Making - Most - 07 - Bible - Study PDF

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Making the Most of the Rest of Our Lives Bible Studies
World Vision Offices
Making
the Most
of the
Rest
of
Our
Lives
Bible
Studies
Tim Dearborn and Don Posterski
Making the Most

of the Rest
of Our Lives
Bible Studies
TIM DEARBORN & DON P OSTERSKI
2006 by World Vision International.

Printed in the United States of America.
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form,
except for brief excerpts in reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.
Published by World Vision International, 800 West Chestnut Avenue, Monrovia,
California 91016-3198 U.S.A.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised
Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used
by permission. All rights reserved.
Series Editor: Don Posterski. Editor in chief: Edna Valdez. Copyediting and typesetting: Joan Laflamme. Cover design: Richard Sears. Cover photo: TBD.
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper.
ISBN 1933785055
Tim Dearborn and Don Posterski are Directors, Christian Commitments, World
Vision International.
Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................1
Suggestions for use .................................................................... 3
1 Great Commandment ......................................................... 5
Study 1: Loving God with all we are ................................ 7
Study 2: Loving others with all we have ......................... 12
2 Great Commission ............................................................ 17
Study 3: Agents of change with a great commission ....... 19
Study 4: Pursuing change in all its fullness ..................... 24
3 Great Requirement ........................................................... 29
Study 5: Great expectations............................................ 31
Study 6: Making room for mercy ................................... 36
4 Great Compassion ............................................................ 43
Study 7: The twin virtues of compassion and conviction 45
Study 8: Love is hard work ............................................. 50
5 Great Generosity ............................................................... 55
Study 9: Grace in action................................................. 57
Study 10: An issue of justice .......................................... 60
6 Great Confidence .............................................................. 63
Study 11: Restoring our capacity to dream ..................... 65
Study 12: Singing tomorrows songtoday.................... 69
7 Great Surprises.................................................................. 73
Study 13: Gods surprising ways ..................................... 75
Study 14: Walking off the map ...................................... 79
Introduction
Making the Most of the Rest of Our Lives is for people who are already
on the road of faith in Jesus Christ. We want for today and for the
rest of our lives to count for Christ. We want to make a difference in
the world. We have heard the call to participate in Gods mission,
and we wonder what our place might be.
The following encounters with the Scriptures are for those of us who
know we are a lot like the man in the Bible who says, I believe; help
my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). And yet, still we follow. We are people
who want to pursue what God has designed for the best of life, for
the rest of life however long or short that may be.
The first step in pursuing the best of life is deciding to follow Jesus.
That decision has sometimes received a bad reputation as leading to
a set of rigid rules and hard-to-follow regulations. Sometimes it is
viewed as permission to do whatever we want, for we believe that
God will forgive us. Following Jesus and making the most of the
rest of our lives is not about either of those extremes.
Following Jesus is about loving relationships. It is about being led by
the Spirit to translate our beliefs into attitudes and our attitudes
into actions that contribute to fullness of life for us and for others.
Think of God as the composer of a beautiful symphony the harmony of all creation. This God calls us and gifts us to play our unique
instruments in a chorus of praise like no other. God the Father is the
composer, Christ the Lord is the conductor, and the Spirit is the one
who instructs us to play our instrument in harmony.
To play in tune, we need to understand the musical score, play our
instrument well, and allow the conductor to harmonise all our notes.
Introduction
In this study we explore Gods purposes for human life. Why are we
here, and how are we to live? What is Gods mission in the world,
and how do we participate in it? Believing that God has created us to
play the instruments of our lives in rhythm and harmony, how can
we play them together is such as way that all people enter into the
great chorus of praise?
By discerning the purposes of the Composer, we will be able to play
our own unique instrument with freedom. We will enjoy the music.
We might even dance. We will make the most of the rest of our lives
by being the person we were created to be fully and by living in
harmony with the rhythms of Gods creation.
God has created us to play together in our communities of faith and
to make beautiful music in the noisy clanging of a broken world.
God sends us to participate in the coming of the kingdom, in which
all of creation will be set free to join in the chorus of praise.
Jesus speaks to us in this time and place, along with his disciples,
when he turns to those gathered around him and says: Peace be with
you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you (John 20:21).
Introduction
Suggestions for use
Group composition:
Interest: This study is designed for people who are serious about taking the next steps in following Christ. It assumes a desire to walk
with God in the world as witnesses to Christ and the coming kingdom.
Age and background: This study is appropriate for people with a secondary education from late teens and beyond. It is written to be
accessible to people from any cultural background and diverse church
traditions.
Size: Using combinations of individual study and small- and large
group-discussion, the number of participants can range from as few
as four to several hundred.
Background reading:
Reading material. Every participant needs a copy of this book. No
additional reading is assumed; however, a list of recommended reading is provided.
Outside preparation. While advanced reading is not required, discussion and learning may be enhanced if participants read through the
upcoming study before the session.
Facilitation:
Co-ordinator. It is possible to engage in this study with a facilitator
who only arranges materials, leads the discussion and monitors the
time-schedule. This role could be rotated among participants.
Suggestions for use
Materials and preparation. A list of materials required for each study

is provided. The ideal setting is small tables of six to eight people,
with the ability for participants to turn to face forward if supplemental presentations are used.
Schedule. The study can be done in 14 sessions of 40 minutes each
(suitable for a one-hour programme) or 7 sessions of 2 hours (suitable for an evening series). If used in an evening programme, preceding the session with a light dinner together provides more time for
fellowship and interaction.
Suggestions for Use
Great
Commandment
Study 1
Loving God with all we are

Note to facilitators:
Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

Participants can take turns reading aloud the text in the workbook.
All of us want our lives to count. None of us wants to lie on our
deathbed and feel as though we have missed it. We may have worked
hard or hardly at all, played hard or hardly ever, but whatever we did,
we want to be able to say: It was good. Thank you, Lord, for the life
I have lived. But there is more. We also want others to look at us
and be able to say, That person lived a good life. Thank you, Lord,
for the life he (or she) lived.
Reflection and introductions (10 minutes)
Think about someone you know (either living or deceased)

who has lived life well. What makes (made) his or her life a
good one?
Share with a partner what especially touches you about this
person. What gift do you think he or she brings (brought) to
the world?
In groups of eight, introduce yourselves to one another, sharing your name, one characteristic you admire about this person you mentioned, and one hope you have for this study.
As an entire group, we will hear from a few people some examples of what made others lives good ones.
Study 1: Loving God with all we are
Why are we alive? How do we make the most of our lives? What are
our lives supposed to be? These are the big questions. We know that
part of the answer is found in the crucial beginning steps: We believe
in Christ. We are energised with the presence of the Holy Spirit. We
enjoy (most of the time) community with Gods people.
We are all at different places in our pilgrimage of faith. We have
responded to the Spirits call to follow Christ. We want to grow and
take the next steps of faithfulness. Those next steps may be different
for each of us, but we all yearn to walk toward Christ and the kingdom of God. We want to learn from what we have already lived and
make the most of the years to come. What is Gods call?
As we begin, pray together for the Holy Spirit to take this

study and lead us into Gods preferred will and ways for our
lives.
The astonishing answer to making the most of our lives is actually
very simple to understand though very challenging to live. It is
connected to a love affair. The world needs better lovers.
As we listen to the following reflections, think about which part of
you has the most difficult time engaging in this life of love: your
head (believing you and others are loved); your heart (feeling that
love); your soul (encountering Gods presence daily); or your strength
(what you do with your body).
Read:
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus:Teacher, he said, what must
I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, What is written in the law?
What do you read there? He answered, You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with your strength
and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself. And he said to
him, You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live. (Luke
10:2528)
Part 1: Great Commandment
The Pharisee knew what was required. He simply cited the Law back
to Jesus, quoting from Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5. That
calling isnt even unique to the biblical faiths it is present in every
religion. This is the law of the cosmos, so to speak, because it is the
very nature and passion of God. God calls us to love with every aspect of our being with the resources of our mind, heart, soul and
body. There is no part of our life that is irrelevant to God. There is no
part excluded from this love affair.
What is Gods great command? It doesnt focus on being fruitful,
productive and successful, which is where we often put our attention
and how we measure our worth and the worth of others. It is not a
command to acquire all we can or even to sacrifice all that we have.
Rather, it is the simple call to love the Lord our God with all our
heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves.
The gospel is rooted in the good news that God is love. The gospel
doesnt proclaim that God acts in a loving way but that God is love.
God exists in intimacy in the love of Father, Son and Spirit. In
Christ, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we are caught up into that
embrace of love. The Father and Son come to make their home in us.
We are empowered to participate, to experience, and to express this
art form of living lives of love.
Reflection (10 minutes)
Form groups of four and discuss:

Why is it so hard for us to accept that loving God is a basic
purpose for our lives?
What gets in the way of loving God?
When you think of loving God with your heart (what you
feel), your soul (what you do in your inner life), your mind
(what you think and know) or your strength (what you do
with your body), which area is hardest for you? easiest? Why
do you think that is?
Loving ourselves. Gods call for us to love ourselves is a surprise to

many. Even those who grew up in the church and have heard it many
times, still struggle with self-love. Loving God and loving others we
may understand, but isnt loving ourselves selfish? Sometimes it is
actually the hardest thing to do. When we are honest, sometimes we
dont even like ourselves very much, let alone love ourselves. It is
hard for us to believe we are loveable.
As we listen to the following reflections, remember a time
when you have been most aware of Gods love for you and
were able to accept (if not love) yourself.
The gospel is the astounding news that God loves us first and keeps
on loving us every day, day in and day out, regardless of how often we
fail. Loving God and loving our neighbours depend on knowing we are
loved and valued. One simple way to internalise Gods love is to wake up
in the morning and embrace the stunning reality that we are loved by
God. I am loved by God. Say it. Hear it. Remember it.
Experiencing tastes of Gods love washing over us opens up our parched,
affirmation-seeking selves to believe that we are loved. Receiving Gods
love wont resolve all the obstacles to loving and properly appreciating
ourselves in all the right ways, but there is no better beginning.
Knowing we are loved frees us to live in the midst of the world without
being controlled by its demands and expectations, its suffering and comforts.Therefore, the first word of Johns Gospel is this great news of our
being loved. For God so loved the world (John 3:16). Keep repeating,
God loved us first, and God keeps on loving us first.
Personal reflection (5 minutes)
Write in your journal your responses to the following:

When have you most deeply felt Gods love for you? What
contributed to your awareness?
Invite God to push aside the feelings of unworthiness that
keep you from experiencing the fullness of Gods love. Write
a brief prayer to God, expressing the desire of your heart.
10
As you leave
As we embrace the fact that we are free to love ourselves, even commanded to love ourselves, we move more naturally into the freedom
of loving others. Before the next session, continue to live and move
in the conscious reality that you are Gods beloved. You will be better
prepared to encounter the radical call to love others with all you
have.
11
Study 2
Loving others
with all we have

Provide each participant with Post-it notes.
Attach a large drawing of a deep pit or ravine to the wall.
Prepare a song of praise for Gods great love to be sung at the
conclusion of this session, for example, O the Deep, Deep Love
of Jesus or How Great the Fathers Love for Us.
In the last session we were reminded that the gospel is the astounding news that God loves us first and keeps on loving us first, regardless of how much, or how often, we mess up. God loves us. We
respond with love to God. However, most of us arent very good
lovers. The good news is that while we may not be, God is. Jesus
Christ both reveals Gods love to us and responds to that love on our
behalf. The gospel shifts the focus off of us and our feeble attempts
to love and onto Christ and his overflowing love. Now, as we live in
Christ, the Holy Spirit pours out the love of God through us (Rom.
5:5). We are given a new capacity to live as lovers Christs capacity as we participate in his great love for the world.
12
Listen to the following thoughts, writing on Post-it notes

ways we can make Gods love tangible in the broken places
and raw edges of the world.
Loving our neighbours. As we grow in our love for God with our emotions, our spirits, our bodies and our minds, we are sent out to fill the
worlds broken places and smooth its raw edges with the love of God.
We are participants in what could be called the greatest love affair in
the whole world Gods great love for Gods groaning creation.What a
privilege!
As the Spirit of God puts the pieces of our lives together, we can see
more clearly Gods design for life:
Love is our calling.
Love is lifes business.
Love is our purpose.
Love is to live for people who are created in Gods image and
restored in Christs likeness.
How do we make the most of our lives? Why are we alive? What
must we do to live life fully? The answer isnt found in tasks, accomplishments, control or conquest. The answer can only be spoken in
the language of love love for God and others and ourselves all in
response to Gods unstoppable love for us.
Following this reading, all the participants are invited to walk to the
front of the room and fill up the pit on the drawing on the wall
with their Post-it notes.
Let us invite a few people to share their thoughts with the entire
group:
What does it mean to love others as we love ourselves?
How have you experienced this in your life?
Do you struggle with this? how?
Study 2: Loving others with all we have
13
Love in action
Read and consider:
Monserrat Castro Garcia is a street girl. She is a child cast out of a
society of people that are too busy to look down and notice the dirt
etched in her face, the hollowness of her eyes. She sits next to a trash
can, feeling no more special than thrown-out goods.
She is 13. She doesnt know what its like to attend school regularly or
live with a stable family. Instead, she bears the scars of rape, lives with
the guilt of robbing others, and depends on cheap drugs to get her
through the days. She grew up on the streets. She says, My mother
would send us to get money for her drugs. We would beg and clean
windshields.When Monserrat was nine years old, her mother was thrown
into prison and Monserrat was on her own. She is one of 140,000
children in Mexico and 40 million abandoned children in Latin America
who live on the streets. Monserrat and her group regularly visit World
Visions street childrens centre, Nios de la Calle (children of the street),
for a break from the harsh realities of street life.This transitional house
for six to twenty year olds provides an alternative lifestyle to their other
world, but only if they are willing to abandon drugs. They understand
me here. I think they love me, Monserrat says.They tell me I can move
in, but the street wins me.
World Vision street counsellors Mirna Montalvo and Gustavo Penaloza
are part of an outreach team that works on the streets, talking and
listening to the children and sometimes finding solutions. Its little by
little we tell them that God loves them. We start by saying God bless
you. Then we wait, says Penaloza. Although she feels her prayers are
not always answered, she says, I think God is big and does miracles.
The street counsellors are tender, says Monserrats brother, and love us
because they are Christians. Penaloza says,Theres hope for Monserra.
Theres always hope, as long as there is life.
Discuss as a group Penalozas statement, Theres always hope,

as long as there is life. Do you believe that?
14
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:48: Love is patient; love is

kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It
does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it
does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. It bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. Love never ends.
Consider and discuss what needs to happen in us for us to be able
to love others with that kind of love.
Personal reflection
Consider this: Which person or situation could God be

sending you this week to express this great love? What specifically do you think God is asking you to do?
Pray for God to pour out divine love in you. Ask God to show
you again that you are unconditionally loved, invited and
equipped to express Gods love into this particular situation,
in this particular week.
Conclude by worshipping together (7 minutes)
Read aloud in unison: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but
rejoices in truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Cor. 13:48)
Sing together a song celebrating Gods love for us.
Pray together, asking God to pour out Gods love in each of you
so you know you are loved, unconditionally loved, and that this
love is passed through you to others.
As you leave
Try to be conscious this week of how the deepening realisation that
you are exquisitely loved by God can transform how you perceive
and respond to others for a response is what is required.
Study 2: Loving others with all we have
15
Great
Commission
Study 3
Agents of change

Youll need flip charts, or large sheets of paper, and coloured
pens to be used in small groups
The last two sessions have reminded us of the eternal love song that
God sings to us and to the world. We have been reminded that we
are deeply loved and that we are a people with a high and holy calling, to love others. Now we will explore even more the question of
just what love has to do with it. And what we have to do with love.
God loves us so much that God accepts us just the way we are.
Everyone longs to be loved and accepted. The good news of the gospel is that the acceptance and forgiveness we seek is a gift a gift of
grace. We are loved and accepted not because of our good deeds or
pious prayers, but because the God of love offers us new life in Christ.
Jesus invites us into the divine embrace, freely. Thats the good
newsbut there is even more.
God loves us too much to leave us the way we are. As wonderful as
it is to be accepted, our human spirits long for more:
We want change.
We want to be different.
We want our world to be a better place.
Study 3: Agents of change
19
Life that leaves us trapped in our personal inadequacies and insecurities is not good enough. Circumstances that paralyse people in needless suffering and inherited injustices must be overcome. We desire
transformation deep and enduring change for ourselves and for
others.
As an entire group invite people to call out areas of the world

where they long for the transforming love of God to penetrate. As
they are named, write them on a white board or flip chart.
The great news is that God is not content to leave us or the
world in a confused state of suffering and alienation. Since the
first expressions of sin and brokenness scarred the beauty of the
Creation, God has been in pursuit of transforming change.
Amazingly, Gods vision for change involves us. Gods strategy for
change is to propel us into the world as agents of change. Our
calling, our commission, is to be empowered by God to be agents
of change. Jesus makes this clear in the final words of Matthews
gospel.
Listen to the final words of Matthews gospel and underline

anything that strikes you regarding Gods purposes for our
life.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which
Jesus had directed them.When they saw him, they worshipped him; but
some doubted.And Jesus came and said to them,All authority in heaven
and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age. (Matt. 28:1620)
20
Part 2: Great Commission
Discuss as an entire group

This passage is often referred to as the Great Commission and
interpreted as the evangelistic mandate. What strikes you as
you read the passage?
What comfort do you take from the fact that, even then, some
doubted?
Consider this Oxford Dictionary definition of the word commission: commission: n. the authority to perform a task or
certain duties; an instruction, command or duty given to such
a group or person; an order for something, esp. a work of art,
to be produced specially. Does this definition shed any light
on Jesus command to his followers?
We dont have the authority to go in our own name. Our ambitions,
determination or even our best intentions are no match for the Great
Commission challenge. We go in the name of Jesus with the authority of Jesus. The integrity of a the commission depends on the authority of the one who mandates it. As the Son of God, Jesus has the
credentials to assert: All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me (Matt. 28:18; see also Col. 1:1520).
Listen as we read the following comments on the Great Commission. As you listen, circle anything about these emphases
that is new or surprising to you as aspects of the Great Commission.
A careful look at the mandate is surprising.The scope of Jesus authority
is not limited to matters in heaven and our personal salvation. Jesus
authority extends as well over all things on earth.The scope of the Great
Commission extends to every aspect of life in the world. Accordingly, the
commission commends four dimensions of earthly transformation and
change:
21
1. God wills political transformation: All authority in heaven and

on earth has been given to me. There are no rulers, leaders,
governments, political parties, corporations, CEOs or even forces
of darkness that are outside the sphere of Jesus authority. In
the end, all authority will be brought under the lordship of Christ.
2. God wills cultural transformation: Go and make disciples of all
nations. When God calls us to become disciples of Christ, God
recognises the value-shaping impact of our culture. Following
Christ occurs within a time and place a culture and often
there is dissonance and even conflict between culture and Christs
will for what is best and right. In Jesus vision it is not only individuals who are discipled but cultures.
3. God wills spiritual transformation: Baptise them in the name of
the Father, Son and Spirit. Baptism is more than a spiritual rite
of passage. It is our public identification with Jesus. It is sign and
symbol for what God has done for us in Christ. Baptism is our
way of participating in Christs death and resurrection.We are
buried with him in the waters of baptism, and we rise as new
creatures, clothed with the new life of Christ.We are changed
(see Rom. 6:4; Eph. 4:24; Col. 2:612).
4. God wills social transformation: Teach them to observe all
that I commanded. Following Christ is not simply professing faith in him, or accepting the truth of all he taught. Rather,
it is observing and implementing all that he commanded. It
is striking that most of Jesus commands pertain to our
everyday life.The faith has interpersonal and social implications love your enemies; turn the other cheek; pour cups
of cold water in service to the poor; dont take fellow disciples to court; dont put your trust in treasures. Following
Jesus is a lifestyle adventure that translates belief into
behaviour.
What did you circle as new or surprising?

Discuss in groups of four how these insights compare with
what you have heard before about this passage. What questions does this reading of the Great Commission raise?
22
Ask several volunteers to share their insights with the entire

group.
Return to the list of areas in the world that need Gods transforming love. Select three or four and invest several minutes
in prayer together for Gods love to penetrate these raw edges
and rough places.
As you leave
Find one person this week outside this study group with whom you
can share an insight you have gained regarding the scope of the Great
Commission. Dont debate the insight with the person. Simply describe it and ask for his or her reaction.
23
Study 4
Pursuing change
in all its fullness

Provide enough sheets of paper and coloured pens for every participant and tape to post drawings on the walls.
In the last session we were confronted with a commission. We are
called out and set apart as Gods people only to be re-launched into
the world with a mandate for change. We saw that the Great Commission is about more than we might have thought. And it may be
asking more of us than we imagine.
To reduce following Jesus to personal salvation is an incomplete
gospel. The gospel is highly political, economic, spiritual and social every aspect of our lives and societies is to be converted. In
fact, not just people, but nations, principalities and powers are to
repent and become new in Christ.
Invite several participants to share their experience of discussing

with one person the broad scope of the Great Commission.
24
Divide into four groups, with each group taking one of the four
spheres of Christs transforming authority from the last session:
political; cultural; spiritual; and social. Note the synonyms for transformation from Rogets Thesaurus: transformation n. change, conversion, metamorphosis, transmutation, alteration, remodelling.
Discuss how you understand transformation. What does it
mean in relation to Gods work?
Using a large sheet of paper and coloured pens, draw or write
descriptive words about what the coming of Gods kingdom
would look like in the particular sphere your group is discussing.
Post your drawings and thoughts. Walk about and discuss
with group members what they are trying to convey. What do
you see in the words and drawings of other groups? What do
they see in yours?
Change Agents
Read and consider:
Diamako Coulibaly is a highly influential woman in Sourountouna, Mali
not because of her wisdom or investment in her community, but because of her practised hand in destroying womens bodies. In the last 40
years, she has performed female genital mutilation (FGM) on nearly
10,000 girls.
Coulibalys skill has given her a reliable income her entire life and built
her reputation as the best exciseur in Sourountouna. But after decades
in a country where almost 94 percent of women between 15 and 49
undergo debilitating FGM, she struggles with the effects of mutilating
thousands of young girls.
World Vision is boldly working to transform the spiritual and social lives
of women in Sourountouna. In a place tainted with deep cultural and
religious attitudes toward FGM, World Vision is advocating for change.
World Vision is partnering with Islamic and Christian leaders, already
Study 4: Pursuing change in all its fullness
25
powerful agents for change, to work against the belief that religion and
excision are inextricably linked.
Coulibaly says that World Vision informed her of the long-term consequences of excision and that it can cause many problems for girls.
Although faced with unemployment, she has made the difficult decision
to shut down her lifelong business. She refuses to perform any more
operations in her community. Coulibaly acknowledges that if the former
mutilators like me would speak in different villages, the practice would
stop. She believes this would happen because they know us who have
been doing excision for many years and they will listen to why we have
stopped. Partnering with World Vision, Coulibaly now uses her strong
voice to stand against FGM. She recently led her entire community to
hand over its surgical weapons, make a public decision to stop FGM,
and sign forms promising to no longer practice excision. To offset
Coulibalys financial loss,World Vision provided an opportunity for her to
start a new business of selling sheep.
Almost 64 percent of respondents in a World Vision survey said they
were interested in being involved in World Visions training on FGM.
Change at the hand of one or at the hands of many comes through
an acknowledgement of Gods love for all Gods children and courage to
initiate change through the power of Gods strength.
As an entire group list the changes necessary to end the practice of FGM.
Discuss whether this is an aspect of the Great Commission.
What is required to be effective agents of change?
The fulfilment of this commission depends on our capacity to do
it. The focus of this passage isnt on ourselves and what we must do.
Jesus proclaims, And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the
age (Matt 28:20). The Great Commission begins with the affirmation of Jesus authority over all things, and it ends with the affirmation of his presence with us everywhere. Just as we dont engage the
world in our own name and authority, neither do we serve with our
own capacity and strength but with his.
26
Identify one new idea that you want to explore more deeply.
Identify one in which where you not only want to know more,
but long to do more.
What steps do you want to take?
Pray as a group, stepping into Gods transforming commission. Ask
for Gods direction for one another as you become agents of change.
As you leave
As you move through this week, think about how the spheres of
potential transformation overlap, and how you move among them in
your daily life and work. Remember that love is the guiding principle. Be conscious of both small and large opportunities to partner
with God in the work of transformation.
Study 4: Pursuing change in all its fullness
27
Part 3
Great
Requirement
Study 5
Great expectations

Provide a small prize for one small group (for example, pieces of
fruit).
It is one thing to picture ourselves standing with the early disciples,
receiving the Great Commission. It can be easy to draw transforming
spheres on big sheets of paper. It is quite another to go out and actually to do it. In this session we will examine our calling. What exactly
is God asking of us?
In every situation we enter we want to know what is required of us.
What is expected? Jobs have performance indicators; families expect
certain behaviour; coaches in all sports have fitness standards. We are
used to requirements, but we perform best when we know in advance what they are.
Mercy
Justice
Humility
Study 5: Great expectations
31
Discuss in pairs some of the behavioural expectations you

learned growing up from your family, friends or other influential people in your life.
What was expected of you? Why?
When it comes to life, whats required of us? How do we know if we
are on the right track, doing what is expected of us? Every person,
regardless of how privileged or impoverished, wants to know the answer to this. It is the fundamental human question. The biblical answer to this question is shockingly simple and profoundly practical.
Read in unison:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? (Mic. 6:8)
The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea,

