EXTRA Ideas for Adults—Essentials for Christian Living—A Love for Others

Date: August 30, 2026

Session Title: A Love for Others  

The Point: We are to love others as God loves us. 

Podcast—Bible Studies for Life: Adults

Find your weekly podcast that helps both leaders and group members dig deeper into the session, offering clarity, insight, and practical guidance you can use right away. Listen now to strengthen your preparation and maximize your group’s time together.

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Additional Teaching Options

Optional teaching ideas that incorporate current news, cultural trends, and real-world illustrations to help your group engage more deeply and view today’s issues through a clear biblical lens.

Getting Started

Read after discussing Getting Started—Question 1/The Point:

Rees Morgan was serving with the IMB and feeling discouraged by language school when he decided to spend the day hammocking on the beach. When Morgan arrived, he noticed another man, Vennico, with a Bible. Morgan tried to use his newfound French skills when Vennico said he didn’t speak French anyway. Vennico said that he was a Christian, and Morgan went on his way to read his own Bible before noticing that he was being watched. Morgan offered to study the Bible with Vennico, and the two started with the first four chapters of Matthew.

When Morgan’s time in Guinea finished, he made sure Vennico was still connected with a local church and another IMB missionary, Tristan Liam. Liam and Vennico began meeting weekly to study the Bible together. Thanks to his growing faith, a third of his family is growing in their acceptance of Vennico’s faith and are the only parts of his family who will acknowledge him.

None of this would have happened if Morgan had ignored Vennico’s curiosity that first day on the beach. But he chose to love others as God does and spend his time discipling another believer. Now Vennico is running a neighborhood bible study and wants to plant a church on the unreached border between Guinea and Sierra Leone. When we choose to see people as God does, and love them as He does, our actions can have eternal consequences.

To learn more about this article, visit IMB.org and search “Bach Encounter in Guinea becomes Discipleship Journey.”

Get Into the Study (Option for Adult Leader Guide)

In advance, play a video clip showing someone going the extra mile for another. Then ask Question 1.

Study the Bible (Option for Adult Leader Guide)

In advance, play a song about God’s love. Invite someone in the group to lead the group in worship and praise for God’s great love.

Study the Bible

Read after discussing Study the Bible—Question 2:

Little League baseball coach Drew Breivogel divided the internet after a pep talk with his pitcher was caught on a hot mic during the Little League World Series. The Arizona team was playing against a team from Hawaii with two runners on and the game hanging in the balance when Breivogel called a time out during the fourth inning. Instead of giving the player pitching tips, the coach gave a small “sermon on the mound” to help calm nerves, reminding the young man that salvation was the most important thing and Jesus was still Lord even if they lost the game.  Hawaii ended up scoring four runs during that fourth inning, winning the game 5-2.

Many people commented on videos of the pep talk, saying that the Arizona team lost because the coach chose to “make the moment about himself” by talking about Jesus on television instead of giving the pitcher baseball advice. During a high-stakes situation like this game, the world says that love is focusing people on the task at hand. But God’s view says that keeping things gospel-centered is love. God’s focus is on eternity and making sure that all things are done in love for His glory, not worldly acclaim or personal satisfaction. Breivogel saw the pitcher was nervous and reminded him that ultimately, God was the only thing that really mattered.

To learn more about this article, search “2026 Little League World Series” or “Arizona baseball coach talks Jesus on the mound.”

The week’s writer for Extra is Emily Duncan. Emily is a Southern California native who lives in west Georgia with her husband and daughter. God saved her from Wicca when she was sixteen while at a youth retreat. Emily’s a member of Midway Church in Villa Rica and mentors young women as they transition from high school to college.

[Linked material and sources serve as background illustration only and does not imply endorsement beyond our biblical application.]

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Additional Questions

Optional, thoughtfully crafted questions designed to warm up group conversation and guide engagement throughout each Bible passage—helping your group think critically, connect personally, and process Scripture through a clear biblical lens.

Icebreakers

• What is your favorite love song or romantic movie and why?
• What elements did you include (or do you want to include) in your wedding?
• Looking back over the past week, what kinds of things did you say you loved?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Love is foundational to everything we do.

• How do these verses change the way you think about serving God?
• Why do you think love matters so much as a Christian?
• Why do spiritual gifts mean nothing without love?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Love reflects the character of Christ.

• Which of the qualities in these verses are hardest for you to live out?
• What are some of the differences between biblical love and the world’s idea of love?
• Describe the daily character and choices of agape love.

1 Corinthians 13:8-13. Love does not diminish, fade, or go away.

• How should the eternal perspective given in these verses shape the way we love others today?
• How does it make you feel to read that one day you will know fully and be fully known?
• Why is love the “greatest of these” (v. 13)?