Second Commandments and First Fruits

We give life (the life of God in our lives) to the body and building.

The Gathering Place United - I like this and we should use it more. - Event title

Who in you life needs to hear and understand God’s grace?

God has called us to counter dead religion by understanding God’s personal touch in our lives.

1 John 2:24–27 ESV

24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.

Live in what you heard!

It is only in living in what we have heard that we will see fruit.

the cornerstone is what we have.

We should live in that.

Through that we build the church.

We are the lumber, the foundation has been laid.

1 John 3:10–11 ESV

10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

Evidence that we belong to God

We practice righteousness

We love one another. - make a shift in our thinking about the world around us.

John 15:10–12 ESV

10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

We are pursing the will of God for things in our life.

we discover that God is an unending source of wisdom and understanding.

Jesus tells us to share this life with those that have never experienced it and want it.

He built the foundation so that we would build the church.

Why is it important that we “move into second gear”?

How does your participation affect the church?

How do we make the transition from feeling like sharing is work to a privilege?

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

God wants TGP churches to understand that new birth happens by abiding in the word AND it will produce love in and through us.

This is how we love like Christ loves. - selfless, sacrificial love.

Who has God placed in your life so that you can love them?

What challenges do you see to stepping up your love game?

How can your LG assist in that end?

Matthew 22:37–40 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

As a TGP church we have successfully accomplished the first commandment.

We now need to completely engage in our obedience to Christ.

We need to love God with all our heart so that we can love

Galatians 5:22 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

all but joy and peace are related to someone else.

Wow.

1 Corinthians 13:13 CSB

13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.

it is time for us to bring our fist fruits to God.

According to God and Paul, that is our love.

This is a time to shift.

Before Jesus gave this new commandment, Jesus called out the fact that Judas would betray him that night.

Jesus didn’t share what he was about to share with Judas in the room because it would cheapen it.

Jesus told us to love how he was about to love.

God has used this time to get the people here that need to be here to tell us it is time to go into second gear.

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

In a culture full of works based mentality, this is how we share Christ.

A - Abide in Christ

B - BLESS others Begin with Prayer, Listen to them, Eat with them, Serve them, Share the Gospel

C- Commit to community - what changes do we need to make in our group?

Loving selflessly in life group.

You aren’t going for you, you are going for them.