First Baptist Church, South Haven
Join us for in-person worship in the sanctuary or live on Facebook at 10:30am. The service will also be posted to YouTube and Archive Sunday after church.
With All Sincerity
Romans 12:9
Pastor Jerry Koller
Matthew 22:37 NIV
Mark 12:30 NIV
Luke 10:27 NIV
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Our vertical relationship with God is expressed in our horizontal relationship with others.
The command to love God comes from the Shema, a Jewish confession of faith.
Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
The second part—loving our neighbor, also comes from Lev. 19:18, whose immediate context deals with how God’s people were to treat one another.
Leviticus 19:18 NIV
John 13:34-35 NIV
From John 13:31 through the end of John 17, Jesus teaches His disciples about many things concerning His departure, about heaven, about the Holy Spirit, and so on.
The ‘new’ aspect is seen in the manner or fashion we are to love our neighbors. · · The Law gives the command to love one another as we love ourselves.
· Jesus’ new command is for us to love one another as He loves us.
· This new command does not do away with the old but expands upon the original.
While it is possible that you could love your neighbor as you love yourself and still miss God’s mark, loving others as Jesus loves us will always hit the mark.
Loving Others as Jesus Loves Us: The Foundation
Romans 12:9 NIV
Let love be without hypocrisy. (NASB)
· The word hypocrisy means to disguise or to conceal under a false appearance.
Let love be genuine. (ESV)
· Genuine means not fake or counterfeit.
God is love. (1 John 4:6,16)
· There is perfect love within the Godhead—between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
When Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us, we need to realize that He loves us as the Father loves Him.
John 15:9-13 NIV
Romans 5:8 NIV
1 John 3:16 NIV
John 13:34 NIV
This is the standard by which our love must be measured.
The Elements of Love (1 Cor. 13:4-9)
Love is patient
2 Peter 3:9 NIV
Love is kind
Romans 2:4 NIV
Love is not jealous
· Jealousy here is referring to an immature, fleshly jealousy that is fueled by pride and leads to envy, spite, frustration, unmet expectations, and bitterness.
Love does not brag
· This carries with it the idea of vocal boasting and reflects a perceived air of superiority and pride.
Love is not arrogant
· This has to do with thinking of yourself more highly that you should while at the same time, looking down upon others as being inferior.
Love does not act unbecomingly
· This has to do with the idea of suffering shame because of your actions or behavior.
Love does not seek its own
· It does not seek special recognition or any degree of honor because love’s primary concern is with theobject of its affection.
Love is not provoked
· Provoked is a word that conveys a similar idea as that of being patient or long-suffering. It refusal to be goaded into mistaken action.
1 Peter 2:23 NIV
Love doesn’t hold grudges
· The root of this word is a term used in commercial bookkeeping. Love does not keep a record of the evil and wrongs others do to you.
Isaiah 43:25 NIV
Love rejoices in truth
· It does not take pleasure in the wrongdoings committed by others.
Love bears all things
· Love protectively covers all things so that minimum harm is done to the object of its affection. There is a protective quality in love.
Love believes all things
· Even in the worst of situations, love finds something good in which to rejoice.
Love hopes all things
· There is a quality in love that refuses to accept defeat. Godly love always has room for hope.
Love endures all things
· This word means “to remain under the load.” Love possesses an incredible resilience that enables it to bear up under the load of circumstances that would normally crush all other commitments.
Love never fails
· Its usefulness never ceases.
APPLICATION
If we hope to follow Jesus’ command to love others as He loves us, our love must be sincere.
· Linda Rooker is recovering from a successful hip replacement surgery. Pray for a speedy healing and minimal pain.
· The family of Curtis Walton (adopted son of Vasha Ferguson's sister, Deborah) who passed away on 6/23 following a battle with Covid-19. Please pray especially for his wife Tina who is now caring for their six children alone.
· The Family of Jim Seagren (friend of Stan & Jean Robinson) who passed away on 6/21 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
· Dan & Tracy Marshall and their family upon the death of Tracy's grandfather, Herbert Ely, on 6/18.
· Ben & Marge Benham and Dean & Linda Newell and their families upon the death of Marge's sister-in-law and Linda's aunt, Carol Whittington, who passed away suddenly on 6/7. This was very unexpected and they are all struggling with the loss.
· Frank Buchert is receiving rehab at Meadow Woods Nursing Home in Bloomingdale. Pray that he’ll gain strength.
· Taylor Brown (12 year-old great granddaughter of Frank & Mary Buchert, grandniece of Curt & Patty Bales) has been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia and is recovering from a successful bone marrow transplant. Pray for a speedy recovery, successful results, and for Taylor and her mom who are in isolation at the Atlanta Children’s Hospital until early September while Taylor heals and her immune system is rebuilt.
· Doug Zantello is recovering from foot surgery. Pray for minimal pain and a speedy recovery.
· Check out our monthly prayer card on-line at southhavenfbc.com under “Weekly Bulletins” for a list of those with on-going needs.
First Baptist Church
1635 76th Street
South Haven, MI 49090
269-637-1291
southhavenfbc@gmail.com