First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
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First Love Church
The Power of Love: Lessons from the Gospel of Mark
What if the most transformative power in your life was as simple as love? Join us on the First Love Church podcast as we explore the radical teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, where love and compassion hold the keys to a fulfilling and peaceful existence. We dive into the tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of His time, reflecting on His profound message that challenges us to move beyond superficial labels and prioritize love above all else. Together, we unravel the essence of Jesus's teachings and consider how they compel us to live with kindness and understanding, both in our personal interactions and within our digital communities.
Listeners are invited to reflect on the power of gratitude and its ability to transform mental health and foster community, especially as we approach Thanksgiving. Through relatable anecdotes, we share insights on how love and compassion can reshape modern life. From navigating traffic with grace to fostering forgiveness, we discuss the journey of unlearning ingrained behaviors to embody the love and compassion that Jesus taught. Let go of old habits and embrace a mindset that prioritizes love, guiding your actions and interactions, and ultimately, cultivating a more generous and understanding world.
As we conclude this enlightening episode, the metaphorical invitation to "the table" serves as a powerful reminder of God's abundant grace and the inclusive nature of His love. We explore the significance of gathering as a community, emphasizing the importance of extending generosity and kindness to others, much like the teachings of Peter and John. We challenge listeners to become vessels of comfort and love, embodying the lessons learned through spiritual unity and friendship. By embracing love and unity through action, we can illuminate our paths and create a more compassionate and peaceful world.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, florida. Each of us has a part to play and each of us has a role a unique role to play in the learning how to love and in the caring of the hearts of the people around us, and so I'm grateful that you're here this morning. Some of you who are here are heavy-hearted, who maybe haven't heard everything that you need to hear this morning, and I want you to hear this that you are beloved, that you are God's own child and that you will always be welcomed in your father's house. And so I honor you this morning the light in you, the light, the welcomed in your Father's house. And so I honor you this morning. The light in you, the Christ in us greets the Christ in you, and we honor that hope among us.
Speaker 2:I do want to thank all of the people that made sure service went well last Sunday. Thank you to David for all you did there and the band for playing while Heather and I were gone, and I don't know how many of you were here, but did you enjoy seeing us preach up here? Was that okay? Well, maybe once a year. We might do that when we go on vacation, because it's nice to still stay connected with the church.
Speaker 1:But we did join the online church. We met someone that knows us from online and we got to do church with them and just be in their presence, and so it was kind of a gift to people who don't get to see us on a weekly basis. We thought maybe anytime.
Speaker 2:We're not here preaching to you, we're going to go to somebody online's house.
Speaker 1:And we're going to. No, we're not without invitation, not without invitation.
Speaker 2:No, we're just going to actually find out where they are. No, we're not just going to show up. Show up once, anyone.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, that's not love, and so I remind you of all the things that are love, and I'm just so encouraged by the fact that the online presence can connect us with so many people and so many places that our hearts need just reassuring and need the calmness of Christ and the Holy Spirit, and so I'm so grateful for that connection.
Speaker 2:Did it make you feel clumped?
Speaker 1:No, I just breathed heart, so I'm grateful Again. One of the things that we do together is we come together and we're reminded of the words of Jesus, who is the person that we are following. Jesus, who is God made manifest in a human. Jesus, who is God made manifest in a human form, showed us what it was like to live not just survive, but live, to really live from the deepest parts of us, from the truest parts of us. In fact, the mission of Jesus, as Jesus said, was prophesied from Isaiah. In Isaiah it says I have come to set the captives free. I have come to liberate those who are bound. I have come to bring hope to the hopeless. And there is so much goodness in this truly living. And Jesus said I've come that you would have life, and that you would have it to the full, that we would not just be tolerating our life, but that we would learn to savor every minute of it. And so I'm so grateful that you're here with us this morning.
