love – Somerset Church of Christ

March 20, 2025

Walking as peacemakers

scrabble tiles forming the message stop war

God told Isaiah that it would come to pass in later days that a mountain of the house of the Lord would be established in the highest mountains. He was referring to Jerusalem, also known as Zion. “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Zion was a stronghold that David conquered and became the site of the Temple. More importantly, all nations would flow to the mountain of God and peace would reign forth from it.

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes from many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (vs. 4). When Christ came, he told his disciples to lay down their swords and to be peacemakers. True peace can only be found in Christ. We are called, not to have peace, but to be peacemakers. There is intentionality behind that word.

Peacemakers are expected to contribute to the holistic wellbeing of their community. This encompases peace negotiations, reconciliation, and pursuing what makes life better for others, including justice and mercy. Jesus is the beacon of peace coming from Jerusalem. Only through him can there be peace among the people of all nations. As peacemakers, we pursue the things that bring about peace, uniting one another through Christ our savior.

January 29, 2025

Walking in Love

Jesus famously said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV). When Jesus said to love your neighbors as yourself, he was quoting from Leviticus 19:18. In order to fully understand what Jesus was saying about loving your neighbor, we need to understand the background for the text in Leviticus.

The Israelites were transitioning from a nomadic life to an agragarian life where they were producing abundant wealth. Think of people who win the lottery and go from poverty to wealth overnight. Most people pursue greed and lose everything. There is a real risk when we combine wealth with greed. It can cause complacency and even oppression. God gave a list of rules for treating their neighbors with fairness, including paying wages to workers on time and leaving grain on the edge of the fields for poor people and sojourners.

Loving your neighbor as yourself is known as “the Golden Rule.” When we love God above all else and love our neighbors by serving them and caring for the needy, the rest of the Law and Prophets will not be a burden. Loving your neighbor should not be a huge burden. If it is, we should check our heart to see what is hindering us from treating people the way that we would expect to be treated.

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!