proclaimed Gods call for our spiritual life. He says it shapes our
social engagement. In his village Micah had daily contact with poor
people who were exploited by the rich and powerful. He watched
indignantly as they lost their houses and had their lands seized. In
Micahs mind the corruption among religious leaders and the inhumane treatment from business and political power brokers were rooted
in a woeful lack of justice, kindness and humility. His prophetic voice
not only addressed serious matters in his immediate context but proclaimed a timeless standard of what God expects from people who
seek to live faithfully.
This call to justice, kindness and humility reaches widely and applies
specifically. It has personal, interpersonal and societal implications. If
Jesus command to his disciples was the Great Commission, then Gods
words through the prophet Micah must surely be the Great Requirement. It is one command expressed in three dimensions that define
what is good: (1) do justice, (2) love kindness (often translated mercy),
and (3) walk humbly with God.
32
Part 3: Great Requirement
Write in your journal a short paragraph about which of the

three dimensions receives the most attention in your church
and in your own experience? Why?
Identify three different corners of the room as justice, mercy
and humility. Stand in the section that represents the dimension you think receives the greatest emphasis in our Christian
experience.
Have one person in each section describe how and why this
dimension is emphasised.
As we listen to the following definition of justice, underline
ideas that are the same as your current understanding. Circle
anything that is new or surprising.
What does it mean to do justice? The biblical word for justice means to
make things right.When the Bible mentions justice, one of nine words
frequently follows: widow, fatherless, orphans, poor, hungry, stranger, needy,
weak and oppressed.The word justice shares the same literary root as
righteousness, which means to be right.When we justify something, like
the right margin of a page, we make it straight. To adjust a picture on
the wall is to straighten it.To do justice is to make life right.
This may indeed mean punishing wrongdoers and compensating victims, but in a fuller sense it means to straighten out situations and
relations so they are right, so they are as they should be. Practically, it
means that widows, orphans and the poor and oppressed get a fair
chance to live right to have opportunities to work, live with dignity, and
pursue fullness of life.
Gods purpose is not only to make the lives of victims of injustice more
tolerable (charity and relief) but to make them right. Justice involves
positioning people so they can begin again. And just as God changes us
in Christ so we can begin again and do right, we have the privilege
and are required by God to be agents of change by doing justice and
making life right for others.
33
Mercy and justice intimate friends. Few of us desire to be punished or cast out. When our attitudes and actions are wrong, we instinctively hope for mercy. We prefer to be treated as we dont deserve.
We desire to be embraced in love.
However, in the long run, doing wrong and receiving perpetual mercy
and forgiveness may not help us. Excessive mercy overprotects us
from the consequences of our actions, and disaster will eventually
strike. The greater crisis, however, might be not experiencing the
right sized gifts of mercy. We might not learn how important it is to
grant the gift of mercy to other people in our lives.
Discuss in pairs: (5 minutes)

Is there anything about this description of justice that surprises you?
How does this meaning of justice compare to the common
understanding (and practice) of justice in your society?
Combine pairs into groups of four: (8 minutes)
Without making any physical contact, create a sculpture with
your bodies that you think expresses the relationship among
justice, mercy and humility.
Take turns as groups looking at each others human sculptures.
As an entire group, vote on the sculpture that most creatively shows
the relationship among justice, mercy and humility, and give a
prize to that group.
Throughout this study we have been focusing on Gods call in our
lives to be agents of change, participating in Gods transformation of
every aspect of life. Gods will is to make life right. God wills justice.
Expecting justice is actually good news.
Read Psalm 85:10 in unison:
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
34
Pray as an entire group, praising God for being a God of mercy,

truth, justice and peace. Name before God specific situations where
life needs to be made right for people.
As you leave
Be aware of justice and mercy this week. Cut articles from newspapers that illustrate issues of justice and mercy. Bring them to the next
session.
35
Study 6
Making room for mercy


Depending on the size of your group, tape together large sheets
of paper and mount them on a wall. Write across the top Great
Commandment, Commission and Requirement. Have tape
available for participants to post newspaper clippings.
Bring a bucket of soil to use at the end of the session. Depending on the size of your group, you may need several containers
(so that eight to ten people can gather around each).
As we enter the room, attach the newspaper clippings we brought
portraying issues of justice and mercy to the poster in the front of the
room entitled Great Commandment, Commission and Requirement.
In our last session we looked at the harsh reality of injustice and the
hard work of living right. Micah cried out against injustice and issued a message for Gods people about how to live right. Loving kindness, or mercy, is part of Micahs radical call. But what exactly is
mercy?
The root of the Hebrew word for mercy is also the root of the word
womb. A womb is where life is borne. Mercy also brings life forward.
And here is where mercy and justice come together as intimate friends.
36
Mercy extends second chances. Justice makes life right and allows us
to begin again. When mercy and justice embrace, we are the recipients of life-giving and life-transforming gifts from God. When we
have the privilege of extending mercy and justice to others, we are
gifts from God in their lives.
Describe in your journal a situation when you received mercy

from someone? How did it feel?
Is there someone in your life who would benefit from receiving a gift of mercy from you? a family member? a work colleague? friend, foe or neighbour?
Is it easier for you to receive the gift of mercy or to extend it
to others?
Small-group Reflection (7 minutes)
What is the relationship between justice and mercy? Take paper and coloured pens and, as a group, draw that relationship.
Post the drawing on the wall for all to reflect on and enjoy.
What does good look like? As we listen to the following reflection on justice, mercy and humility, look at the newspaper clippings posted in the front. If the Great Requirement
defines what is good, then what would goodness look like in
those situations?
We dont do justice well when we approach others self-righteously,
judgmentally or critically. Nor do we improve life for others if we simply
extend mercy, forgiving all wrongs and never making anything right.
Justice can be harsh when expressed on its own. Mercy alone can be
unprincipled and lacking in substance.The two are connected, not only
in Micahs great answer to the big question of what is required of us, but
in practice.
When people around us advocate for our well-being (for our life to be
made right), and when they extend mercy rather than press for retribution, we are humbled in their presence. Experiencing Gods mercy genStudy 6: Making room for mercy
37
erates humility. And therefore, the third dimension of the Great Requirement is to walk humbly with our God.
The word humility shares the same root as the word humus, which
means soil. In humility we walk on level ground with others, our feet
treading the same soil.Whatever our social standing may be, we do not
think we are more important or more highly valued by God than anyone else. We share a common need for mercy and a common longing
for justice. In our pursuit of justice we walk with those who have been
victimised and even with the victimisers.
So, what does the Lord require of us? What is good? To walk humbly with our God, and to stand on level ground with all people on
earth. To receive mercy, and to live mercifully in our relationships
with others.To make life right by seeking to create just societies in
which individuals, families and communities can reach their Godgiven potential. This is our Great Requirement one command
expressed in three dimensions.
Let us gather around the newspaper clipping poster in the front of

the room and pray, either silently or aloud, for whatever is needed in
those situations. Pray that the people do, and experience, what is
good.
The following story is about someone who has experienced all that
and more.
Justice-Mercy-Humility
Read and consider:
Chilufya was raised in a supportive family. She had the good fortune of
graduating from college and becoming a travel agent. However, her
parents both died, leaving her responsible for a younger brother. Unable
to find a job in the travel industry, she finally succeeded in gaining employment as a shop clerk. She was relieved to provide food, an apartment and money for school fees for her brother.
38
However, shortly after beginning work in the store, the manager made
sexual advances to her, demanding favours. She refused and lost her
job, her apartment, food and support for her brothers schooling. In
desperation she and her brother moved in with a friend. The friend
demanded that Chilufya contribute to expenses and introduced her to
an alternative way of earning income.
Choosing between homelessness and starvation for her and her brother
or the defilement of selling her body, she chose the latter. She went to
work on what is known in Africa as the AIDS Highway. It stretches
north-south through the heart of Africa, and it can take a truck driver
nine months to make the round trip journey between Uganda and South
Africa. Bureaucracy and bad roads bog them down. Each border crossing can bring a three-week wait unless the drivers are willing to bribe
customs agents. Bored and lonely in these sleazy border towns, the
young men seek other forms of diversion.Thus they contract or spread
HIV/AIDS. They carry it back home with them to their wives. The sex
workers are often driven by desperation to this demoralising and now
deadly occupation prostitution is the profession of last resort as they
seek income to support their siblings and children.
I was brought up a Christian, but I do not attend church now, explains
Chilufya. When I am near a church, all I can see are the things I have
done. How can God even look at me, knowing what I have been doing?
This is never what I wanted. I know I cant keep on doing this. I cant
keep on doing it.
World Vision has renamed this highway the Corridor of Hope and has
established drop-in centres in the border towns. It is a meeting point for
the drivers with education programmes on the dangers of HIV/AIDS.
For the women, World Vision also provides drop-in centres, including
counselling programmes, health clinics and education about HIV/AIDS.
During the day the women enjoy the camaraderie and dignity generated by playing on football and volleyball teams. Yet at night they succumb to the indignity and danger of climbing into drivers truck cabs.
Study 6: Making room for mercy
39
Discuss in groups of four: (10 minutes)

