Ministry: The Work of God’s People 4 - Loved By Example

Scripture: Ephesians 4:25-5:2

Ephesians 4:25–5:2 NIV

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

8/11/2024

Order of Service:

Announcements

Opening Worship

Prayer Requests

Prayer Song

Pastoral Prayer

Kid’s Time

Mission Moment

Offering (Doxology and Offering Prayer)

Scripture Reading

Sermon

Closing Song

Benediction

Special Notes:

Week 2: Mission Moment

Blessing Box

Opening Prayer:

Bread of life,

you taught us to put away bitterness and anger,

and with tenderhearted kindness

to share the fruit of our labor with the needy.

Strengthen us by your grace,

that in communion with you,

we may forgive one another

and live in love as Christ loved us. Amen.

Loved by Example

SMART Goals - Getting Specific about Love

What is the end of the church year? Is it Christmas? Is it Easter? Does it happen sometime in the summer?

Our church calendar has never quite followed our regular calendar. We have a solar calendar, which we inherited from Rome. The Jews kept a lunar calendar of 13 months instead of 12 each year. Like the Chinese, their new year started at a different time than ours. If you've ever wondered why Easter Sunday never seems to fall on the same day each year, this is why.

Over the years, the church collided the Roman and Jewish calendar together and rearranged many Jewish festivals around the life of Jesus instead of the saving work of Moses and the Israelites, creating a happy mess of celebrations. When you throw our annual conference meetings in June and traditional moves around the first of July, you get a church that struggles to figure out what the beginning and end of the year are for them. Technically, the end of our church year is the end of November, right before Advent begins the first week of December — but that falls during some of the biggest shopping seasons of the year, right as we finish our plans for our Christmas celebrations. That hardly feels like a time to close out one year and begin another. So we kick the can further down the road and figure we will figure it out later.

Our crazy calendar is one reason why it is difficult for us as a church to set, monitor, and achieve goals together. But it's not the only reason. Good leadership sets, monitors, and achieves SMART Goals - an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. We set these kinds of goals instead of something that is ambiguous, subjective, impossible, out of touch, or mistimed. However, one of the most important things we do as a church almost always comes across as ambiguous, subjective, impossible, out of touch, and mistimed. That specific work I am referring to is love.

Love is a verb, not an adjective that describes how we do everything. Scripture gives us some clear examples and definitions of love, but we struggle every day to blur the lines and recreate love in our own image. The message of our passage today, though, is clear: We love others by the example of Jesus.

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Leave the World’s Example

For many years, people who have tried to poke holes in the authority of scripture have used Paul as their target practice. They comment that Paul never met Jesus personally and that his writing differs from the gospels. They imply that Paul made up his religion loosely based on Jesus, and we have swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Some people have not read Paul’s letters or the gospels very thoroughly. Others should know better and may be trying to make excuses for their own life choices. Quite a few are just trying to make a name for themselves by starting arguments without basis.

Passages like ours today give me hope and assurance that Paul knew Jesus and that the teachings in these New Testament letters flow directly from Jesus’ example. For example, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus begins His ministry by preaching that we should “repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15). Likewise, this passage from Ephesians begins with a call to repent from wrongdoing and to embrace a life of faithfulness, following Jesus.

But we can go deeper than that. The most famous teaching of Jesus was the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and in this sermon, Jesus began with a discussion of living a life according to the Law of God. Jesus started these teachings by saying that the Law of Moses said one thing, but they needed to do even more if they wanted to follow Him. The Law says, “Do not murder,” but Jesus taught that if you are angry with someone or call someone a fool, you are guilty of the same sin as a murderer. Each of these teachings about the Law were set up in the same way because Jesus was talking to people who knew the Law of Moses.

Paul’s readers were a mixed bag. Some knew the Law of Moses, and others did not. So he appealed to them based on redeeming the parts of us that sin. Repent from the wrong and turn the part of you doing wrong into something right.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

I think it is easier to receive Paul’s teaching here on the same subject than to get it straight from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew because Paul is writing to people like you and me who may not have had the right upbringing. Our families, friends, and the world might have taught us some bad examples. But the message is the same. Repent. Turn away from the world’s examples and turn to Jesus instead.

