EXTRA! Ideas for Adults – How to Love Your Neighbor – Session 6

Date: August 28, 2022

Share Christ with Your Neighbor

The Point: We love our neighbors when we tell them about Jesus.

Get Into the Study

Use the following information to introduce Question 1.

In 2018, pre-Covid, only 26% of Americans polled answered that they know most of their neighbors. While it may be a common belief that neighbors are less important in our modern age, crisis situations (like emergency weather, local electrical grid issues, or medical situations) remind us that we are interdependent with the people who are physically near us.

Wayne Tomlinson, of Denton, TX used an app called NextDoor to identify neighbors in need of help during the Covid-19 pandemic. He and others in his local area helped their neighbors find jobs, food, clothing, and avoid eviction. “We’ve helped 52 families, but we’ve had over 400 people donate in one way or another, so it really has been a neighborhood effort,” said Tomlinson.

Say: “It’s easy to downplay the importance of neighbors until we have a need only someone near us can meet.” Then read Question 1: (“What’s the nicest thing a neighbor has done for you?”)

Information for this post was gleaned from:

Study the Bible

Use the following information to introduce Question 4.

“Pray that your neighbors would trust you with their big problems.” It’s an interesting challenge from Rosaria Butterfield. Rosaria came to faith after encountering Christians who invited her, and her problems, into their home when she was a lesbian atheist college professor who was hostile toward Christianity. “I knew I was accepted because I was at the table. I knew they accepted me because they welcomed me in and didn’t treat me as a blank slate. They listened to how I had processed my life. They listened well enough and found the gospel bridge to my heart.”

Loving people well, and inviting them to move toward Jesus, means we will have to spend time with them. Pastor David Schrock wrote, “Lasting, loving relationships need something more than momentary hallway conversations. To foster relationships, therefore, we must go deeper—or at least, we must go longer. …Creativity and availability are key here. If you are willing to reach out to others, you will reap the blessing of being a conduit of grace to them.”

Then read Question 4: (“When have you seen friendship start someone on the path to Jesus?”)

Information for this post was gleaned from:

Jessica Connell wrote these Leader Extras. Jess is a homeschooling mom of 9 who has served around the world in ministry with her husband. She loves hiking, exploring, and being active in her local church in North Texas.

Additional Questions

Icebreakers

Are you quicker to share good news or bad news? Why?
When you learn something good, who is the first person you want to tell?
How could you express love for your neighbors that would really make a difference in their lives?

John 1:40-42

What can hold us back from telling others about Jesus?
How does it make you feel to tell someone else your experience with Jesus?
When you hear the word “evangelism,” what comes to mind?

John 1:43-46

What are some common reasons people give for rejecting the gospel?
What can Philip’s approach teach us about evangelism?
What are some ways we can invite others to “come and see” who Jesus is?

John 1:47-49

When have you seen friendship start someone on the path to Jesus?
How can our group be a helpful means in leading people to Christ?
What prevents us from having a sense of urgency in evangelism?

For Those in Your Group

Send the following link to your group members as either a teaser before the group meets or as a follow-up thought: