“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

It’s a great answer! All the Law and all the Prophet’s teachings come down to these two things.

Questions:
-In your words, what does it mean to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”?

-How do we demonstrate that?

-What about “Love your neighbor as yourself”?

-Just to remind our self, how do we do that (1 Corinthians 13)

-Which of those commandments is the hardest to follow?
Why?

It’s harder to “Love our neighbor” because we have to:
-See our neighbor.
-Live next to our neighbor
-Grocery store with our neighbor
-Work with our neighbor
-Drive on the road with our neighbor
-It’s hard because we have to co-exist with all these neighbors who all have free-wills and are independent and selfish and it just makes it HARD!!!

But do you know what’s harder than LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR?

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. —Mark 6:1-6

Questions:

-So, in your own words, what happened here in Jesus’ hometown?

-Who was in the crowd?

-How was the reaction different here compared to other places he had taught?

-Why did they “Take offense”?

-What three places did Jesus say a Prophet was “without honor”
His Own Town
Among His Relatives
His Own Home

-What was the result? And how was that different than other places?

-The only thing harder than “LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR”, is LOVING YOUR FAMILY!

-WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

Often it is the people that are the closest to us, our family, that prove to be the most difficult relationships.
Everyone struggles with family relationships. It is the family that sees us at our best and at our worst.

Families struggle to see our current growth and maturity because they have witnessed our past struggles and failures.
People are often stuck at their worst in our memories.

-ARE WE GUILTY OF DOING THOSE THINGS TO OUR FAMILY?

-ARE THERE THINGS THAT YOU’VE DONE YOUR FAMILY WILL NOT LET GO OF?

-ARE THERE THINGS IN YOUR PAST THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS DONE THAT YOU HAVEN’T GOT OVER?

It doesn’t do any good to “Love our Neighbor”, if we can’t love those within our own family.
Before we look at individual family relationships, we have to wipe the slate clean and let go of some things.

-My action steps?

-Recalling our conversation from “Abnormal” about “Love holding no record of wrongs”, choose to release your family from their past and to see what and where they are now.

-Choose to forgive your family that judges you based on your past.