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John 13: ³⁴But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. John 15: ¹⁴And you are my friends, if you obey me. ¹⁵Servants don't know what their master is doing, and so I don't speak to you as my servants. I speak to you as my friends, and I have told you everything that my Father has told me.... ¹⁷So I command you to love each other. (CEV)
1. What does it mean to be a "friend" of Jesus when at the same time He is our Lord?

Romans 8: ¹⁵God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who are afraid of him. Instead, we become his children and call him our Father. ¹⁶God's Spirit makes us sure that we are his children....
    ²⁸We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him.... ²⁹... He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children. (CEV)
2. How should we respond to God's overflowing love?

James 3: ¹⁷But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. Romans 14: ¹Welcome all the LORD'S followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don't criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours.... ³But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. ⁴What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right.... ⁷Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves.... ²²What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God.... (CEV)
3. Why does God have us keep quiet about what we believe? What does this mean?

1 Peter 1: ²²You obeyed the truth, and your souls were made pure. Now you sincerely love each other. But you must keep on loving with all your heart. ²³Do this because God has given you new birth by his message that lives on forever.... 1 Peter 2: ²Be like newborn babies who are thirsty for the pure spiritual milk that will help you grow and be saved. ³You have already found out how good the Lord really is. (CEV)
4. What does it mean to be like "newborn babies" who crave "spiritual milk"?

1 John 2: ²⁷But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don't need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do.... ²⁹You know that Christ always does right and that everyone who does right is a child of God. 1 John 3: ¹Think how much the Father loves us. He loves us so much that he lets us be called his children, as we truly are. But since the people of this world did not know who Christ is, they don't know who we are.... (CEV)
5. Why does God tell us we don't need teachers?

Please study the above references and then add your observations and applications:
Observations                                                             Applications
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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