9-3-2017 - Living in the Body - Part 1: Genuine Love

Thesis: We connect into God’s family through true love.

For Kids: Making new friends.

Ask their name.

Find out something they like, or just something about them.

Pray for them.

Results of growing disciples survey

1. Some measure of faith

If they don't at least believe in God that wouldn't be here

The exception proves the rule

2. Desire to learn

2. Desire to learn

3. Desire to serve

3. Desire to serve

4. Looking for a new family

4. Looking for a new family

The Modern Afterlife:

“Hell is just other people” - Jean-Paul Sartre - French playwright/philosopher

Heaven is your own personal paradise (you alone)

Neither are biblical

The Bible speaks of heaven, and the new earth we will live on, as being bigger than we can imagine

We will all join a new family - the family of Christ

Jesus wants us to start today, not to wait til we die

How do you join a new family?

Last week we looked at the way God wants to work through us as a community, as a family.

Paul continues here to show us how to connect into the family - and the key is love.

Paul continues here to show us how to connect into the family - and the key is love.

Romans 12:9–13 NRSV

9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Acts of True Love:

True/Real/Genuine love

Hate what is evil

Hold fast to the good

Mutual affection

Competitive honor

Energetic love, not lazy love for God and others

Hope gives you that energy

It helps you persevere patiently

Prayer keeps us connected to that hope

Love for God, for brothers and sisters, and also for strangers.

Romans 12:14–17 NRSV

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.

Live in true love with others:

And love also for enemies

Engage the people around you

We may have differing values, but we can celebrate life and death together - birthdays and funerals

Associate with everyone, especially the lowly

Do not repay evil with evil - consider what is noble.

Romans 12:18–21 NRSV

18 If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Change your enemies with true love:

Do your best to live in peace

If you cannot, do not avenge yourselves

Bless your enemies

Feed them

Make them feel guilty for not liking you

If they will not feel guilty themselves, you will be a witness to the strength of God at work in you and their wickedness in opposing God

Why this is difficult:

It is not fair.

Story about getting face cut with ink pen in 6th grade and getting in trouble for it.

Repaying evil for evil just makes more evil

Doing nothing does no good.

Only by blessing, and blessing our enemies in particular, do we actually give a witness that we are God’s people and that God is alive and well and working in the world.

Are You a Picky Hermit?:

You:

Some people will claim they don’t belong to a church because no one ever visits them, bringing with them:

a gift basket of assorted delicious snack food that is:

sugar free (for their diabetes),

gluten free (for their allergies),

peanut-free (for their other allergies),

de-caffeinated,

low-carb, and

better tasting than anything they can just go buy at Wal-Mart for themselves…

politely left on their back porch, not their front, because they don’t want others to think they take handouts,

and left without any mention of church or God because that’s too pushy.

(Well, we could probably put Jesus loves you, but don’t mention your church because that seems like you’re just advertising and wanting money from them.)

Those people don’t want to be connected, and until they get lonely enough, or as the folks at AA put it, hit rock-bottom, there is nothing anyone can do to win them out of their caves they have dug themselves into.

How I picked church before I was a pastor… Whoever invited me, I went with them.

It was a little awkward for a few weeks, or in some cases months, but eventually I was accepted in.

A Church is just one big family and it takes time and genuine love to get connected in, but Paul tells us not to give up because it is worth it.

Are We a Church of Picky Hermits?:

We:

How long does it take people to become part of our family

“Phil the Shorts Guy” noticed after serving in a congregation for a year.

We can be tempted to become a church of hermits ourselves, telling ourselves:

I just wish that family across the street would come to church

Their daughter has a beautiful voice that we would love to hear

Their youngest son always has a lot of his teenage friends over, and we need more young people in our church

Both parents have good jobs and are always giving generously to charities in town

If only they would come to church

But we never invite them. So they don’t come to us.

Here is the truly sad part though.

In every community there are churches whose attention is fixated on those who are successful, struggling to work up the gumption to invite them, and when we do, many do not come because they don’t really need us. They are already successful with their own friends and family.

Right around the corner there are people who are widowed or recently divorced who are dying of loneliness, some who only ever hear their name when the doctor is checking to see if they have the right patient.

There are young people who have essentially been orphaned by broken families or their own mistakes who have nowhere to go, and no one seems to know who they are.

They feel they have nothing to give so they won’t ever come near church, or come near us outside of church.

We think they have nothing to give, so we are hesitant to try to strike up friendships with them. It’s easier to just give them a ten-dollar bill, forgetting their name five minutes later.

When we do this there is no genuine love happening and we are not being the Church.

When we do this we are forgetting that joining the family of Jesus was never about bringing any gift other than ourselves and knowing that it is the Gift of Jesus Christ and that alone that ever makes us worthy.

The fact that Jesus loves us and wants us to be part of His family is far greater than any reward we could ever get on earth or in heaven

Does that love beat in your heart?

Are you a true child of God?

or are you still waiting for someone to do something for you? To make the way clearer easier for you?

Jesus died so that you could feel invited into His family and so we would follow Him loving others into His family as well? What more can you ask of Him than that?