Care for Others

Pray – (1/2 minute)

Read – (2 1/2 minutes) – “ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he said, ‘you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ Again Jesus said, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me?’ He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.’ Jesus said, ‘Take care of my sheep.’ ” (John 21:15-16)
       Passage: 1 John 4:7-21

        A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers and prayed, ‘God, it must be hard to love all the people in the world all the time. I only have one brother, and I have a hard time loving him all the time.’ Loving others involves caring for people even when they are not lovable. Jesus called on Peter to care for people to demonstrate Peter’s love for the Lord. After each time Peter said he loved Jesus, Jesus told him to ‘feed my lambs’, ‘take care of my sheep’, and ‘feed my sheep’.
        Years later, the Apostle John would write, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20-21) Caring for people through the ministry we do and the message we share is one way to show we love Jesus. Let’s show our love well.

 Apply - (2 1/2 minutes)
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Pray - (1 1/2 minutes)