Sunday Morning Notes - Love people
Yesterday morning at our 9.15am and 11.15am services Steph (our Assistant Minister) spoke on the theme of Love People. This was part of a series we have been working through in January and February called "Walking in His Footsteps."
Steph challenged us in a number of ways about how we might love people and we promised to put up some notes from her talk, particulary the six ways that we can increase our capacity for love. Here they are:
- Receive God's love for us and remember that we are to die for (Jesus died for us)
- Ask every day to be filled with the Spirit of love
- Ask God's help to see others through the eyes of his love for them
- Be really present with others, giving them your full attention
- Love with actions
- Every time you see someone look at them and say to yourself "you are to die for" (especially the ones that get up your nose!)
Steph's key message throughout the whole talk was that people are to die for. We are to die for and those that we meet were also worth dying for. Jesus died because God loves us that much.
She reminded us of what is said in Mark's account of Jesus' life chapter 12. Jesus was asked "of all the commandments, which is the most important." He replies "the most imoprtant one is this: Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: "love yoru neighbour as yourself. There is no other commandments greater than these."
She also gave two other quotes which I thought were amazing:
- "Loving well is the essence of true spirituality"
- "Love is to reveal the beauty of another person to themselves" (Jean Varnier)
Finally she reminded us of what is says in the letter written to the Galatians "The only thing that counts is faith expressed in love."
To here the full recording of Steph's talk click here.
God bless
Chris |