This is a sermon I preached at the Petersburg Lutheran Church today, October 14. In brief, the thesis is: Choosing to follow Jesus’ command to love as God loves risks suffering and sacrifice.
Here are my key points –
- Love is not synonymous with a relationship
- Love precedes any relationship
- Jesus loved all, but he did not enter into relationship with every person
- Love is a choice to serve others, to think good of them, and to work in their best interests
- Love is a choice to give up (sacrifice) our rights, if necessary, in order to lift others up in service
- Love can be rejected, abused, and may succumb to loss; resulting in suffering
- Jesus chose to love this world, knowing that his love would be rejected and abused; but he also knew that the rewards of loving would be far greater than any sacrifice and suffering
Sermon text (doc)
Audio (20 minutes; includes reading of Mark 10:17-31, today’s Gospel portion from the lectionary)
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