word ‘faith’ implies belief in something. Belief in Jesus Christ speaks of our trust in him, arising out of personal conviction. If we are faithful to him we live by what we believe he requires of us. If we have made promises to him, we live by those promises. We honour his promises to us by honouring our promises to him. The issue is straightforward. But there is something in the human condition that disappoints and, it seems, defies even the best intentions. There is a rebellious streak in us, a resistance to the control of promises made or to the obligations of our social life – and unfaithfulness rears its ugly head. Usually it is those who trust us the most who are most likely to be hurt. We need to think seriously and deeply before acting unwisely. History is littered with ‘if onlys’. The Old Testament has its own record of unfaithfulness. In particular, Israel, leader’s manual
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who received from God all that was good and who was deeply loved, is frequently depicted as being unfaithful and ungrateful. Her unfaithfulness grieved God deeply (Jeremiah 9:1-6). This passage, in particular, shows the havoc that unfaithfulness causes in community, among friends and with God. Jeremiah also speaks of the Israelites as being ‘faithless’ (3:6). Their lack of faith in God was the cause of wayward behaviour. Significantly, the New Testament tells us that faith is a gift from God. ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God’ (Ephesians 2:8), says Paul. The faith we have been given, gives hope that exceeds all other hopes (Hebrews 11:1). It plants in us a steadfastness and deep trust in the eternal God himself, from whom all resources flow and from whom all empowering to live the good life comes. Faith is not sight. We do not have complete knowledge of God or the future. Heaven’s mysteries are not ours to see. We are given faith – faith to live by, faith to develop, faith that will strengthen every time we truly exercise it. We are given faith that is alive, that challenges us, encourages us, supports us and ultimately grows within us, giving evidence that it is indeed the fruit of the Spirit. As we look to Jesus as the source of our faith, Scripture affirms his faithfulness time after time. Writing in 1 Corinthians, Paul testifies that ‘God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful’ (1:9). Of God’s promise to sanctify his people ‘through and through’, he writes, ‘The one who calls you is faithful. He will do it’ (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Trust him.
MARRIAGE – pp 10, 11 in Issues – Exploring where The Salvation Army stands on moral and social issues.
In seeking to uphold marriage, The Salvation Army bears witness to God’s plan for human society.
Marriage has existed in some form throughout human history. The Salvation Army endorses the view that marriage should be much more than a legal union or contract. Christians see marriage as a covenant relationship, a gift from God and a calling. Marriage is part of God’s creation plan for human blessing and flourishing. Its purpose is to provide loving support and companionship, to facilitate emotional, intellectual, spiritual and sexual fulfilment and to secure the foundation of family life …
CHAPTER 4 ‘LOVE AND DIGNITY’ – pp 91-93 in Love – Right at the Heart.
The Salvation Army believes that God ordained marriage to be an exclusive and lifelong relationship between one man and one woman which is characterised by mutual submission, respect, self-giving love, faithfulness and openness to each other. It is a holy relationship, sanctioned and blessed by Christ. For Christians the lifelong commitment of marriage is affirmed in vows freely, joyfully and publicly exchanged and celebrated in the supportive presence of witnesses – God, family, friends, the church community and the state. Familiar promises echoed in The Salvation Army’s marriage ceremony, ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part’, clearly express the covenantal nature of marriage. However, human imperfection and sinfulness may make it difficult to reach the goal of lifelong faithfulness... The Salvation Army does not condemn or abandon people who fall short of the ideal. Rather, in God’s name, it seeks to offer support, reconciliation, counsel, grace and forgiveness …
Jesus had a way of treating the most unlikely people with dignity. The woman said to have been caught in the act of adultery is a prime example (John 8:3-11). The teachers of the law and the Pharisees ‘made her stand’ before the group and then asked Jesus to pass judgement on her – in effect, to pronounce a verdict of death by stoning. By the end of the encounter the woman’s accusers had left in shame and embarrassment, and the woman had 09 been lovingly protected by Jesus – who refused to condemn her. He saw past her immediate circumstances into her heart, and told her to begin a new life without sin. He gave her dignity and encouraged self-respect. One of the fallacies of the modern age is that everyone must earn respect. There seems to be an attitude that before respect is given, people must prove that they are worthy of it. This is not what Jesus taught or did. Matthew 25:31-46 records the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. In it, Jesus draws attention to people who are hungry, thirsty, strangers without clothes, unwell or in prison. He commends those who have shown care to such people, adding, ‘… “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”’ (v 40 NIV 1984). Jesus not only advocates care and respect for people in dire circumstances – people who have nothing to offer – but he also takes it to the ultimate by speaking of ‘the least of these brothers of mine’. No leader’s manual
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one rmy one is outside his circle of respect and he identifies fully with them – calling them ‘these brothers of mine’. By caring for them we are actually serving him. If we want to love others as Jesus loves us – giving dignity and respect that isn’t merited or earned – we must look for him in everyone we meet, and give them the same respect we would give to Jesus. We should not wait for them to earn it.
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With such a profound, clear lesson at the heart of Jesus’ teaching, it would seem incomprehensible for any Christian – leader or otherwise – to assume a stance of superiority over others. And yet it happens. Why? Sometimes our upbringing or culture teaches us habits, customs or attitudes that do not conform to those of Jesus. This ought not to surprise us. In seeking to lead the people of his day to a new and deeper understanding of human dignity, Jesus frequently acted counterculturally. For example, his washing of the disciples’ feet was initially resisted and had to be carefully explained (John 13:2-17). In cultures where it is inappropriate to question anyone in authority, leaders can become all-powerful. They assume an unquestioned position of strength. In these cultures, Christian leaders need to take special care to ensure that no ‘superior’ attitudes develop. In trying to emulate the servant leadership of Jesus, Christian leaders run the risk of being misunderstood, or seen as weak, so it is essential that they learn how to retain spiritual authority while also giving full respect to everyone under their direction. Peter’s appeal to the elders in his first general letter speaks of ‘not lording it over those entrusted to you…’ (5:3). It is a leader’s manual
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lesson that still needs to be heeded. Every organisation has to entrust people with differing responsibilities. Some are placed over others in order for things to be conducted in an orderly fashion. This does not mean that those ‘in charge’ should approve favours for themselves at the expense of those working for them. It is clear from the Gospels that Jesus avoided favouring his own needs. He also warned that those who see themselves as first will one day be last (Matthew 19:30). Near the conclusion of his letter to the Romans, Paul discusses differences of opinion and writes, ‘Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves’ (14:22 NIV 1984). Leaders in positions of authority or power should never forget this – in regard to themselves and those they lead. The same principle applies to us all.