Love Your Enemies

1. Read Matthew 5:43-48 together as a group. Unpack this text. What stands out as you read through it?

2. Search the entire Old Testament and you won’t find that you are to hate your enemies. We’ve seen the Pharisees make the law something it is not. Why is it so important that we faithfully keep the Bible to what it is and says and not make it something that it is not?

3. Read Matthew 28:18-20 together. How does what we read in Matthew 5:43-48 relate to the Great Commission? In what ways are these verses essential for us to live out the Great Commission in our lives?

4. Read Matthew 5:46-47 together. Then discuss: Why is it so much easier to love those who love us and be kinds to those who are friends than to love our enemies? In what ways do you struggle to love your enemies? How can we as a group be better together in loving our enemies?

5. Read Matthew 5:44-45 together. There’s a connection between loving and praying for our enemies and our godliness. Discuss what it looks like to love our enemies practically on a daily basis. Also, why is it so critical for you to pray for those who persecute you? How does our love and prayer for our enemies/those who persecute us produce godliness in our lives?