Speaker 1:We're going to go to the text and we've been in the Gospel of Mark and Mark's telling of Jesus and the Jesus story, and we're going to jump right in on verse 28. But before then, the religious teachers have been testing Jesus and really pushing him and trying to trap him, to get him into trouble, because we know the end of the story they are going to kill him. I mean, that's their intention. And these religious people are going to kill him. And so we need to listen to the words of Jesus and understand them and see what is happening here. And then I love that Mark always kind of gives us a little bit of a twist in everything he's doing. The villain is not always the villain, the good guy is not always the good guy in Mark's parables and gospels and he kind of asks us to not just put blankets over everything and say that's good or that's bad, but to follow the way of Jesus right in between them. And so we meet up here in Mark, chapter 12. One of the teachers of the religious law was standing there listening to the debate. Now other gospels tell us that these religious people were debating not because they wanted to hear truth or understand something. They wanted to be right. They wanted to debate so that they could prove that Jesus's way was wrong. And Jesus's way was wrong to them because it absolutely went against everything that they believed. And Jesus was this radical teacher. I think sometimes we need to remember how scandalizing Jesus was. His radical teaching of love and of God was a threat to the religious society. And so these teachers were having a debate and this other scribe realized that Jesus had answered. Well, pay attention there Jesus was holding not only his own, but Jesus was teaching them.
Speaker 1:In fact, we see this even at Jesus at 12 years old. He is talking in the temple and people are going why do you know these things? Why do you speak this way? And it is this understanding that Jesus is God and that God is telling us things, things that we didn't know. So I'm asking the Holy Spirit this morning to open the eyes of our understanding, open our hearts to be able to see the love that is real and the love that's right here before them. So he asks Jesus of all the commandments and at this particular time there were 613.
Speaker 1:If you were a practicing Jewish person, so a lot you could choose from 613. I mean, that would keep you busy all day long just doing all of the rules. Which of the commandments is the most important? And I love this because he's asking, you know, if we could skip six but not miss nine, if we could do 13 but not do 23,. Which ones can we give up and which ones are the most important? And so this is a beautiful part for us to interject ourselves, because then we get to see this and we get to hear what Jesus said is the most important, the absolute, most important. And Jesus replied the most important commandment is this.
Speaker 1:Now, if you were a Jew, upon listening to this, you would already know this verse. It's called the Shema and we had said it many times every day. That's what we would do as a practicing Jew, but this is what it says. Listen, o Israel, the Lord, our God, is the one and only Lord, and you must love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. And the second is equally important Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.
Speaker 1:Jesus is saying this is how the whole thing is summed up is love. Love is the greatest force in this universe. God is love, god is the ultimate love, and love is essential. And Jesus is saying this. Now, the way that you love God is how you love your neighbor. Jesus is saying that, how you love the person next to you. That is precisely how you are loving God, how you love yourself, is a form of worship and is a reminding of yourself that you are one made by God. So this loving the actual people around us this is what Jesus is saying is absolutely the most important.
Speaker 2:You know, because you understand, like, whether you're a Jew or a Christian, we have our Ten Commandments. You know the Jews have their 613. But the point is in following commandments is how we say that we serve God and so kind of. You know, we can get lost in that of, well, I just got to do stuff for God. But Jesus is really helping us understand here that the commandments are really how we love and treat one another and in that we serve God. And so to me I find strength in that.
Speaker 2:I find sometimes an overwhelming idea that I would just have to find all this stuff in a way to serve God. But when I look around and realize I can just find the people around me and try to do better in serving them, then that's how I can really be a God follower. Not perfect at this list, but that I understand that that list really isn't about achieving perfection but about us being kinder to one another. Amen, isn't that? Isn't that a nice way to to maybe inspire you towards that, versus overwhelm you with that list. Or is that just me today?
Speaker 1:the apostle paul instructs us let your gentleness be known to all, because the Lord is near. He's reminding us of the presence of love, the presence of Jesus, and he's saying be gentle. Be gentle toward everyone. And so this understanding of what love looks like we hear also from the apostle in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13,. Love is patient, love is kind, love does not push itself, love is not rude, and so when we find things that are rude or things that are pushy, that is not love, and so we need to be able to identify some of those things and go well, I don't have to behave like that, even if the whole world behaves like that. We can be people so formed by the love of Christ, so filled with the spirit of God, that we can love everyone. In fact, this is the teaching of Jesus that anyone that you find you must love, because one of the things that people like to do not just these people in ancient times is we want to find out who we cannot love. I mean, we want to know where the line is. If I have to love my neighbor, then who is my neighbor? You know? Like what is that? If I have to love this, then can I be, and here's the answer of jesus you must love everyone. This is the way of the christ, and this seems very simple in practice, but beloved. You've met people and sometimes sometimes if you find a rare one they're difficult to love. And this is the hope of us in following the way of Jesus, that we would learn how to love each other in a way that brings forth the flourishing of all people, of all people.