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Love by Christ’s Example

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

That is Paul’s summary of repenting from sin and growing in righteousness by following Jesus. Here is how Jesus summarized the Law:

Matthew 5:43–48 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You see now why I said Paul gives us a gentler introduction to living a holy life. Jesus does not pull any punches. His summary is, “Be perfect,... as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And that perfect love He asks from us comes with a specific measure. It is not measured in feet or yards, ounces or pounds, cups or gallons. It is not measured by how frequently we love or how many people we love. It is not measured by how much money, time, or energy we spend loving others. No, Jesus gives us a measurable standard for holy love that is much simpler and much more difficult: Love your enemies.

If you love your enemies, loving your friends will be a piece of cake. If you love your enemies, you can love your family on the good and bad days. If you love your enemies, no one will be beyond your compassion because our enemies, by definition, do not love us and usually intend us harm. The world teaches us that our enemies are the least deserving of our love and that anything we spend on them is a wasted investment. But Jesus tells us that our goal of holy love begins with them.

Paul does not specify enemies in his teaching about holy living here, but he does mention forgiveness predominantly in this passage. Stop sinning yourself. Instead, have compassion for and forgive each other. Where there is a need for forgiveness, there is sin and hurt between people. This seedbed of sin is where enemies are created. Paul tells us to quit adding to those toxic weeds and clear the soil, which is the relationship between us, so we can plant compassion and kindness and grow holy relationships.

Then Paul ties it all together by citing Christ as our example of how to love.

If you want to know what love is... look to Jesus. Jesus loved by giving Himself in compassion to point people to the truth of God’s love. He never wavered on truth or made excuses for people. He looked at Nicodemus, a Pharisee from a family of Pharisees who had served God all his life and saw the same potential for a saint as He saw in the pagan man filled with a legion of demons. Fishermen, lawyers, tax collectors, soldiers, thieves, murderers... Jesus loved them all and made a way for them to come home with Him. That is what love is. That is the goal Jesus set for us as His people.

Do you love like Jesus?

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Live by Christ’s Example

It is a massive understatement to say Jesus set the bar high in His calling to turn away from the world’s ways and love like Him. Most days, we might claim it is an impossible goal because Jesus was God, and we are not. But I learned something this week that is changing my mind on that impossibility.

Bekah will tell you that we have two cats at home because I insisted that if we only had one, it would forget it was a cat, think it was a person, and not do the job we got them for — catching mice. This week, I saw a video online that shared that it is true. When cats spend much time around people instead of other cats, they begin to think they are people, too. Or perhaps they think we are just big cats. Either way, they begin to act differently than cats in the wild and have different expectations of the relationship. We have experienced this, even with two cats, who both forget they are cats from time to time.

So if cats, who are naturally ornery, self-centered, territorial, sneaky, with frequent outbursts of meanness, can change their behavior by spending time with us, there may be hope for us as human beings.

How do you begin that journey from child of man to child of God? Start with Jesus. He is your anchor and your point of reference. He is the one who will teach you how to love better than anyone else ever could, and He does it by loving you first. If you learn to receive His love for you, you can learn to love Him back. It will be clumsy at first, but over time, you will realize it is always a bit awkward, which is okay. But He will give you grace and forgive You when you fail to love Him in return. He will offer you new opportunities each day to grow in that relationship with Him together, and it will change you.

Once you begin loving Jesus, He will lead and teach you to love others the way He loves you. Then, you will be giving out to others what you have received from Him, and it won’t matter if they are grateful or not. You will be pouring out of the abundance that God has given you to share, not emptying yourself of what few morsels you have left. So Jesus is not only an example in His teachings in the Bible. He is also an example of love in our own relationship with Him. And even more, He is the source of strength we need to love others the way He calls us to as His Body in the world.

Last week, we gave you spiritual gift inventories to take home and fill out. We hope you brought them back today. If you still need to do so, we have a basket at the back of the sanctuary that we would love for you to place yours in before you leave. If you did not pick one up last week, you can pick one up today and return it to us next Sunday. These will help us get to know you better and help you begin to grow in the many ways we can serve with Jesus together.

However, regardless of how God has gifted you to serve with Him, we are all called to love like Jesus. We love AND pray. We love AND give. We love AND worship, teach, preach, lead, organize, craft, encourage, counsel, and all of the other gifts God gives us to serve together with Him. Our first and most important goal as the Body of Christ is to love like Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, we hear Your call to love like You, and the task seems overwhelming and impossible. But you love us even when we seem impossible to love. Help us to see You clearly and give us the courage to receive the love You have for us. Help us to allow Your love to transform us so that we can see others the way that You do. Help us to love them out of the abundance that You give us, and may they come to know You by our love. In Your Holy name. Amen.

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