B-Group Lesson Part 1 of 4
Jesus wants us to put our faith into action. It’s one thing to accept Jesus’ love for us. But we need to go further and then share that love with others. The Four Acts of Love are lifestyle choices that help teenagers grow closer to Jesus and point others to him, too. This lesson will give teenagers a chance to explore what it looks like to practice the first act of love—radical hospitality.
Primary Scripture: Genesis 43:31-34
Secondary Scriptures: Matthew 7:1-2 and Luke 19:1-10
Do you prefer meeting a friend at a coffee shop or the mall or a park, or having a friend over to your house? Why?
In our opening activity, we talked about where you felt most like you belong. How have you helped someone else feel like he or she belongs—especially if that person is new to our youth ministry?
In the book of Genesis, Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery, and years later they came to him asking for help during a famine—but they didn’t realize it was him! What would be the “normal” reaction for a guy like Joseph in this situation?
How have you benefited from another person’s radical hospitality?
Radical hospitality flows from a Jesus-centered love. It’s simply about welcoming people and being genuinely glad to hang out with them. It’s that simple—and that powerful. That’s why it’s drastically different from the norm—most people don’t expect to be truly welcomed and liked. It starts by noticing people who are left out. It means spending less time thinking about ourselves, our friends, and our problems, and instead looking for people who need a place to belong. Once we notice people, we take action by reaching out and welcoming them.
Who do you hang out with the most? What kinds of things do you do?
Describe a time when you hung out with someone new and became good friends. How did you overcome any initial awkwardness and inconvenience?
Joseph was in charge of an entire nation, yet he organized a lavish meal for his brothers—how was that inconvenient?
When have you shown radical hospitality to someone who didn’t “deserve” it? What did you learn from that experience?
It can be inconvenient to show radical hospitality to some people. It can even be inconvenient to show radical hospitality to people in this group! But Jesus showed radical hospitality to all kinds of people, and he challenges us to do the same.
Going the extra mile means doing more than we’re asked or expected to do. Sometimes we believe that a simple smile in the hallway is enough of a “friendly” gesture to someone who’s unlovable—we don’t need to do more. Or we think we “deserve” to just hang out with our own friends and not waste our time meeting anyone new. Let’s take a moment to think bigger.
Describe a time when someone went the extra mile for you. What was that like?
Give us an example of how you’ve gone the extra mile for another person in a simple way—it didn’t take a lot of extra time or effort, but still had a big impact.
In the next chapter, Joseph revealed his true identity to his brothers—and then said he was no longer angry with them for selling him into slavery. How is forgiveness an example of “going the extra mile”?
TAKE ACTION: Memorize this Scripture this week! “When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. ‘Zacchaeus!’ he said. ‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today’ ” (Luke 19:5).
**Leaders, leave 3-5 minutes for prayer at the end of your group time.