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The Love Wins Companion: A Study Guide For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
The Love Wins Companion: A Study Guide For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
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The Love Wins Companion: A Study Guide For Those Who Want to Go Deeper

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The Love Wins Companion: A Study Guide For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
Rob Bell

For anyone who wants to delve deeper into Rob Bell’s bestselling Love Wins, the expansive and accessible Love Wins Companion offers scholarly support and critiques, resources for individuals, groups, and classes, and brand new material by Rob Bell himself.As Love Wins continues to become a touchstone for thousands of readers worldwide, controversy surrounds the book’s arguments. Here, in The Love Wins Companion, Rob Bell offers commentary on the positive and negative attention his groundbreaking book is receiving, delivering a crucial supplement to one of the most important books Christian books today.• For those looking to go deeper with Rob Bell’s bestselling pioneering book Love Wins, this companion offers:• Insights and commentary by theologians, Bible scholars, scientists, and pastors• Deep analysis of all relevant Bible passages on heaven, hell, and salvation• Detailed chapter summaries, discussion questions, and Bible studies for individuals, groups, and classes• Excerpts from works throughout Christian history illustrating the variety of teachers also debating the issues Bell wrestles with• New material by Bell on his mission for the book and how people can take the next step

The

Love Wins

Companion

A Study Guide for

Those Who Want

to Go Deeper

ROB BELL

Edited By David Vanderveen

Contents

Cover (#u51d3d0a6-aeaf-53dc-bffd-83eba921968b)

Title Page (#ubf7f2c98-6bd5-5252-9ed3-35a0b4bb23f0)

Foreword - Do Not Be Afraid by Jack Heaslip

Preface by Rob Bell

How to Use This Companion by David Vanderveen

Chapter One - What About the Flat Tire?

Overview by Rob Bell (#ulink_019935d8-96a6-5ec5-8ca7-e1ecf9d11f62)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#ulink_9b7e434e-8ddb-5a09-bc5e-cb03d7b186df)

Bible Study: A God Who Loves Questions (#ulink_42aa1934-5fbc-54d6-9c91-1bfba094853b)

Group Exercise: Knowing Your Story (#ulink_4174b52b-01e3-536e-b076-e9eb81c3cf7b)

Discussion Questions (#ulink_3903b19c-bf27-565b-992f-804b020b8ae2)

Reading: Questioning God by David Dark (#ulink_dffa0cf1-b4b5-5810-961e-8197a6b1d1df)

Reading: The Temptation of Religious Success by Oswald Chambers (#ulink_663db7b9-dc75-596b-8fab-2209a9b7ce0c)

Chapter Two - Here Is the New There

Overview by Rob Bell (#ulink_12aa875e-c244-5ff9-ba92-e3a48bdf0efa)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#ulink_fbb1fdc9-0eca-5eb8-891f-20788dd1b343)

Bible Study: Earthly Heavenly Visions (#ulink_9cfbed99-15a3-53e6-82b7-cbb0ad389070)

Discussion Questions (#ulink_a3c2e95f-281d-5dbe-ab5e-abd539c06a0b)

Reading: Going to Heaven? by N. T. Wright (#ulink_3e9fb9a0-d3f2-5709-b897-7ebb3ff94ed9)

Chapter Three - Hell

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: (Almost) Everything the Bible Says About Hell (#litres_trial_promo)

Group Exercise: The Hell Download (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Becoming a Deep Reader of Scripture by Clayton Libolt (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Hell on Earth by Shayne Moore (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Four - Does God Get What God Wants?

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: “All Things” (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: The Secret by Peter Rollins (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: What Is Et ernal Life? by Pope Benedict XVI (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Five - Dying to Live

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: The Metaphorical Riches of the Cross (#litres_trial_promo)

Group Exercise: What Is the Gospel? (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Melchizedek, the Magi, and Isa al-Masi by Glenn Parrish (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Stingy Orthodoxy or Generous Orthodoxy? by Richard J. Mouw (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Confession by Donald Miller (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six - There Are Rocks Everywhere

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: The Cosmic Christ (#litres_trial_promo)

Group Exercise: Where Are the Rocks? (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Playing with Rocks by Jack Heaslip (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: All Right. You Can Come In by Anne Lamott (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven - The Good News Is Better Than That

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: Telling the Right Story (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading: Trusting the Story God Is Telling by Cathleen Falsani (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight - The End Is Here

Overview by Rob Bell (#litres_trial_promo)

Going Deeper by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Bible Study: Parables of Urgency (#litres_trial_promo)

Discussion Questions (#litres_trial_promo)

Reading - Do You Really Believe Anything Happens After You Die? by Frederick Buechner (#litres_trial_promo)

The Wide Road Called Orthodoxy Selections from Historic Christian Teachers on Last Things (#litres_trial_promo)

Q&A with Rob Bell: An Interview by David Vanderveen (#litres_trial_promo)

Contributors

Permissions

About the Author

Copyright

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

Foreword Do Not Be Afraid (#ulink_ddf609b5-db03-51f7-b5f5-bfca727da6ba)

by Jack Heaslip

Do you know how many times the phrase “Do not be afraid” appears in the Bible? One website says it is 365 times. I prefer to say “lots of times.”

What has fear to do with a book on love? God’s love at that? Even before Love Wins was released, fear was at work. People had opinions about a book they hadn’t read. I was told I needed to be skeptical, suspicious, nervous, critical, afraid, but mostly “cautious.” Caution must be good, mustn’t it? The trouble is that caution can be fear dressed up to look right and proper and maybe a shade holy.

Fear also could be heard in the questions being asked. Is it okay to question God like that? Is he destroying faith? Why doesn’t he respect our tradition, our catechism?

If you are in a group, look around and see how many people show signs of fear and suspicion. Look in a mirror for the same signs.

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid.” Angels said, “Do not be afraid.” God said it too.

After all these things, this word of God came to Abram in a vision: “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand.” (Gen. 15:1, MSG)

But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you.” (Luke 1:30, MSG)

But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” (Matt. 14:27, MSG)

So why shouldn’t we be afraid? Because God can be trusted.

So with a God who can be trusted we can head off into new territory or a fresh experience of old territory. We can ask questions. We do not need to be afraid.

Because we can trust God and not be afraid, we are then free to love. Love is the bottom line!

Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. (1 John 4:7, MSG)

It is like love meeting love. Our shallow attempts at loving are embraced by God’s mighty love. That, for me, is powerful stuff. With that sort of confidence we can really go for the experience and the understanding of God.

There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. (1 John 4:18, MSG)

God is love! It’s that simple, that profound.

Paul believed this. He gave the Corinthians a wonderful description of what our religion should involve and what it should look like: “For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love” (Gal. 5:6, MSG).

Isn’t that brilliant? Religion and nonreligion are firmly put in their place by God’s love. And our intellects are given something to work on. Paul encourages us to think! It is okay to think! Sometimes our little gray cells are put on the back burner by those who want us to follow a faith they prescribe. It is good to unwrap a package. How can we receive the gift if we don’t delve a bit?