Our families can teach us a lot about ‘tough love’. Being in a family often requires loving those who drive us nuts, and enduring hardships together in a way that’s totally unique from any other type of relationship in our lives. After having explored what it means to love God and love our neighbors, this week Tara Farrell brings a message that explores Jesus’ new commandment of “love one another”. We discuss why this can be the most challenging (and rewarding) type of love and why it’s vitally important to the family of Christ.
"love one another" Tagged Sermons
In the Sermon on the amount, Jesus taught us that treating others the way we want to be treated is equivalent to following God’s Law. Though this teaching seems to simplify the Law, it’s actually rather complicated in practice. Everyone wants to be loved in how they’re treated, but how each person gives and receives love is unique, and sometimes people want to be loved in a way that opposes God’s will. How do we follow Jesus’ teaching amidst these challenges? We must actively communicate with others and with God.
Part 2 of 2: Today we focus on 1 Thess. 4.12, where Paul gives clarity as to the why behind his instructions around work: so that we can demonstrate a different way of living, and be dependent on no one. However, the unfortunate reality in our culture today is that you can work – even full-time – and still be dependent, due to stagnating wages and rising costs of living, particularly in our city. The sobering reality is that the challenges of finding good work for many in our society, particularly since the Great Recession, has led to significant increases in drug use and overdoses, alcoholism, and suicides. People despair when they can’t find dignity in their work. This presents (1) an incredible opportunity for the church to be the agent of hope and light it is designed to be, and (2) a particular call for business owners and supervisors who declare that Jesus is King, to exemplify true discipleship in the way they employ and supervise!
After the Denver Broncos won this year’s Super Bowl they returned home to a celebratory parade. How do we celebrate and love missionaries when they come to town and when they are far away? As Paul approached Rome, some from his Christian family walked 40 miles to meet him and escort him into their city. The hospitable love Paul received after a sacrificial missionary tour encouraged him and moved him to worship God. In today’s message we are encouraged to honor, love and pray for those who have followed God’s voice to leave their home land, familiar foods and native language for the name of Jesus to be known among all nations.
There’s nothing like a near-death experience to give one clarity about what’s most important. It’s in this context that Paul got thinking about succession: leaving a legacy, establishing a lasting influence, and investing in the next generation. In this text we see the shift in Paul from being primarily a sower, to becoming both a sower and a weeder/tiller/pruner. So instead of moving on…
With so many pressures from family, friends, co-workers and voices inside our head it is easy to become anxious and perplexed in life. Fortunately, Jesus modeled and taught a way of life that listens to God and then carries out what he directs. This week we explore how to hear God’s assignments as well as the tremendous rewards for all who live…
One of the greatest ways to show God’s grace and love to others is by simply listening to them. Yet, with so many ideas floating around our world and inside our head it can be difficult to really hear what others are saying. Fortunately, God is a great listener and so He has a lot to teach us. This week we explore some barriers that can keep us from listening as well as some tools from God’s Word that will help us be better hearers. When we grow in the ministry of listening, we and those we listen to can experience the invaluable gifts of God’s grace and love.
Having invested the past 4 weeks focusing on our relationship with God, this week we begin to build upon this foundation as we spend the month of October growing in our love for one another. In this message we learn from I John 4:10-12 that grace is cyclical. When we discover God’s grace toward us, we can extend His grace to other…
In 931 B.C. God’s people tore into two nations and sometimes God’s people still divide today. Schisms destroy our joy and our ability to fulfill God’s call to bless all the families of the earth. With so much at stake, God reveals in I Kings 12-16 that relational division is actually the result of one or more people drifting away from God and His ways. For all who know the angst of relational conflict and division, in Christ there is help and hope.
Everyone has pressures & priorities. God made us to live according to His priorities not people’s pressures. This last Sunday of the year is a great time to remember that our marching orders are clear. We are commanded to love God, love our neighbors and love one another.