Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

What are some things you have done in the name of Christian
service that were done without love?

How can we judge within ourselves when we are doing things
out of love and when we are doing them for selfish reasons?

What is something you can do this week that may be
uncomfortable for you but is purely motivated by love?

Journaling

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

When Paul talks about love here, the language is similar to
the way Solomon talked about wisdom in Proverbs. Love, like wisdom, is something that we can
have and use. It is not just an idea,
but something that guides our every action.
For Christians, and it is seen especially in Paul, we are not guided by
practicality, but by love.

What are some situations you have encountered where there
were two choices, being practical and acting on love? What did you choose?

What are some habits in your life that do not measure up to
the standard of love given in these verses?
What can you do to change them?

Who is the hardest person in your life for you to love? I don’t mean someone far away who you don’t
even know, but someone close to you.
What is something you can do to love them in a way that they can see?

Journaling

Read 1 Corinthians 13:7

Love is not always an internal feeling, but an outward
acting. Love is an idealistic way of
life. When we lose love we start to hope
for, want, and believe in only part of the Bible’s promises. When we love totally, we strive for the
ideals that Jesus preached and lived.
That is what Paul is calling us to here.

Do you find yourself putting barriers and limits on your
love?

What are some things we tell ourselves to keep us from
loving? (i.e. If I give money to a
homeless person they will just waste it on alcohol, drugs, etc. so there is no
point) Even though sometimes these reasons are legitimate, often they are just
walls we put up to protect ourselves. Can you identify any of these things in
your own life?

What is something that Jesus said that makes you think to
yourself, “Yeah right”? Can you try to
live out that thing?

Journaling

Read 1 Corinthians 13:8-10

When everything has passed away love will still be
there. Sometimes that is hard to
believe. According to Paul, it is not
only the sinful things that will pass away, but even the spiritual gifts that
he just talked about in the last chapter.
His focus is not, however, on their disappearance. It is on love and how it will outlast
everything. The word “perfection” is not
perfect as we might think of it, but it is “complete” or “mature”. When God completes his plan for earth what will be there? We know one thing will be there; love.

What are things we trust in more than love?

What are some ways that we can practice trusting love more
than anything else?

Imagine for a moment what the world would look like if every
Christian lived out the kind of love Paul has been talking about. What would be different from today?

Journaling

Read 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

There are three things that characterize a mature
Christian. They are not: holding a
position of authority, knowing the Bible front and back, being the best dressed
Sunday morning, or never missing a single opportunity to be at church. The three things are Faith, Hope, and
Love. All three of these are life
changing things, not merely internal feelings.
When you have all three of these the way you live your life is radically
altered.

Picture someone you see as a mature Christian. In what ways do they exemplify the three
things?

How would your life be different if you lived every moment
for faith, hope, and love?

This whole chapter is playing off of the final verse in
Chapter 12, “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” Paul is talking about love and the whole of
chapter 13 is hopefully going to give us a better understanding of it. After expounding spiritual gifts in the
previous chapter, Paul is giving us some perspective on the matter and the
perspective he gives is: what is it all worth without love?