CALL TO WORSHIP
Together, we gather to be present to the God who is already present to us.
However you are joining us, we encourage you to participate in the work of God today as He speaks and leads us. Wherever you are, God is already present and at work all around us. Let’s join Him!
OUR SCRIPTURE READING
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in partand we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13 NIV
PRAYING TOGETHER
God of love, thank you for inviting us to your table.
In humility, you stoop down and seek us out.
In mercy, you tend to our every hunger and need.
As you act in love toward us, we respond to you.
We come to your table longing to be known —
Known by you and known by one another.
As we remember your sacrifice today,
Draw us near to your heart and fill us with love. Amen.
QUESTIONS AND PRACTICES
COMMUNITY QUESTIONS
1. The Corinthian Church had outward measurements of spiritual maturity, but they were all meaningless without love. What are some of the outward measurements of spiritual maturity and success that we try to prop up in place of love?
2. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Paul gives us some real-world pictures of love in action. As you read these descriptions, which one stands out to you? Which do you long to grow in? What do you need to experience the most right now?
PRACTICES
Community.
Love never grows in isolation. And if learning to love is central to our growth as a follower of Jesus, then we all need community. Visit www.restorationlex.com/community to learn more about getting connected at Restoration.
NEXT STEPS AND RESOURCES
