A New Command part 2

Thank you for taking a few moments from your time gathering together to join us. It is great to see everybody.

What has been a Challenge this past week? What has been a victory this week? What does your work schedule look like as things are changing? How are your relationships and thoughts you have as you return to work? Is there a unique dynamic at work?

Announcements:

We are inviting you to join us for outdoor chapel at All American Chapel 1100 on Sunday.

This Tuesday, June 2nd, men’s group will meet back at the Hospitality House this at 6pm. We will Zoom at 7 pm for those that would like to join us that way.

This Wednesday, June 3rd, LIFT will be meet back at the Hospitality House from pm to pm. Kim

We will have sign ups for the quarry June 13/20 and July 3rd. We are limited to 25 people for now.

Prayer and Praise -

Last week we continued to look at a passage that I believe would be beneficial for us to spend some time as a community to consider and follow into a deeper study in what the Bible reveals how to practically live out its teaching.

Who remembers what passage that is?

This passage is John 13:34-35: 34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Lets review the questions and take a look at the answers that we shared:

What keeps us from loving others, like Christ loved us?

Our Sin Nature

Pride/Selfishness/ Selfish Ambition

Protection/Self-Preservation

Insecurities -

Lack of Patience for others

What is 1 thing that you can do to love this Body of Christ this next week?

Ask God for clear thinking and for opportunities to serve the body

Pray for people within the community

Work on communicating better with one another distracted, especially without distractions

Slow down to consider one another

Be a friend ( We would like to look a little deeper in this idea with what does this look like?)

I really appreciated your answers. The question that I would propose ask is , “What does God’s word teach us about how to love one another?”

The first step in following Christ example in loving one another we see in Romans 12.

Romans 12:1-2

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

We see that our first step in loving one another as Christ loved us is that we submit ourselves completely to Christ. This presentation of our bodies as a living sacrifice. This is precisely what Jesus modeled on the cross for us to follow in his example in submitting himself as a sacrifice. When we do this we are changed, but this is an on going process because Paul is teaching that it must be renewed. The benefit from this is that we are going to be able to see things from a different point of view. We will be able to see what God says is good and pleasing to him, this means that we will be asking for what God wants in our prayers and petitions to Him.

Still, this is an individual mandate that is between us and God, but Paul sees the connection of Christ’s command to love one another flows out of the proper order of worship. We worship God first and submit ourselves to him and then out of the flow of our worship of God, we sacrifice our lives for one another, loving one another as Christ loved us. This is a challenge that requires daily discipline and is not always easy, but Paul does not leave this command with the simple aspect of presenting our lives as a sacrifice to God. He rightly then instructs us on how we are to better love one another. Lets look at verses 3-8.

Romans 12:3-8

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 12

3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; 8 if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.

First, Paul states that we are not to think more highly of ourselves, but rather sensibly. This again is an honest inward reflection of ourselves before we go to others. There is a warning here that I wish to share. I remember this warning from reading Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones’ work on spiritual depression. The good doctor reminds us that we must be careful that an honest inward reflection must not turn to morbidity (being diseased) or introspection (brooding self-analysis). As a result of our honest inward reflection we really should be humbled.

Second, as we flow from a humbled inward reflection we then see that each person are gifted by God in a different manner. Yet the teaching here is that we are all part of one body. As we understand the military very well I can say that we are part of a unit. There are small parts and larger parts of the unit. Each has a different individual role that contributes to the whole. Unfortunately, tonight I will not be diving into the gifts that Paul outlines here. Rather I want us to acknowledge the idea that we are all indeed important and contribute to the whole. We all serve one another and as we sacrifice ourselves using our gifts for each other we are would be able to see that we will be unified just as a body is healthy when all of it functions correctly.

We have posted on facebook, the questions for this evening. In your groups we would like you discuss them, and share with us briefly what your groups have discussed.

How do we present ourselves as a living sacrifice, as worship to God and loving others?

How can viewing others, in the way that Paul teaches ,help us avoid the some of the challenges of loving one another that we discussed last week ?

Text someone this week and share what you see God has gifted them and how you appreciate them for their gift.

I have a parting thought- As we finish I want to tie in teaching that we heard from our Chapel this past year while we were going through Peter. 1 Peter 4:8 Says

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4

8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.,aq 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

We see that we all have gifts and these are to be used to serve others and out of this we are able to love one another as Christ has loved us.