Goff - Everybody always : becoming love in a world full of setbacks and difficult people : study guide

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.

L UKE 10:27

Welcome to Everybody, Always!

Its good that youre here. Like, really good. Because the world were living in right now is really good at something else: division. It is great at teaching us to only trust people who talk like us, think like us, vote like us, live where we do, and see everything like we do. And it also teaches us that anybody who talks, thinks, votes, worships, or sees the world differently than us cant be trusted. They may even be our enemy. This way of seeing the world makes love pretty conditionalwith the condition being, we only have to love people who are just like us.

The good news is that God isnt like that. Not even close. Gods love is unconditional, and its for everybody. Gods love turns enemies into friends, and it is bigger than all the things we cook up to divide ourselves. But God doesnt want to be the only one around here who loves this way. He wants us to love this way too. You see, God doesnt want us to love some people, sometimes. He wants us to love everybody, always.

Everybody? Yes, everybody. The people we like and the people we dont? Yes. The people we respect and the people who creep us out? Exactly. The people we admire and the people we dont? Them too. Everybody actually means everybody.

Well, what about always? Does that mean, literally, always? Yes, it does. As in, when we feel like it and when we dont? Yep. When its easy and when its hard? Bingo. When it gives us energy and when it wears us out? Precisely. For God, always really means always.

Now, if this sounds like a tall order, youre right. But youre also in luck. God does not leave us to love this way by trusting in our own willpower. The Holy Spirit is around to actually help us love this way. But theres another part too: this is something we can actually train in to get better. Like running a marathon or practicing an instrument, love is something we learn and grow in as we practice. And thats where a study like this comes in really handy.

Everybody, Always is a five-week experiment in learning how to love everybody, always like God does. Each session will explore a different aspect of this love through the teachings and stories of Bob Goff. There will be an opening question, a little Bible reading, and then youll watch Bob on the video.

However, the real action comes after the video, when you dig in to each topic in a guided small group time. Here we let the rubber meet the road and see how loving everybody, always, gets practical. Its going to be great. Really. However, if you want to get the most out of your Everybody, Always experience, its best to keep a couple of things in mind.

First, the real growth in this study will happen during your small-group time. This is where you will process the content of Bobs message, ask questions, and learn from others as you listen to what Gods love is doing in their lives.

Which bring us to point two: small groups can be a deeply rewarding time of intimacy and friendship, but they can also be a disaster. Work to make your group a safe place. That means first being honest about your thoughts and feelings as well as listening carefully to everyone elses.

Third, resist the temptation to fix a problem someone might be having or to correct someones theology. Thats not what this time is for. And finally, keep everything your group shares confidential. All this will foster a rewarding sense of community in your Everybody, Always group and give Gods Spirit some space to heal, challenge, and empower you to love without conditions.