High School Week 2: My Actions

The Main Thing:

God’s Word changes how I treat people.

Start Talking (Conversation Starter):

What makes someone easy to get along with? What makes someone difficult to get along with?

Explore the Scripture:

Read Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:27-36 together. Spend some time talking about the passages.

• What words, phrases, or actions stand out?

• What questions do these passages raise?

• What’s God showing you about the passages?

• What do these passages reveal about Jesus or people?

Now read Matthew 25:40 and Ephesians 4:32. How do these passages add to what you already read?

Unpack It:

Discuss what you read and what you heard.

• Jesus doesn’t just say to tolerate difficult people. He says to love them. What’s the difference?

• How does Jesus challenge the way we naturally want to respond when someone hurts, annoys, or excludes us?

• Which verses challenge or encourage you most? What about the message challenged or encouraged you?

Own It:

Make the Scripture personal.

• Think about how you treat people at school, at home, on a team, at work, or online. Where is there a gap between what you believe and how you behave?

• Who is hardest for you to show love, kindness, or respect to right now? What makes that difficult?

• How’s God calling you to apply what you read or what you heard?

Live It:

Take action to apply what you learned.

• This week, choose to treat someone the way God calls us to even when it’s difficult. Do at least one of the following!

  • Include someone who usually gets overlooked.

  • Show respect to someone you regularly disagree with.

  • Respond with kindness instead of getting even.

  • Do something good for someone who can’t do anything for you in return.

Prayer:

End your meeting by inviting someone to pray for the group to see people the way Jesus does and choose love even when it’s difficult.