Small Group Guides
Love your neighbor, with your neighbor
Let’s face it: loving our neighbor is hard. Hard things are easier with others. Gather a group of neighbors and friends or a small group from church and work through each chapter of How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird. Discussion questions at the end of the chapters are supplemented with a free Leader’s Guide for group facilitators and Participant’s Guide for the members of your group. Short videos give encouragement and next steps.
Each week has action steps for you to do with your neighbors. The tips are practical and adaptable, flexible and fun. Use your unique personality, and work on your timeline. Get the whole family involved!
Free Leader’s Guide & Participant’s Guide
You may download and print as many copies as you need of our FREE 12-week guide featuring bonus material and a weekly neighborhood challenge. Each week includes:
- 3-5 minute video from author Amy Lively (see below)
- Rich scriptural applications
- Tips to implement immediately in your neighborhood
Perfect for Bible studies, book clubs, small groups and personal study time!
Small Group Resources
PANDEMICS, PROTESTS, POLITICS & MORE
Special Bonus Chapter, Updated Edition: This decade is off to a rough start. So far, the 2020’s are marked by a deadly global pandemic, distressing racial tensions, divisive partisan politics, and white-knuckle economic uncertainty…
ICEBREAKERS AND EXPECTATIONS
Welcome to your first small group to figure out “How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird”! This week, you’ll receive your book and Participant’s Guide, discuss pages 1-6, watch a short video from Amy and Sara to introduce the study, and meet the other women in…
WEEK 1: PRAY
Welcome back to your second time together digging into How to Love Your Neighbor Without Being Weird with your Small Group. (You’ll might notice that we’re calling this Week 1, even though it’s your second gathering. It was too confusing to do Week 2 with Chapter 1,…
WEEK 2: MEET
You’re 21 days into loving your neighbor – how’s it going for you? Are you feeling overwhelmed, guilty or lazy? Don’t! This is a process that requires long-term commitment and perseverance. We’re here to help, and so is your small group! Today you’ll discuss…
WEEK 3: TALK
Are you good at small talk? Or do you prefer deep conversations? Whatever your personality, this week’s challenge will help you find a way to talk to your neighbors so you can really, truly love them like Christ commanded. Begin by discussing the Next Best Steps for…
WEEK 4: HANG OUT
Jesus did it. He left heaven to hang out with us, to be God With Us. And we can do it, too. This challenge can be as fun as it is intimidating. Once you’ve made the commitment, be prepared for the blessing! Pinkie promise: loving your neighbor doesn’t have to be…
WEEK 5: EAT
There’s something so natural, so elemental, so fundamental, yet so spiritual about eating a meal with a neighbor. Check out our favorite Recipes, and let us know yours, too! What are you afraid of? Discuss the Next Best Steps from the end of Chapter 5 on page 23 of…
WEEK 6: SERVE
There are countless ways to serve, and God will bring you many opportunities. He uses crises, calamities and celebrations to draw us closer! Discuss the Next Best Steps from the end of Chapter 6 on page 27 of your Small Group Guide. How will you find your serving…
WEEK 7: HELP
Sometimes asking for help is harder than giving it. How can you use your spiritual gifts to help others, and how can you help your neighbors by letting them help you? Discuss the Next Best Steps from the end of Chapter 7 on page 31 of your Small Group Guide. Amy and…
WEEK 8: GIVE
What can you expect when you cross the street? Jesus was so moved with compassion for His neighbors that He asked His followers to pray that the Lord would send someone to help them. Then Jesus stopped praying and did something about it. Discuss the Next Best Steps…
WEEK 9: WELCOME
Martha gets a bum rap as the cranky sister in the kitchen who sasses Jesus and bosses Him around. Truth is, someone has to get the house ready when guests are coming! The root of the word “hospitality” is the same as the words “hospital” and “hospice.” To practice…
WEEK 10: ENCOURAGE
Sometimes doomsday arrives in the form of a knock on your door late at night, or papers served as you go to work. Learn a strategy that’s helped prepare for TEOTWAWKI (The End of the World as We Know It) for the past 2,000 years and will work in your neighborhood…
WEEK 11: SHARE
You can’t proclaim the name of Jesus from your front porch then be surprised when the devil answers your call. The calendar gets crowded, the family starts fighting, someone gets sick, bills mount and work boils over. When a person is on the verge of a breakthrough in…