What are the biggest challenges for World Vision staff and
other caregivers in expressing justice, mercy and humility to
Chilufya and others along the AIDS highway?
How does Micahs definition of what God requires of us and
is declared good influence you and your sense of Christian
purpose and vocation?
Write in your journal: (5 minutes)
What are several challenges you face in your own context as
you live out justice, mercy and humility?
How is God calling you to grow in your integration of the
three?
Let us gather in groups of eight to ten, each around a container of
soil. Pass the container and invite each person to take a small amount
of soil and place it in the palm of his or her hand.
Affirm your faith in unison by saying:
Justice, mercy and humility meet as my hands touch this earth the
needs of the world to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. We humble ourselves before God and before one another, that God might bring life
and goodness to the world through us.
Pray together the beloved prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi:
Lord make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
40
O heavenly Father, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled

as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to
love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are
pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
As you leave
The harsh reality of situations like Chilufyas can be overwhelming.
Yet we have the privilege of learning about, experiencing and expressing to others tastes of transformation, deep change. We have
seen the evidence of Gods power to bring about mercy, justice, humility and love where before there was little. This week, keep your
eyes and ears open for evidence of the fruits of Micahs call in Gods
spheres of transformation.
Part 4
Great
Compassion
Study 7
The twin virtues

of compassion and conviction

Provide a flip chart or large sheets of paper that can be attached
to the wall and saved for the next session.
In our last session we heard the hard story of Chilufyas impossible
choice. We considered the connections among justice, mercy and
humility, and we pondered how the world would be different if Micahs
call for all three was heeded. It seems so simple, yet, if there is anything we all know, it is that life is not simple. To follow Jesus, and
heed Micah, takes uncommon courage and deep conviction.
People are divided about which road leads to deep change. It is not
straightforward and simple. The challenges of life are confusing, and
we disagree over how best to respond.
Socially we debate when life begins and ends.
Politically we struggle to legislate policies that balance the protection of individual rights with those that best serve the common
good. We battle over human rights, who is right and wrong and if
there even is right and wrong.
Study 7: The twin virtues of compassion and conviction
45
Globally when issues like the pandemic of HIV/AIDS or debt

cancellation are pushed onto our agenda, we tend to react either with
dogmatism or confusion.
Religiously Christians separate ourselves in different churches,
respond to God with distinct spiritual styles and distinguish ourselves from one other with our lifestyle choices. The divides among
the worlds religions are deep and sometimes dangerous.
Interpersonally Family life can be complicated and painful. Our
children may not follow the path we would prefer. Marriage is sometimes precarious and threatened. Relationships with co-workers can
be a constant challenge, and even some neighbours can be a nightmare.
As a large group, make lists within each of these five areas of

the most pressing and most divisive issues faced in your community. Write your lists on a large sheet of paper and post it
on the wall. (Save these for the next session.)
From the various challenges listed above, write in your journal a summary of two or three issues or concerns that especially trouble you as an individual. What differences among
people are hardest to overcome? How do these issues make
you feel? What would make them easier for you to deal with?
In pairs, talk about what you have written.
As we listen to the following comments, keep these personal
issues in mind and note any insights that might help us address them differently.
Virtues in tension.The virtues of compassion and conviction help us deal
creatively and redemptively with the complexities we face.
Conviction is the building material for an informed and strong conscience.
Conviction instills confidence in who we are, what we believe and how to
behave.The virtue of conviction allows us to be true to ourselves and to
face complex issues with confidence.Without conviction, our lives can be
46
Part 4: Great Compassion
permissive and without boundaries and we may not be able to cope

with the pressures of conflict and suffering.
Compassion gives us the ability to see life through others eyes and to
enter into others experience. Literally, compassion means to suffer with.
The virtue of compassion makes room for others. It enables us to respond with respect and sensitivity to people, even those with whom we
may disagree. Compassion marks us with empathy. Without compassion, we can become judgmental and harsh and we may not be able
to build positive relationships with people whose life experience is different from our own.
Heres the dilemma: People who live with high levels of compassion
often have low levels of conviction. People with high levels of conviction
often have low levels of compassion. When either virtue exists without
the balancing strength of the other, we are vulnerable to behaviour that
damages others.
In small groups discuss the following figure. Offer examples

of people or groups who you feel reflect varying combinations of conviction and compassion.
Talk with one another about which virtue is dominant in your
life. Are you comfortable with your pattern?
How might a balance of conviction and compassion help you
address one of the issues about which you wrote in your journal?
CONVICTION
high
Confident and
judgmental
Community amid
diversity
Uncritically
inclusive and
accepting
low
low
COMPASSION
high
47
Balancing conviction and compassion

Listen for issues of conviction and compassion in this familiar
scene from the Gospels.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again
to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began
to teach them.The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had
been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they
said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such
women. Now what do you say?They said this to test him, so that they
might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and
wrote with his finger on the ground.When they kept on questioning him,
he straightened up and said to them, Let anyone among you who is
without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And once again he bent
down and wrote on the ground.When they heard it, they went away, one
by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the
woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her,
Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, No
one, sir. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and
from now on do not sin again. (John 8:111)
It is not only in our own times that life can be complex. Reflect on
the dilemma Jesus faced in his day. His swift thinking and quick
action was a life-or-death matter for the woman accused of adultery.
In this situation the religious heavyweights the do no wrong
scribes and Pharisees are using the woman to collect evidence in an
attempt to build their case against Jesus. Turning the setting into a
courtroom, Jesus kneels down to ponder the predicament. With a
single statement he makes it clear that everyone is tainted with sin.
Everyone is guilty. When morality is the issue, no one has the right
to throw stones at others.
In this situation we see Jesus at one of his most powerful moments.
After protecting the vulnerable woman from her accusers, he turns
and frees her from the threat of condemnation. But compassion is
48
not the only virtue at work in the situation. Jesus conviction also
enters the drama. Give up the behaviour that will destroy you. Go
and sin no more.
In a large group have two volunteers take the roles of two Pharisees. Role play a debate in which one argues the position of conviction and the other compassion regarding what should be done
to the woman.
Discuss how Jesus intervention averted a crisis for the woman
and created a crisis for everyone else. How did he defuse the
situation without de-emphasising either conviction or compassion?
Look at the list of pressing and divisive issues that you created
earlier in this session. How do deep convictions tend to escalate the tension? What would compassion look like in these
situations?
As you leave
We have come a long way since the first session, when we considered
that we are Gods beloved children. We have moved through what
such love means to us, and what a love like that could mean to the
world. This week, think and pray about the familiar story of the
woman who was not condemned but rather was met with both compassion and conviction. Ask God to help you find the Christlike
balance of those two virtues in your own life.
49
Study 8
Love is hard work


Attach to the wall the lists developed in the previous session.
In our last session we explored the connection between compassion and conviction. Neither stands well alone. Together, though,
they are powerful, as we witnessed in Jesus radical response to the
woman caught in adultery and the Pharisees caught in unloving accusation. Let us now go deeper into the hard work of connecting
compassion and conviction.
Our world needs both virtues. Life works well when the virtues of
conviction and compassion co-exist in us and find expression in families and communities. When either virtue is taken to excess, untempered
by the other, it ceases to be a virtue and can cause problems.
Conviction, driven by truth, can be rigid and inflexible. It can lead
to arrogance and intolerance. The challenge for Christians is to hold
our views and beliefs strongly without denigrating others who hold
equally strongly to their contrary views.
Compassion, driven by love, can be uncritically inclusive. Acceptance of others can tumble into permissiveness and moral ambiguity.
Here the challenge for Christians is to extend empathy without lapsing into uncensored compromise.
50
The hard work of love

Read and consider:
Margaret stares at the man entering the gates of World Visions Children of War rehabilitation centre in Gulu, Uganda. She is wide-eyed
with disgust. He is the same man who, some time ago, ordered that
she be maimed, sparing her death only because he believed killing a
pregnant woman would bring him bad luck. This man ordered her
ears, nose and lips to be cut off, leaving her to die alone. She also witnessed his child soldiers hacking her friends to death with machetes. Her
scars remain.
As he approaches, Margaret frantically rises. She says that she will kill
him if he is not removed from her presence. She walks away, refusing to
be near him.
As Margaret and the man are separated into different rehabilitation
centres,World Vision counsellors begin working on their spirits.The man
initially denies that he committed such atrocities.The counsellors at the
centre try to lessen Margarets anxiety and explore with her the choice
to forgive. Her enemy is probably also a victim of the suffering the
Lords Resistance Army has inflicted throughout Uganda. He may have
been forced into war at a young age himself.
Margaret and this former commander are brought together weeks later,
this time on different terms.With humility, the man confesses his actions
and asks to be forgiven. Staring back at him with overwhelming emotion, Margaret is flooded with pain over the physical torture she endured. She had been on the brink of death, a sliver away from losing not
just her own life, but also that of her unborn child.
On that day, for Margaret, compassion overshadowed revenge. On the
wall of World Visions Children of War Centre, where healing brings new
life to Gulus people, there are photographs of that day. Margaret forgave.The man from her past is holding her little boy, James, in his arms.
Margaret is smiling as best she can, without lips.
Study 8: Love is hard work
51
In small groups discuss Margarets situation.

