Sermon Notes: 15 Jan 2023
VICTORY’S MISSION STATEMENT
Love God, love others, pass our faith to the next generation!
LOVE GOD: The Great Commandment: “Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart…soul…and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” Matt. 22:36-40
LOVE OTHERS: The Great Commission: “Jesus said, ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matt. 28:19-20
PASS OUR FAITH TO THE NEXT GENERATION: D6 Families: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Matt. 22:34-40 (NLT)
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.
35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question:
36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Many of us enjoy watching “Extreme Sports” videos, but, few of us would actually be willing to participate!
Quotes on loving others:
Dwight L. Moody
“Love is the joy we get from God when we put His benefit and the benefit of another person before our own.”
R.C. Sproul
“It is not possible to love God and hate your brother.”
Russell M. Stendal
“If we claim to love God, but don’t love each other our love is nothing and meaningless.”
David Alley
“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”
Saint Augustine
“To love someone means to see him as God intended him.”
Unknown
“You will never really love until you love someone who hates you.”
Jack Hyles
“In the New Testament, love is more of a verb than a noun. It has more to do with acting than with feeling. The call to love is not so much a call to a certain state of feeling as it is to a quality of action.”
R. C. Sproul
“You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving.”
Rick Warren
“Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature.”
Amy Carmichael
“God teaches us to love by putting some unlovely people around us. It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you.”
WHAT DOES JESUS SAY ABOUT LOVING ONE ANOTHER?
John 13:34 (NLT)
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.”
Matthew 5:43-48 (NLT)
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy.
44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.
47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.
48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
When we learn how to love God, we also learn how to love the people He created.
- Love vertically
- Love horizontally
Basic ways we can love others:
1. WELCOME PEOPLE LIKE FRIENDS, RATHER THAN STRANGERS.
Romans 15:7 (NLT) Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Romans 12:10 (NLT) Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
2. LOOK TO THE NEEDS OF OTHERS.
Acts 2:44–45 (NLT) 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need
3. TALK TO SOMEONE WHO IS DIFFERENT FROM YOU.
James 2:9a (NLT) But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin…
4. INVITE SOMEONE TO SHARE A MEAL.
Romans 12:13 (NLT) When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
5. ALLOW PEOPLE TO TAKE OFF THEIR MASKS.
Galatians 6:1-3 (NLT)
1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
6. PRAY.
1 Thess. 5:25 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us.
7. SMILE.
8. SHOW KINDNESS TO EVERYONE.
Colossians 3:12 (NLT) Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Galatians 5:22-23a (NLT) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control…
A great motivation to love others is to remember how much Jesus loves us.
Will you join me in choosing to love one another?
What are you allowing to get in the way of loving others?
