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A Time magazine cover article named Rick Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Tens of millions of copies of Pastor Rick’s books have been published in 200 languages. His best-known books, The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church, were named three times in national surveys of pastors (by Gallup, Barna, and Lifeway) as the two most helpful books in print.

Rick and his wife, Kay, founded Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He is the cofounder of Celebrate Recovery with John Baker.

Pastor Rick has spoken in 165 nations. He has spoken at the United Nations, US Congress, numerous parliaments, the World Economic Forum, TED, Aspen Institute, and lectured at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and other universities.

Rick is executive director of Finishing the Task, a global movement of denominations, organizations, churches, and individuals working together on the Great Commission goals of ensuring that everyone everywhere has access to a Bible, a believer, and a local body of Christ.

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40 Days of Community Devotional

Zondervan

Contents

Introduction by Rick Warren.........................................7Day 1 Because God Loves Us..........................................12Day 2 Because God Commands It.......................................16Day 3 Because It Is How We Love God.................................20Day 4 Because It Shows We're Saved..................................24Day 5 Because We're a Family........................................28Day 6 Because It Is Practice for Eternity...........................32Day 7 Because It Is a Witness to the World..........................36Day 8 By Being Intentional..........................................40Day 9 By Using Our Small Group......................................44Day 10 By Offering Hospitality......................................48Day 11 By Showing Acceptance........................................52Day 12 By Building Friendships......................................56Day 13 By Giving Practical Help.....................................60Day 14 By Representing Jesus........................................64Day 15 By Admitting Our Need for Each Other.........................68Day 16 By Committing to Each Other..................................72Day 17 By Respecting Each Other.....................................76Day 18 By Supporting Each Other.....................................80Day 19 By Getting Along with Each Other.............................84Day 20 By Being Patient with Each Other.............................88Day 21 By Being Honest with Each Other..............................92Day 22 By Being Examples to Each Other..............................96Day 23 By Encouraging Each Other....................................100Day 24 By Teaching Each Other.......................................104Day 25 By Warning Each Other........................................108Day 26 By Giving Preference to Each Other...........................112Day 27 By Confessing to Each Other..................................116Day 28 By Forgiving Each Other......................................120Day 29 By Being Willing to Serve....................................124Day 30 By Helping Each Other........................................128Day 31 By Being Generous with Each Other............................132Day 32 By Being Humble with Each Other..............................136Day 33 By Using Our Talents to Bless Each Other.....................140Day 34 By Sacrificing for Each Other................................144Day 35 By Cooperating with Each Other...............................148Day 36 By Worshiping Weekly.........................................152Day 37 By Preparing for Worship.....................................156Day 38 By Praying Together..........................................160Day 39 By Giving Our Offerings Together.............................164Day 40 By Celebrating Together......................................168Additional Resources................................................173

Chapter One

Because God Loves Us

"Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:11 NIV

Life is about learning to love.

The purpose of your time on earth is not primarily about acquiring possessions, attaining status, achieving success, or even experiencing happiness. Those are secondary issues. Life is all about love and developing relationships—with God, and with other people. You may succeed in many areas, but if you fail to learn how to love God and love others, you'll have missed the reason God created you and placed you on this planet. Learning to love is life's most important lesson. Jesus called it the "greatest commandment" (Matthew 22:38 NIV). Nothing else comes close in importance.

Why? Because God is love, and God wants you to become more like him. God loves you deeply and unconditionally. Now he wants you to learn to love him back, and to love others, especially believers in God's family.

Here's the problem: Love is unnatural for us. It is human nature to think of ourselves first. We naturally do what is in our own best interest, often without any regard for how it affects others. Hopefully, as we grow we become more giving and less selfish; but we've all known people who never grew up and never considered anything but their own wishes, desires, and cravings. Self-centeredness is the root of practically every problem—both personally and globally.

Real love is placing the needs of others before your own. It is making your problem my problem. It is giving to another without any guarantee of getting anything back. It is giving others what they need, not what they deserve. Although love can create intense feelings, love is not a feeling. It is a choice, an action, a way of behaving, a commitment. Love is sacrificing for others.

Much of the world has no clue as to what real love is all about. Songs that say "I need you, I want you, I must have you" are not love songs, but lust songs. Real love focuses on how I can serve you, not how you can serve me. It's the opposite of our selfish tendencies.

That's why we must learn to love. It isn't easy. Real love takes knowledge, God's grace, and lots of practice. We must retrain ourselves to think and act in loving ways. During 40 Days of Community we're going to practice loving each other—in forty different ways. These ways are called the "one anothers" of the Bible. They are practical instructions for learning to love in real-life situations.

Like a diamond, love is multi-faceted. Each of these daily readings will help you understand and practice a different aspect of love. Take the time each day to seriously think about what you've read. Learning genuine love is not easy, but it will bless your life beyond imagination here on earth, and prepare you for eternity.

Of course, you can't learn to love by yourself. You must develop relationships with many different kinds of people in order to practice loving others. The Bible calls this being in "community," which is another word for fellowship. To practice the "one another" commands that God has given us, it is absolutely essential that you find a church family and get involved in some kind of weekly small group study. An effective small group is more than just a Bible study, although that is a major component. It also allows time for interacting, sharing, questioning, and praying for each other. Community is the context where we learn to love.

If all you do is read these daily devotionals, you'll only get a fraction of the potential benefits. But if you meet weekly in a small group setting, with six or eight other people, you'll have a practice lab where you can apply what you learn.

Now here's today's verse: "Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11 NIV). This is the starting point for building real community: realize how much God loves us. He doesn't just love you; he loves everyone else just as much, and he wants his children to love each other. There are three foundations for living a life of love:

• God's love for us gives us the reason to love others.

• God's love in us gives us the ability to love others.

• God's love through us gives us the...