A Caring Church: By Loving Each Other
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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.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Intro:
Intro:
This morning, we continue to expand upon our vision of being a caring church. Last week, we discussed being a caring church by honoring God. Today we examine how to love each other.
I love you..... easy to say, hard to do. Yet Jesus said loving our neighbor as ourselves is the 2nd most important command and in John 13, he directly commanded us to love each other (in the church) and said that our love would be our calling card to the world that we were His disciples
Why? A disciple follows his master. Our Master demonstrated love. In fact, He was love incarnate.
Let’s look at ways to demonstrate love in the church.
Love by Praying
Love by Praying
Prayer is tied to much of our faith.
We find Jesus praying often
before big days
after big days
in the midst: as He worked miracles, taught
He taught a parable in which He demonstrated we should always pray:
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”
And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
We should ALWAYS pray
We should pray for EACH OTHER
The Bible is filled with Scriptures instructing, and demonstrating God’s people praying for each other.
Paul in his epistles often asked for prayer:
Brothers, pray for us.
Paul often reminded the churches that He prayed for them.
The early church was devoted to prayer: Acts 2:48
We are commanded: James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
The context is praying for the sick.
How can we get better at praying for each other?
Pray Paul’s prayers
having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God,
as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?
Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,
and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
The Bible is filled with other examples.
Use them as a starting place
When we pray, we not only show love, but we grow deeper in our love for each other.
Praying for someone, really getting their desire as our desire and carrying it to GOD, will connect us.
Don’t just say you will pray for someone.... PRAY for them… better yet, pray with them!
We love each other by praying or each other and we
Love by Gathering
Love by Gathering
We touched on this briefly last week as we discussed worshipping together.
“Connections”:
We connect electronically and through social media
We nod and wave (maybe)
But is that really a connection?
Gathering together in person for worship and fellowship is one of the most loving things we can do.
Community is a big part of the church
There are over 90 “one another” verses in the Bible.
greet one another, seek good for one another, comfort one another, encourage one another and host of others.
You can’t do that if we aren’t together!
SHOW UP!
Corporate worship
Small groups (Bible Study on Sundays and Wednesday)
Fellowships (like tonight!)
Community also relies on UNITY
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
It is a sad reality today that too many churches are fragmented.
All human relationships require work to keep them
In the Song of Solomon, Solomon asks for people to catch the Little foxes which spoil the vineyard
Our relationships can have “little foxes”
little things which add up and tear at the bonds
Church relationships are no different.
We must value them
We must nurture them
We must preserve them
We love each other by praying for each other, gathering with each other, and we
Love by Serving Together
Love by Serving Together
Church is far more than a social club.
The word “church” means “called out assembly”
Assembly might be a better translation than the word church.
The emphasis isn’t an organization, but an organism
baptized believers gathered and covenanted together to carry out the work of God.
IN the NT, a local church and/or churches were referenced.
This side of eternity the emphasis is on specific local churches.
In fact, the epistles were written to local congregations or pastors.
Except Galatians which is addressed to all the churches in that province. (Like saying churches in Cherokee county)
We are the body of Christ.
We exist to serve with and for each other.
Not just to exist
IL: Bad morning
If when I tried to get up this morning, my right foot and eyes decided to stay in bed, do you think that would go well?
If I had somehow managed to hop to the medicine cabinet to take my morning medicine and my hands grew impatient and decided to go straight the coffee pot....
As ridiculous as that sounds, that is what we look like as a church if we are all pulling in our own direction.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Every list of gifts is given for this reason:
build the body and carry out its work
Look again at that last verse
joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped.
This church needs you
We need each other.
Each of us doing our part hold’s the body together
Notice the outcome: makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love
When we do our part and hold the body together, the body grows and builds itself!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
WE are a caring church:
By honoring God
By loving each other:
praying, gathering with, serving
Lord’ will next week we will look at the third aspect, sharing with the world.