Lean In // 5 minutes
What’s something bizarre you’ve seen that stopped you in your tracks?
Leader Note: Help your group think out of the box here, invite humor, crazy things that happen or we see that seem to come out of nowhere. Transition your group by saying something like… “just as these things cause us to stop and take notice, the words of Jesus in this passage would have been absolute crowd stoppers.” Here are some things are team came up with if you need a little help getting this conversation going!
- A man riding a bike in our neighborhood with a parrot on his shoulder
- An intoxicated person in a “spider-man” costume falling of a sidewalk
- Someone carrying a baby calf on his back while driving a motor bike
- A sidewalk “sign waiver” breakdancing on the street corner
Look Down // 10 minutes
What do you learn about outrageous love from the passage?
- It goes against what most people think, say and do
- It’s more the what’s expected, above and beyond vs. the bare minimum
- It’s selfless and generous
- It’s dangerous, risky
- Pray is a part of it but it also takes effort, active not passive, you have to do something, turn your cheek, give your shirt, go the extra mile
- It does not demand or even expect anything in return
- It doesn’t not pursue revenge, leaves issues of justice to God.
Look Out // 10 minutes
What does it look like to meet hate with hate, where have you seen it?
Leader Note: This question is designed to get your group thinking about where they have seen the principles of the passage in the world today. Have they actually seen or heard about someone loving this way… what did that look like, what were the defining characteristics? What stories, examples, can you think of where people don’t live this way and what does that look like?
Look In // 20 minutes
When was a time someone showed you outrageous love?
Leader Note: While we want our group to discuss where they need to live this way it is helpful to talk about where they’ve given this type of love. This will not only invite emotion but cause people to see that in many ways I have been the offender and need to receive this type of love from others. Recognizing our own need for this compels us to offer it to others.
Where do you struggle to extend outrageous love and what steps can you take to live this way?
Leader Note: Use caution in this question as we never want to excuse any form of abusive behavior. Identifying the person or the situation where we need to live this out does not make the action or behavior ok. By choosing love we take the control away from the abuser and put our trust in God to make things right.
Live It Out // 5 minutes
What if you actually lived this way? How would others see Jesus, how would they be impacted?
Key Verse: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you – Matthew 5:44
Key Thought: Jesus calls his followers to live out outrageous love!
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Learn More About Flow Questions: Check out Kenton Beshore’s book Ask in the Irvine Campus Bookstore for more on the Flow Question model.