For the Love of God

Intro - Why?

Foundational Questions

Characteristics of authentic followers and authentic communities

Know the shepherd’s voice

Listen to the shepherd

Know and are known by the shepherd

Are part of the flock

are Christ-shaped

What is missing? The why. Paul explained this in last week (read)

The love of God in Christ is our constitution

The US Constitution tells why we come together as a nation

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Christ doesn’t pray for us to be happy, or to avoid pain

: we are loved by the Father in the same way that the Father loves the Son

“just as you have loved me” is a better understanding (NIV: even as you have loved me)

God’s love transforms our daily living

We are different-more complete, more whole-when we know that we are loved

Need to know this at a heart level; head knowledge alone is insufficient - like knowledge of the rain without taking an umbrella

Psychology is replete with studies about the effects of simple love and affection on us - August 2013 study in Psychology Today:

Just as lack of food, water, and rest have their detrimental effects, so too does the lack of affection. In a recent study of 509 adults, I examined the construct of skin hunger—and the social, relational, and health deficits with which it is associated. The results were consistent and striking. People with high levels of skin hunger are disadvantaged in multiple ways, compared to those with moderate or low levels. Specifically, compared to people with less skin hunger, people who feel more affection-deprived: are less happy; more lonely; more likely to experience depression and stress; and, in general, in worse health. They have less social support and lower relationship satisfaction. They experience more mood and anxiety disorders, and more secondary immune disorders (those that are acquired rather than inherited genetically). They are more likely to have alexithymia, a condition that impairs their ability to express and interpret emotion. Finally, they are more likely to have a preoccupied or fearful-avoidant attachment style; they're less likely to form secure attachments with others in their lives.

We were designed to be loved-especially by God-and we cannot be who we’re designed to be apart from that

Collectively, we’re able to come together as a community when we act out of the love of Christ

Our End Is Our Beginning

The love of God through Christ is our purpose

In his prayer for all believers, Jesus prays for unity so that the world may know the love that the Father shows to him

Parents use “because” or “because I said so”, but at some point it must give way to a greater understanding

When we

The church loses its purpose apart from God’s love

Not everything that the church does is pleasing to God, because it isn’t done for the love of God. () shows this to the kingdom of Judah in God’s rebuke of the people and priests of Judah. They would perform the rituals and go through the motions, but there was no love for God--for Yahweh--in them. Their prayers were like a bad relative who only calls for money, never to find out how you are. There’s no love for you, just of what you can provide for them. In the same way, God rebukes the nation of Judah because they think they’re doing the right thing, but they don’t really love God. In Love the things that I love, and in so doing, love me.

The church worships, serves, and endures in love

There is a tangible difference between a congregation that is joined by a common hour on Sunday morning and a common love of God through Christ

A church operating out of duty runs out of resources quickly

A church operating out of love of God seems to indefatigable.