Conversation Starters: Love Gives
Posted by Karah
CONNECTION POINT: Telling people about Jesus shows love for them.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Relationships can be fragile. Everything’s fine if two people are traveling down the same road, but what happens if those two people don’t see eye to eye—or open animosity is evident? The Christian’s role in a relationship—any relationship—is to love. When we live and dwell in the love of Christ, that same love seeps into all our relationships.
Concept: Love Gives
LIFE POINT: Philip traveled from town to town, telling people about Jesus. One day an angel (a messenger from God) spoke to Philip. The angel told him to go to the desert road that went from Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip started walking down the road. He saw a man riding in a chariot. The Ethiopian man had been to Jerusalem to worship God. Philip heard the man reading from a Bible scroll. Philip asked the man, “Do you understand what you are reading?” “No,” the man said. “I need someone to explain the words to me.” So Philip sat beside him in the chariot and explained the
words. Philip told the man that the words in the Bible scroll were about Jesus. He told him the good news about Jesus. The man saw some water and asked to be baptized. Philip baptized him. The Ethiopian man went home very happy. Philip traveled to other places to tell people about Jesus.
LIVE IT OUT: Help your child think of a family member or friend who needs to know about Jesus. Print “Jesus loves you” at the top of a piece of paper. Let your child draw a special picture for this person. Plan to give the picture to the person. Say a prayer together for this person beforehand.
LIFE POINT: Philip was one of the disciples. He told people about Jesus. An angel told Philip to go to the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza. While Philip was walking down the road, he saw a man from Ethiopia sitting in a chariot while reading a Scripture passage. Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading. The Ethiopian said that he was not able to understand what he was reading because he had no one to help him understand it. The Ethiopian asked Philip to sit beside him in the chariot. Philip read explained that the Scripture was talking about Jesus. Philip explained to him all that Jesus had done. The Ethiopian believed everything that Philip told him about Jesus. The Ethiopian saw some water and asked Philip if he could be baptized. Philip told the Ethiopian, “If you believe with all of your heart, you may.” Philip baptized the man from Ethiopia.
LIVE IT OUT: Has your child ever shared his testimony with a friend? Remind him that God wants us to tell others the good news about Jesus. Help him think of a friend who needs to know about Jesus. Brainstorm ideas for helping that friend learn about Jesus.
THE POINT: Center every relationship on the unconditional love of Christ.
• How has technology changed the way we relate to each other?
• How does obeying God’s commands demonstrate our love for Him?
• What does it look like to love others the way Jesus loves us?
• What keeps us from obeying Jesus’ commands in these verses?
Discuss the following quote:
“The world does not understand theology or dogma [doctrine], but it understands love.”¹ —Dwight L. Moody
LIVE IT OUT: Encourage your student to take practical steps to take his or her faith and Live It Out. Here are some ways you can encourage your students to live out their faith with Christ personally, in community, and in their culture:
• CHRIST: Take time to pray with your student ensuring that he or she is loving Jesus in the same way that He loves us.
• COMMUNITY: Encourage your student to show love to his camp friends this week, even if they live far away. Brainstorm a couple ways you could show love and then follow through.
• CULTURE: It is easy to love our friends and family, but Jesus calls us to love everyone including our enemies. Seeing you acting in love and doing good will help your student to act out that same love with others.
¹. Inspired Faith: 365 Days a Year: Daily