History is one of those things that we are destined to repeat if we don’t learn from it. Sunday School is and has always been about God’s people connecting with one another, engaging in God’s Word and making a difference in the community.
“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.” John 13:34 (HCSB)
God commands us to love one another. You don’t have to like each other but you do have to love one another.
I have experienced Sunday School classes and churches who don’t love each other very much.
Think about this, do you “feel” loved by the people in your Sunday School Class or Small Group? There are lots of variables that contribute to how we “feel” about each other, but use these words to help measure that love.
- Do you trust them?
- Are they genuinely interested in your well-being?
- Do you feel like you “fit” into the group?
- Do you “feel” comfortable enough to share personal issues or concerns with your group?
Love is best illustrated by unselfish desires and actions.
On the other hand, how do others in your class or small group “feel”? Do they “feel” loved by others and by you? Face it, you don’t control the actions, choices, behaviors and attitudes of others; but you do control yours. Are your actions, choices, behaviors and attitudes loving towards others?
The core element to “making disciples” in your small group or Sunday School class is loving relationships.
Sometimes it is easier to teach through loving others in your actions, choices, behaviors and attitudes than it is to just tell them that you love them. On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt for them to hear it from you every once in a while too.
Tell the people in your class or group that you love them today. Send a text, write an email, call them, send them a card, or talk to them when you see them at church or around town. Let them know you love them. Better than that, show them. Be an example of loving others just as Jesus has commanded.
What a history lesson it will be if you and your class or group were known for how much you loved one another.
