Scripture
– NIV
John
13:34 –
“A
new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love
one another.”
1
Corinthians 13:13 –
And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love.
James
2:15-17 –
Suppose
a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to
them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their
physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead.
Ephesians
5:24-28 –
Now
as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands
in everything.
Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to
make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to
present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love
their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Deuteronomy
6:13-15 –
Fear
the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not
follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God,
who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he
will destroy you from the face of the land.
Bob’s
thoughts:
We
were talking about where to worship today with regard to a family celebration
later. I mentioned Glenwillard, Jan mentioned it was enjoyable to worship with
other Marines, and I was already thinking we had just been there recently,
still thinking it had been my idea.
As we
drove past Glenwillard’s sister church, Shannopin, I reflected silently that
they should join the two churches; however, I did not read the sign indicating that
worship was at Glenwillard for July and Shannopin for August. It was a short
drive back and we were early.
We
were welcomed by many and the pastor and his wife were glad to see us.
A young
girl had asked if she could read the Scripture today but was not in the
sanctuary when it was time so I believe it was her sister who was serving as
the acolyte who did the reading. Her smile was ear-to-ear when she finished, which
made my day.
We
were pleased to be able to pray with the pastor before and after the service.
The
message was simple: love one another. He told a story of how a new pastor
preached a great message on it, and then preached the same message again the
second Sunday, and still again the third Sunday. When the congregation
complained and asked when he would deliver a new message, his answer was simply,
“When you get this one.”
I
used to wonder why so many sermons were “mother’s milk” messages. We listen, we
hear, but we don’t absorb, much like today’s message. We can’t love one another
without God’s help, never mind loving our enemy.
The mention
of wearing a t-shirt with a Christian message brought back a pleasant memory. I
used to always wear a Christian message in public places while wearing
sunglasses. A favorite was Kennywood Park, which was where I learned it was of
no importance whether I saw a reaction…God could use it as He saw fit.
Jan’s
thoughts:
The
idea to worship here came to Bob out of the blue this morning; we did not know
why until partway through the service.
We
attended here once before, but have worshiped with this congregation’s sister
church a couple of times. This turned out to be a joint service, so we were
greeted by people from both churches.
Apparently
last week’s joint worship was followed by a picnic at which first responders
were recognized. As the pastor’s son is a state trooper, this was close to his
heart.
The
joys and concerns seemed like a touching and important time for these worshipers.
The
pastor’s strong feelings for these congregations were evident in his sermon
topic: loving one another. He commended the members for the love they have shown
each other, reminding them that love is the basis of the Christian life and
that unconditional love is possible only with God’s help. He also reminded that
loving each other means wanting what’s best for them and being there for them.
These
congregations may worship in different buildings but their love for each other
is clear and inspiring.
Our
prayer for this church:
Lord,
we pray Your church will be prayer warriors who love one another. Amen.
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