What options did Margaret have?
How does her situation compare with the passage from John
8 studied earlier?
How did the outcome of the situation express the combination of compassion and conviction?
Work together on the table below.
First, turn back to the last session and re-read the section Life
is complex. In it, we identified five life challenges: social,
political, global, religious and interpersonal. Identify one category that especially interests or concerns you.
Discuss examples of both compassion-driven behaviour and
conviction-driven behaviour in this area to illustrate the differences between the two virtues. Complete at least one section of the chart.
Issue to address
Compassiondriven behaviour
Convictiondriven behaviour
Social
Political
Global
Religious
Family/interpersonal
Let us hear from two small groups what a combination of

conviction and compassion would look like in response to a
specific issue.
Discuss as an entire group ways in which balancing conviction and compassion enhances our response to lifes complexities, conflicts and sorrows.
52
As you leave
We have all made mistakes in this area. We have struck out with
conviction against something we believe to be wrong, only to discover that we have left compassion at home. We have stayed quiet
when we wish we had the courage to speak because we were filled
with compassion yet didnt have enough conviction to take a risk.
Before we meet again, reflect more on the challenge inherent in the
conviction/compassion connection. It is not easy. But it can make all
the difference in the world. And all the difference to the world.
Study 8: Love is hard work
53
Part 5
Great
Generosity
Study 9
Grace in action

As we sift through the compassion/conviction challenge and find
the balance that helps us respond as Jesus did to the woman caught
in adultery and her accusers, we may discover that Gods calling in
our lives becomes clearer. We may see opportunities to respond to
Micahs call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly everywhere
around us. Using the courage of conviction and the beauty of compassion, we respond. And what does this response require? Grace.
And lots of it.
The charitable God: The word charity shares the same Greek root as
the word grace. To practice charity is to put grace into action. Grace
is Gods action to restore us to fullness of life and draw us into reconciled relationships with God and with one another. God is the originator of charity grace in action.
Everyone wants to be helpful. Few like being on the receiving end of
other peoples charity. Most prefer to give. In fact, every religion in
the world calls for charity. Giving alms to the poor is a fundamental
mandate. Christians do not have an exclusive claim to generosity. All
people have some desire to be generous, for all people are created in
the image of the generous God.
Study 9: Grace in action
57
As we hear this selection from 2 Corinthians, underline anything

that is distinctive about the Macedonians generosity.
Read and consider:
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God
that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia: for during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty
have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can
testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond
their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this
ministry to the saints and this, not merely as we expected; they gave
themselves first to the Lord, and by the will of God, to us.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he
was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you
might become rich.
It is a question of fair balance between your present abundance and
their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that
there may be a fair balance. (2 Cor. 8:15, 9, 1314)
As an entire group, list common motives for charity

Discuss why, and how, our motivation for giving matters. What
difference does it make?
Are some motives destructive or hurtful?
According to the Scripture reading above, what motivated the
Macedonian churches to give?
The goal of giving is more than benevolence. People may have various motives for charity to help those in need; to win merit, respect
or a good feeling; or even to gain a tax advantage. Paul moves the
discussion of generosity beyond kindness and benevolence to something much deeper a question of fair balance which creates greater
equity between abundance and need. The goal of charity is justice
making life right!
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Part 5: Great Generosity
In small groups discuss what a fair balance has to do with

generosity.
How does this shape your understanding of charity?
Share with the entire group your thoughts about the relationship of a fair balance and generosity.
Share a story from your World Vision work about the role of
generosity in the life of a donor you know or a staff worker
from another country you have met. How has this example
empowered you and your work?
Write (5 minutes)
In your journal or notebook, record a time when you were

not charitable or generous. What made you behave that way?
Write about a time that you were charitable or generous. How
did you feel after?
Conclude by praying together for your church, asking that Gods
grace will overflow in generosity.
As you leave
Think this week about the difference generosity and charity make in
the world. Giving is not the privilege of the wealthy; it a privilege for
everyone. Look for evidence of Gods generosity in those around you.
You will probably see it in places you do not expect it.
Study 9: Grace in action
59
Study 10
An issue of justice

Please supply tape, large sheets of paper and coloured pens for
the small-group discussion.
In our last session we discussed generosity and charity. For those
who have much, it is easy to think of giving as a nice option to have,
something that makes us feel good. Isnt it nice to be able to give?
we might say. This week, we will explore the fact that nice doesnt
really have much to do with it.
The goal of giving isnt simply to be merciful. It is an expression of
our fulfilment of the Great Requirement to do justice, the Great
Commission to disciple every aspect of life, and the Great Commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves.
Let us read in unison the following Scripture passages:
On overflowing justice:
Seek good and not evil,
that you may live.
Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate.
60
But let justice roll down like waters

and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
(Amos 5:1415, 24)
On true love:
We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us and we ought
to lay down our lives for one another. How does Gods love abide in
anyone who has the worlds goods and sees a brother or sister in need
and yet refuses help? (1 John 3:1617)
Discuss these questions in groups of four:

John points to Jesus as the model for giving. Discuss what it
means in practical terms for us to lay down our lives for one
another.
Amos links doing good and seeking justice with the ability to
live (v. 14). What are the consequences of disregarding the
needs of others?
With the members of your small group draw a picture portraying the results of generosity that you think God desires.
List some words that also capture the image.
As an entire group, walk about and look at each groups drawings.
Generosity is contagious. God in Christ sets the ultimate standard
for giving and self-sacrifice. In response the Macedonians gave themselves to their giving, living God. Receiving grace from God instilled
abundant joy in their spirits and motivated their generous response
to those living in the midst of poverty. In the Macedonians case their
generosity didnt flow from abundant affluence but from their experience of Gods abundant grace.
In the large group invite a few people to share briefly the

experiences they have had, or have heard of, in which some
people were generous even though they were very poor.
Discuss the impact on our engagement in Gods mission in
the world when we think of our giving and serving not as
voluntary acts of charity but as inspired acts of justice.
Study 10: An issue of justice
61
Listen to the following thoughts on the urgency of giving and

ask God to guide your response.
Giving as a life-or-death matter. Selfishness blinds us to opportunities to
serve and enhance other peoples quality of life. Selfishness stifles our
own development and cripples our capacity to love. The consequences
are tragic.The prophet Amoss words are still true: Seek good and not
evil, that you might live.When we refuse to do so, we limp through life
although God created us to fly.
If our unjust world is to move toward a fair balance, the measures
of our generosity will be both according to our means and beyond
our means. Like the Macedonians, out of our gratitude for Gods
grace we will give ourselves to God. We will joyfully extend our
extraordinary generosity to people who live with very little.
In your journal write a short prayer (10 to 30 words) expressing what you would like God to do in your life to nourish and
motivate a lifestyle of generosity.
Conclude by praying as an entire group. Those who are comfortable doing so can pray aloud the prayers they have just written.
As you leave
Commit to praying your prayer each day this week. Ask God to make
you more generous and more gracious to those around you who may
struggle in this area.
62
Part 6
Great
Confidence
Study 11
Restoring our capacity to

dream

Since session one, we have been on a journey of discovery. We have
looked at Gods love for us and at our freedom to love ourselves and
our subsequent willingness to love our neighbour as ourselves. Everything else we have examined stems from that love. Micah tells us
how to live that love out in a broken world. It is a response that
demands compassion, conviction and generosity. God can do amazing things with those who are willing. Whats next?
What do we expect from life? Or more specifically, what do we expect from the next month, the next year, and the years to come?
What promise does the future hold for us? Our approach to the present
is shaped by our vision for the future. Will it be laden with opportunities? Will our good dreams come to life? Or will nightmares become our reality?
Discuss with a partner the time in your life when you felt
most optimistic and hopeful about the future when you
couldnt wait for tomorrow to come.
What contributed to this sense of excitement and expectancy?
Study 11: Restoring our capacity to dream
65
We all have our favourite Scripture verses about hope. As we