Speaker 1:The second is equally important. Now, sometimes in our language, because this has been translated from another one, we have this idea of hierarchy. We've done this since we were little. If you're first and somebody else is second, that means less than, and that is not at all what this means. He's saying there is another commandment. Now, this is not the first time people have heard this. This is actually still in the book of Deuteronomy, where it talks about this is what it's going to look like for you who are called to be God's people, how you're going to treat each other. You're not going to murder each other. That's very good for all of us. We should consider this, you know, pay attention to this, and we need to pay attention to how we love each other, how we speak to each other, how we care for each other's heart. But the second is equally as important Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these. This reminds us of another teaching that Jesus did, where he said that this is the golden rule. This is, do unto others as you would have them do to you.
Speaker 1:Pay attention to that in our society. You know, like as you're driving your car, if you would like someone to let you in when you put an indicator on, that means let someone else in when they put an indicator on. We were laughing so hard the other day because you know how on the expressway they have those giant signs now and they can change them, like if the roads are closed or there's an accident ahead, the right shoulder's closed all this. And we saw one the other day and it said the lane is not your birthright, let them merge. And I love that so much.
Speaker 1:It literally said that on the sign. The sign said this lane is not your birthright, let them merge. And I thought how brilliant that person was who was typing that into the overhead sign, because sometimes we do protect the lane like it's our birthright Beloved. No, let them in. And we have to let people merge in. Wherever they are in their lives, wherever their lives intersect with us, we can be light and love to them. And this idea that you have to stay in your lane, I have to stay in mine, no, beloved Love says let them merge, let them come in. You see that they have an indicator. Sometimes they don't even put an indicator on. This is the type of person they are. They're just going to turn their front wheel to get in front of you. And so we have to love those people who don't put indicators on.
Speaker 2:That's a hard truth, beloved, even if they don't indicate you have to let them and there's a hope for us. And be careful about this, this teaching, because it can get, uh, uh, it can start sifting and whip. We can whip what's that word wicking into all of your life? Uh, we were at the airport, uh, late last night before last I guess it was and early and early yesterday, and the people were just you know, there's a big, long line to get your luggage and then people were just kind of coming in front of the line and going in and there's well, this lane is not my birth.
Speaker 2:I wanted to go correct them and explain lines to people maybe not from around here and the idea that would I give up my feeling of love and generosity for the aggression and the confrontation and the ugliness that's about to go down?
Speaker 2:Because you know exactly what's going to go down You're going to push, they're going to push harder, it's going to escalate into something, or you can not give that up and you know what. This is my opportunity and letting that silly sign that we saw kind of show us about love in your family too, because they will stand in front of you in the kitchen when you want to get around. You need to get where you're going. They'll borrow the car when you needed to drive it. There's going to be something. They're going to eat the food that you set in the refrigerator for your specific meal. There's going to be something. And can we not hold on to those things like they're our birthright, instead of holding on to love, which is Amen? Now, this is all in theory for me, and I'm practicing it, just like you. I'm not speaking as one who is perfected, but I'm on the path, amen.
Speaker 1:And if I'm the path, we mean we're following the way of jesus then the way of jesus is this you have to unlearn a whole bunch of things that you thought you knew. That's what Jesus said to us. You have heard it said. But I'm saying to you I mean, this is the teaching of Jesus. You have heard it said hold on to your lane at all costs, sure up those boundaries. And you know what Jesus said. Let it all go. Jesus said love is the way. Love, every single time.
Speaker 1:If you're asking, the most important thing, the most important thing is love. Why is love the most important thing? Because love is the most powerful thing, beloved. If someone is in change, love can free them. If someone is hopeless, love can free them. Love in God, through God, is the most powerful thing.
