Week 4: Patience

May 8 & 11

  • 1 Corinthians 13:4

  • Patience means enduring people…not just circumstances.

  • Makrothumei - “to be long in passion” or “slow to anger”

  • Ephesians 4:2

  • I am someone else’s “practice in patience.”

  • Patience chooses grace over perfection.

  • Colossians 3:13

  • “Making allowance” means that we build in room for people to fail.

  • Patience responds with kindness.

  • 1 Corinthians 13:4

  • Love is not passive, long-suffering…it is actively kind in the face of difficulty.

  • James 5:9

  • It matters how we treat each other, while we wait for things to get better.

  • Our relationships with others have to be rooted in hope…not control.

  • James 5:7

  • 2 Peter 3:9

[d]Group questions

  1. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as a group. When have you experienced someone else’s patience toward you, and how did it impact you? How does remembering that help you extend patience to others?

  2. Shannon said, “Patience chooses grace over perfection.” What does that mean in your closest relationships right now? Can you think of someone you’ve been expecting too much from?

  3. Patience is more than restraint…it includes kindness. What’s one practical way you can show kindness while you wait for someone to grow or change?

  4. What’s the difference between trying to control someone and trusting God with their growth? How can you tell when you’ve crossed that line?

  5. How does experiencing God’s patience with you change the way you relate to difficult people? What would it look like this week to love someone through patience?