love – Somerset Church of Christ

November 14, 2024

Begin With Thanksgiving

There are well documented studies that show the benefits of giving thanks. With the national holiday coming up, it’s good to talk about the need for us to give thanksgiving in our lives all the time. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says to give thanksgiving in all circumstances. There is a reason for that, and it’s not just to blindly give praise to God. The benefits are immeasurable, both for the person giving thanks and for those receiving it.

Some of the benefits are improved mental health, improved physical health, enhanced relationships, and personal growth. People who are grateful and give thanks every day typically have reduced stress and anxiety, better sleep, better immune systems, deeper connection, enhanced creativity, and so on. There is no mistaking that gratitude can literally alter the course and outcome of your life.

Psalm 100 is a psalm of thanksgiving. It begins, “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!” (vs. 1). We should “enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations” (vs. 4-5). God is good and when we give praise it changes the way we interact with each other, thereby changing the outcome of those interactions. We tend to give more of our time and emotions when we are thankful. And people notice it. We should always use our gratitude to show the kindness of the Lord!

April 20, 2023

Honor Your Parents

Do we set our children up to succeed in life? Paul told the children in the Ephesian church to “obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Eph. 6:1 ESV). Paul is obviously not talking about abusive parents because he qualifies that it should be “in the Lord.” Paul goes on to say, “This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go will with you and that you may live long in the land” (vs. 2, 3).

One word comes to mind in the family that Paul describes: stability. Remember that Jesus said all the law and the prophets hinge on the two greatest commandments to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. When we learn love, we obey. When we obey God people take care of each other because that’s what love is.

We set our kids up for blessing and success when we teach them to do what is right, to follow God’s commandments. Our children have all the potential in the world to grow into highly loving, successful kingdom-builders! The best way to help them succeed is to teach them to honor God.

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023

Fearless

Happy Summer Solstice Northern Hemisphere

This year’s theme is God first. We’ve been talking about God and you–developing a deeper relationship with God. John says, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7 ESV). God loved us enough to send his only son for us. Therefore, John concludes, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (vs. 11).

We have confidence that God remains in us because he gives us his Spirit. Furthermore, “whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (vs. 15). This gives us absolute confidence for the day of judgment and we know that we will spend eternity with God.

John concludes, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (vs. 18). If we’ve really been perfected in love, Christians should have no fear of death or judgment. This gives us peace of mind and courage to teach others, knowing that we are secure with God.

February 1, 2023

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

The book of Leviticus talks a lot about the holiness of God. God is holy (set apart), therefore we are holy. Holiness means that God’s people are distinguished from the world. Where the world perpetuates violence, injustices, and hatred, God’s people are to show compassion, justice, and love. God does not permit his people to take vengeance.

There are very specific commandments for how to treat one’s neighbor. “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18 ESV). This commandment is what Jesus referred to as “the second greatest commandment,” behind loving the Lord your God. In fact, these two commandments were so strong that Jesus said all of the law and the prophets hinge on these two commandments.

Over the next few weeks we will specifically talk about what it means to love ourselves. There are plenty of references in the Bible yet Christians don’t seem to take this charge to love ourselves as seriously as they should. Love is not perfect if we don’t love ourselves.

December 14, 2022

For God So Loved the World

We all know the verse: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). God didn’t just give His son on the cross, but he gave him in birth too. The depth of love that God has for us is difficult for us to grasp.

When the birth of Christ was announced, it was great news for the Jewish people who had been waiting for the Messiah to come. We especially see this with a man named Simeon, “and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him” (Luke 2:25). Simeon was told that he wouldn’t die until he was able to see the baby Jesus. When he did, he took him in his arms and blessed him.

Jesus’ life was rooted in justice and righteousness, and his love flowed from that foundation. Love required him to radically defend the innocent and vulnerable, to heal the sick and care for the poor and downtrodden. This is what love looks like. Love is a fierce defender. Ultimate love saves. As we look towards the birth of Jesus, we most definitely need to focus on his love!

January 19, 2022

Love Needs Readjusting

We have an idiom in the West, to “fall out of love.” Merriam-Webster simply defines the idiom this way: “to no longer feel romantic love for someone.” Even the definition seems cold and detached. What if there is actually no such thing as falling out of love? What if, instead, we lose focus and perspective on what love really is? Is it possible that love needs to be readjusted, and readjusted often?

I think that’s what was going on in 1 Corinthians 13 when Paul reminded the Corinthian church about what true love requires. The Corinthians didn’t fall out of love with each other. Instead, they lost focus on what true love really looks like. Paul says, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:3-7 ESV).

Paul very patiently readjusted their vision of love. Love was reignited in the Corinthian church. People began to treat each other with kindness and respect again. We need reminders often that love is a beautiful thing and it requires us to treat one another with all patience and kindness. When we do that, God’s love shines in us.

January 19, 2021

Love Is the Heart of the Church

silhouette photo of man leaning on heart leaf shape tree during dawn

When Paul told the Corinthian church that they are all members of one body, and that each has it’s own role, he then launched into what’s known as “the love chapter.” Paul made the very powerful point that love is essential for the body of Christ to function. It is the heart, even the heartbeat, of the church. Love is what binds everyone and everything together. It’s what maintains peace and unity.

Paul said, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1, 2 ESV). Paul says love is patient and kind, it doesn’t envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude. It is not self-seeking. This is the polar opposite of what Paul was addressing earlier in this letter to the Corinthians.

Earlier, Paul warned that selfish, greedy, idolatrous, and sexually abusive people will not inherit the kingdom of God. He told the church to avoid such people within the community of believers and to purge the evil. Why? Because love doesn’t do those things. Love corrects, rebukes, and even avoids people who are destructive. There is no place for disunity and destruction in the Lord’s church. While hatred tears down, love builds up. And God wants believers everywhere to build each other up into Christ as our head.

When churches and individuals love well, there is peace and protection, honor and provision. Love is essential for the body to be well. Like a body whose heart stops beating, the body of Christ dies when the body stops loving. Love is the heartbeat of the church.