listen to the following description of the impact of poverty
on hope, write any Scripture verses that come to mind that
nourish hope.
Social and spiritual poverty starve our capacity to dream. Two critical
factors that determine our social and spiritual well-being are where we
are born and our family. Our geographic and family inheritances are like
a lottery; we are not able to manage or organise them.Though we have
no control over them, they influence who we become and how we experience life.
For people born into social and physical poverty, the future seems bleak
and options are scarce. Even for those whose families are not financially
poor, emotional or relational famines may leave them starving for
hope, feeling trapped and helpless.When these expressions of physical
and emotional poverty are augmented with spiritual poverty, life feels
like a big mistake. It is no wonder that depression can turn life into a
journey of dark despair.
The gospel breaks into this bleak reality with new songs of hope. The
Bible is a book of hope. Hope extends from Noahs rainbow to the
assurance given Abraham of descendants as countless as the stars. Courage invades history.Those who are marooned in the wilderness receive
Gods promise that they will build their houses in their own land.
Jesus makes his entry with assurance that there is good news for the
poor and freedom for the oppressed. The final pages of the Bible proclaim that one day all tears will be wiped away and all injustices cease.
Calamity and despair do not have the final word.
The followers of Jesus have great reasons to burst into song. God walks
with us in the present, and the eternal future rings with certainty.
As an entire group, invite people to call out their favourite Scripture verses on hope. Then, divide into groups of eight to ten people.
66
Part 6: Great Confidence
Read and then discuss in the small group one of these sets of
passages from Scripture. What do these passages convey about
our hope both for this life and this world and for eternity?
Set One
Hope for now
Pray then this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (Matt.
6:913)
Hope for forever
See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more.
And the one who was seated on the throne said, See, I am making all
things new. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring
of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I
will be their God and they will be my children.On either side of
the river is the tree of lifeand the leaves of the tree are for the healing
of the nations. (Rev. 21:37; 22:2)
Set Two
Hope for now
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into
barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more
value than they?Therefore do not worry, saying, What will we eat?
or What will we drink? or What will we wear? For it is the Gentiles
Study 11: Restoring our capacity to dream
67
who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God
and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
(Matt 6:26, 3133)
Hope for forever
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear
the image of the man of heaven.Listen, I will tell you a mystery!For
the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable and
we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on
imperishability.Then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Cor. 15:4957)
Discuss in the large group what you have discovered in these Scripture texts.
What new hope do they bring to you?
What hope had you forgotten?
Consider the following definition of hope from the Oxford
Dictionary: hope n & v: expectation and desire combined for
a certain thing to occur; grounds for hope, promise; what is
hoped for; a feeling of trust. Does your desire match your
expectation?
As you leave
Take stock of your level of hope. Are you hopeful or hopeless? Both
are normal at different times and in various circumstances. Focus
this week on what gives you hope. Consider that hope exists whether
you feel it or not. Re-read the Scripture texts in this session and ask
God to renew your hope.
68
Study 12
Singing tomorrows
songtoday

Provide large sheets of paper and coloured pens for group work.
Have a song leader (and possibly instrumental accompanists)
prepared to lead the group in singing Amazing Grace and Joy
to the World.
Prepare handouts with the words of the two hymns for the participants.
You can have people take turns reading aloud the text in the
workbook.
In our last session we explored hope the hope that we have and
sometimes the hope that we do not have. But whether we feel it or
not, the hope of the Christian is a hope for now and forever. Gods
faithfulness and promises do not apply only to life after we die; they
apply to us today. They apply not only to our personal life but to all
of the Creation.
Form the same two groups from the previous session and
review your discussion of the Scripture passages on hope. Share
what you thought about this week as you thought about those
Scriptures and where you are in terms of hope.
Study 12: Singing Gods song . . . today
69
Capture some of your insights from your discussion on the

Scriptures and compose a verse for a song that expresses the
hope they convey. Choose either the melody of Amazing
Grace or Joy to the World.
Write your new verse on a large sheet of paper.
Gods mission in the world is to replace spiritual and social/economic
poverty with fullness of life. This assurance gives us overflowing hope.
As we listen to the following reflections, underline anything
that expresses the relationship between hope for the future
and action in the present.
Exchanging poverty for hope in the present tense.Writing and singing
songs are not adequate responses to people who have no way to escape grinding poverty. The well-intentioned words Ill pray for you will
not put groceries in bare cupboards. We know that the harsh reality of
social and physical poverty calls for justice, generosity and acts of both
conviction and compassion.
Spiritual poverty and relational poverty invite different responses of love
and obedience. God delights in using expressions of creative witness
and the sharing of stories about our encounters with Christ to provoke
others to responses of faith. The gift of friendship to someone who is
relationally starved requires time, but that choice to care can lead to a
treasured relationship.
No one is naive enough to propose that we can solve the worlds poverty problems with the responses of a few dedicated individuals. But
Jesus mandates that we do our part to make life right for others and
that we more fairly balance the worlds resources. Otherwise, we will
hear Jesus ask,Why do you call me Lord Lord, and do not do what I tell
you? (Luke 6:46).
Hoping boldly in the midst of present problems. Hope is tangibly
practical. Rather than distracting us from the pains of the present,
70
hope motivates us to deal with them. It is our privilege to lift up

the signs of tomorrows certainties in the midst of todays uncertainties. Followers of Christ are empowered by the Spirit toward
what is good, and they can be found at the centre of solutions to
present-day problems.
We can accomplish so much

Read and consider:
I love to talk about peace. It is so important. We can accomplish so
much, says Fatmira, a 15year-old girl in Kosovo. Fatmira longs for
peace between Serbians and Albanians. Her siblings were abducted by
Serbs during the Kosovo war. Her home was burned to ashes. Will the
deep ethnic prejudice that still reigns in her homeland ever be dissolved?
Will she grow up with the same fear of Serbs with which her parents
lived?
The patient kindness of a World Vision staff member led Fatmira to join
one of World Visions Kids for Peace Clubs. Fatmira likens peace clubs to
groups of young birds who have the urge to fly but dont know how.
Outside the nest it is dark, threatening, frightening, even violent. The
young ones try to fly but they have no teacher and they are thwarted.
They become discouraged. But once again it is the time to try.We need
to work. It takes work.
Enveloped by a Balkan culture that honours vengeance as a right and
obligation, it is often difficult for Fatmira and her family to look beyond
their personal grief. Peace does not always come easily. Fatmiras grief
inevitably surfaced when she met Serbian kids face to face at a World
Visionsponsored conference for Kids for Peace clubs. Feeling confused
while pondering the war, her heart split in two: One half of me was
remembering my sister and brother and the pain. The other half was
asking myself how to go and greet the Serbian kids. But with Gods
merciful strength, she chose to accept them. She felt relieved, knowing
that Im where I always dreamed to be, living in peace, in a good place,
calm, quiet.
Study 12: Singing Gods song . . . today
71
Fatmira says that she has lots of dreams, not least for my city to be
united.Enough hatred. We are fed up with hatred. Fatmiras mother
says,We will realise the dreams of the children.When you see all the
kids with their dreams and wishes, you know you have to act, to make
something happen. She never imagined she would be working with
other communities with Serbs. How can we ease all this pain? How
can all these tears stop? Let the world know the children of Kosovo give
their lives for freedom.
Write in your journal your response to the story of Fatmira. If

God can accomplish so much through us, as she says, what would
you pray God would do to bring hope to others through you?
Group celebration (10 minutes)
Sing Joy to the World and Amazing Grace, first using the
original verses and then including the new verses composed
by each group.
In prayer, call out present problems in your community and
in our world. Ask God to mobilise people to bring evidence
of the kingdom into the midst of these problems.
Thank God for the assurance that comes from our personal
and our global hope.
Conclude by praying together the Lords Prayer.
As you leave
This week set aside a few minutes each day to ask the Holy Spirit to
pour out in you Gods big dream for your life. What is the vision
God has for you? How can you bear the life of God into one of the
present problems in your community or in the world? Ask God to
set your imagination free from the shackles of your own economic,
relational or emotional poverty all that keeps you from dreaming
dreams and seeing visions for Gods good future. Come prepared to
the next session to share what you heard.
72
Part 7
Great
Surprises
Study 13
Gods surprising ways

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook.

You can have people take turns reading aloud the text in the
workbook.
As we saw in the last session, hope can be the fuel that keeps us
moving on our journey through life. On this particular trip, we have
no idea where we might end up. How many of us have already been
somewhere unexpected because of what God has done in our lives?
But we do know our ultimate destination. This gives us confidence
to move boldly through the uncertainties that fill the present toward
whatever lies around the next bend in the road.
Let us listen to the following reflections on the adventure of
walking in hope.
To make the most of the rest of our lives is to join hands with the living
God and walk together with others in a grand adventure.Walking with
God as we respond to lifes complexities is fascinating and frustrating,
delightful and terrifying, enjoyable and challenging. After all, to walk with
God is to live in a love affair with the God of Creation and it is to walk
with others in their experiences of celebration and pain.
This incredible journey of faith keeps us connected to our energising
God. It allows us to share in the deepest longings of the human heart.
Gods game of life reaches beyond our imaginations.
Study 13: Gods surprising ways
75
There are crucial questions to consider: Will I try to contain God

within the boundaries of my desires or will I discern Gods desires
and pursue them? Will I have the privilege of seeing God work
through me and bring blessings and benefits to others or will I try
to keep God under my control by limiting Gods good influence to
the privacy of my personal faith?
In small groups share anything you may have discerned from

your personal reflections since the last session. What do you
perceive to be Gods dream and vision for your life in todays
world?
Discuss why are we so tempted to limit God to the boundaries of our own desires to ask God to bless the plans we
ourselves craft rather than simply seeking to be a blessing in
Gods plans.
Gods surprising ways. Right around the time we think we have God
under control, or at least figured out, God has ways of surprising us.
God meets us in unexpected ways in unexpected places, through
unexpected people, and with unexpected impact.
In the same small groups, read one of the following Bible passages.
Then discuss:
what God did that was unexpected.
what the result was.
What we learn from this story about the character of God;
about walking in Gods ways.
Read and consider:
Unexpected places: Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law
Jethro.He led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the
mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a
flame of fire out of a bushWhen the LORD saw that he had turned
aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses! And he
76
Part 7: Great Surprises
said, here I am. Then he said, Come no closer! Remove the sandals from
your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.Then
the LORD said, I have observed the misery of my people who are in
Egypt.I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver
them.So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the
Israelites, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should
go? (Exod. 3:111)
Unexpected people: There was a man named Cornelius, a centurion
of the Italian cohort.Cornelius replied [speaking to Peter], Four days
ago at this very hour, at three oclock, I was praying in my house when
suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, Cornelius,
your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before
God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called
Peter.Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind
enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen
to all that the Lord has commanded you to say. Then Peter began to
speak to them I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in
every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to
him.(Acts 10:1, 3035)
Unexpected impact: A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and
Jesus said to her, Give me a drink.The Samaritan woman said to
him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of
Samaria?Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it
is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him,
and he would have given you living water. The woman saidWhere
do you get that living water?Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of
this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I
will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. The woman
said to him, Sir, give me this water.Just then his disciples came. They
were astonished that he was speaking with a woman.Then the woman
left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, Come
and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the
Messiah, can he?Many Samaritans from that city believed in him
because of the womans testimony. (John 4:715, 2729, 39)
Study 13: Gods surprising ways
77
Large-group discussion (6 minutes)
Each group presents two things it learned from this passage about
Gods surprising ways.
As you leave
We are all part of Gods big story. If someone were to write an account of an encounter you have had with God, what would the person write? Have you been surprised in an unexpected place? with
unexpected people? by an unexpected event? Ask God to do it again.
78
Study 14
Walking off the map

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook.

Provide notebook-size pieces of paper and coloured pens for every
participant.
Though we may walk in the assurance of Gods love, with love for
neighbour and hope for the future and though we serve with compassion balanced by conviction, it is inevitable that we will face suffering in life. No matter what we do, we do not escape sadness and
possibly even tragedy. There will be roadblocks and unexpected detours. But God assures us, in Jesus words, that we are not alone. God
will be with us always. We do not know what is in store. But we do
know the One who walks beside us.
Though we can learn enough of Gods will and ways to face the future with confidence, we cannot face it with certainty. We do not
know what is going to come our way.
Using coloured pens and piece of notebook paper, draw a

picture of your life like a flowing river. Note moments when
God has led you through some of the surprising encounters
you thought of this week, people, places and impact. Sometimes the river may have seemed so full it overflowed the banks.
Other times it was a small trickle. Sometimes there may have
Study 14: Walking off the map
79
been crashing waterfalls of turmoil, and other times slow-flowing but deep currents. Enjoy drawing (without worrying about
being an accomplished artist).
In small groups, discuss, based on the biblical record and
your own experience, what we can learn about how God works,
what we can anticipate, and how we can be more alert. You
might want to share your drawing.
Read and consider:
Without exaggeration or drama, tsunami survivor and World Vision Sri
Lanka staff member Priyanke Pinky Madawela still talks about December 26, 2005, as if it were yesterday, describing the dead bodies, the
injured, the black, muddy waters that ripped his clothing. His sister describes the waves chasing her like mad dogs frothing at the mouth.
His family rarely gets together without speaking about that day. They
talk about it with fear, with relief, with sadness, but most of all they talk
about it as a second chance at life.
His mothers desire to pray before sailing out to a nearby island coupled
with her going back for her camera saved their lives. The delay meant
they missed a ferry boat which was thrown 200 metres inland by the
waves, crashing into buildings and killing all on board. God gave us an
opportunity to show how quickly you can lose life. Few people get a
chance to stare death in the face and survive.We value and appreciate
life so much more now.
The month before the tsunami, Pinky attended a disaster-response workshop in Bangladesh. During this training the word tsunami came up.The
trainers said, Were not going to talk much about a tsunami because
you Sri Lankans dont even have earthquakes, so you might as well
forget about tsunamis. So I thought no more about it. God put me
through this disaster-management training in Bangladesh and when the
tsunami struck I was ready to help others.
As an entire group, invite a few people to share their responses

to Priyankes story.
80
Review the following summary of the foundations for allowing God to make the most of the rest of our lives. We have
seen that:
1. God has invited us to join in the greatest love affair of all
time.
2. We are commissioned to be agents of change in every
aspect of life.
3. Our calling is to be used by God to make life right.
4. Life is complex and both conviction and compassion
equip us to respond.
5. Making life right requires true action the overflow of
Gods grace expressed in abundant generosity.
6. Life demands daring hope in the present with the assurance that one day all things will be well.
7. God is the instigator of surprises the life of faith is an
adventure with so much more yet to be discovered.
Share which of these themes has had a particular impact during the course of our study together. Why? What have been
the results?
What are the next directions the river of our life will flow? God has
not left us scrambling without directions for making the most of the
rest of our lives. We know what is right and good, what is preferred
for ourselves and others.
We also know that we cant always get it right. We will stumble and
fail. We accept our need for Gods continued mercy. Most days we
are comfortable with the unknown. We acknowledge that our shortterm future on Planet Earth includes a lot of uncharted territory.
Through the assuring presence of the Spirit we can live with the
mystery of the unknown, and we can make choices that will determine the next direction our life will take.
We are ready to welcome Gods surprises because, in the end, we
trust our God, who has the final authority over all things and is with
us always.
Study 14: Walking off the map
81
As a large group invite people to share any ways God has worked
in their lives through this study.
Is there greater clarity regarding the next steps you are going
to take in your walk of faith? What are they?
What do you hope to remember, five years from now, about
making the most of the rest of your life.
Pray together for one another: I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray
that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be
strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted
and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend
with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may
be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:1419)
And as you leave, pray
Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish
abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in
the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
(Eph. 3:2021)
82

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Partnership Offices

800 West Chestnut Avenue

International Liaison Office

European Union Liaison Office

United Nations Liaison Office

Asia-Pacific Regional Office

Latin American and Caribbean

Middle East and Eastern Europe

Tim Dearborn and Don Posterski

Making the Most of the Rest of Our Lives Bible Studies

World Vision Offices

Making the Most

TIM DEARBORN & DON P OSTERSKI

2006 by World Vision International.

Suggestions for use

Materials and preparation. A list of materials required for each study

Suggestions for Use

Loving God with all we are

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

Think about someone you know (either living or deceased)

Study 1: Loving God with all we are

As we begin, pray together for the Holy Spirit to take this

Part 1: Great Commandment

Form groups of four and discuss:

Study 1: Loving God with all we are

Loving ourselves. Gods call for us to love ourselves is a surprise to

Write in your journal your responses to the following:

Part 1: Great Commandment

Study 1: Loving God with all we are

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

Part 1: Great Commandment

Listen to the following thoughts, writing on Post-it notes

Study 2: Loving others with all we have

Discuss as a group Penalozas statement, Theres always hope,

Part 1: Great Commandment

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:48: Love is patient; love is

Consider this: Which person or situation could God be

Study 2: Loving others with all we have

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

As an entire group invite people to call out areas of the world

Listen to the final words of Matthews gospel and underline

Part 2: Great Commission

Discuss as an entire group

Study 3: Agents of change

1. God wills political transformation: All authority in heaven and

What did you circle as new or surprising?

Part 2: Great Commission

Ask several volunteers to share their insights with the entire

Study 3: Agents of change

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

Invite several participants to share their experience of discussing

Part 2: Great Commission

Study 4: Pursuing change in all its fullness

Part 2: Great Commission

Study 4: Pursuing change in all its fullness

Everyone should have a copy of the workbook and a journal.

Discuss in pairs some of the behavioural expectations you

The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, Amos and Hosea,

Part 3: Great Requirement

Reflection (10 minutes)

Write in your journal a short paragraph about which of the

Study 5: Great expectations