Speaker 1:And the teacher of the religious law replied well said, teacher. I'm impressed with that at this side of the story, that this man commended the teaching of Jesus. Well said, teacher, you have spoken the truth by saying there is only one God and no other. And then he begins to paraphrase it. Then he begins to say this is what I heard you say. And this is a beautiful practice for us as believers, as followers of Jesus, as people who are trusting the way of Jesus, maybe you need permission to paraphrase some things and be able to really understand them. And he says I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as himself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and the sacrifices required in the law. Now again, your history will tell you that 70 years from this point, after Jesus is crucified, the temple is destroyed and there are no more burnt offerings and sacrifices. But here he knows it. And he says of all of the sacrifices, all of the rules, all of the things we do to please God, none of it is more important than the loving of people. In fact, before him, the psalmist said this I know what you require, and it is not all of the burnt offerings, it's not all the rules, it's my heart and there is for us an understanding that sometimes rules can kind of guide us and help us when we are young and we need that.
Speaker 1:I mean, I think about all the time small children and about they need some rules. They have to be pretty simple. But how about no biting? You know, that's a really good rule and I think as far as I've seen around here, we are all compliant and that's a very good thing, and I just want to say no biting. But there's a hope for us in saying that. I'm so glad that in our maturity, we don't have to tell people that as they enter the service, don't have to tell people that as they enter the service, in this place, there will be no biting. I'm so glad that, like collectively, our consciousness has grown to a place where we're like well, we're not going to do that, and this is a hope for the world.
Speaker 1:Beloved, what if we could not speak evil of our neighbor? Oh, what a beautiful place that would be if no one said a harsh word Beloved, this is the kingdom, this is heaven, this is here right now. If we could find these things. But there is an idea that the spirit of God in us will expand our ability to love, our ability to see things the way that Jesus did and to unlearn a lot of the patterns that we had learned as young people or as adults. And maybe someone gave us a book of rules and said this is what you have to do, and I want to remind you that love liberates us and that the spirit of Christ brings hope to us. I know it's important to love him with all my heart.
Speaker 2:When we hear. I just want to really challenge you to dare to really see things the way Jesus does, to really see things the way Jesus does. I think that the problem that can happen when coming to church is that you hear us say things and they're idealistic and they're fine for us, but you gotta go live your regular world and you gotta go live your life, and so it's disconnected in some way, and so I would ask you to dare to begin to see things the way Jesus does and then really have the hope that that will transform the world around you first and out into the entire universe. There was a time when it was okay for men to gather together and watch them murder each other for sport. That wasn't that many hundreds of years ago that it was okay for people just to agree to watch murder, and as people we've said no, no, and that's just something. You know, there's no biting in this room, no. And then there was a time, not so long ago, where people owned other people, and in some cases it's still going on today. But we have all decided that is not okay and I will not allow that in my presence, I will not allow that around me.
Speaker 2:You know, and there's so much more that Jesus wants to do in this world. You know it's not okay for anyone to be treated less than there's not. It's not okay for anyone to do without, because we have the resources. We just have to decide.
Speaker 2:As people, we're going to live differently and love will challenge you and it will force you to behave differently. It will force you to look at how you've been behaving and realize that that has got to go, that there needs to be a new way of thinking and allow that love to transform you and allow love to also forgive you when you fall short, to empower you to get up tomorrow and try again when you failed today. Amen, amen. But I'm so confident that there is a purpose for the church on the earth today and it is to project that vision, share that vision, live out that vision that changes humanity. There's a purpose for us to demonstrate the love of Christ and the world is desperate for it, amen. And we are sitting on this powder keg of great glory and sometimes we're afraid, or maybe even ourselves, we believe it to be just a fantasy. Or will we really step out in this stuff and watch God change our very world?
Speaker 1:I know how important it is to love him with all my heart, with all my understanding and with all of my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law. Realizing how much the man understood, jesus said to him you are not far from the kingdom of God. Jesus hears this man's paraphrase of what Jesus said and he said yep, you have good understanding. I commend you. You are not far from the kingdom of God. And after that no one dared ask him any more questions. I suspect that there was an experience in the presence of those two. I suspect you could feel the love charge between them that this scribe said I know what you're talking about and I believe this to be true that loving God is more important than all of the rules that we have come up with. Now. The scribes were really important as a part of even these religious groups of people who kind of steered the people of Israel and said this is what it looks like to serve God. And this is how. I mean. We know the 10 came from the mount and then I think the 500 and no, the 603 other ones came from people. I just want to just tell you that sometimes we do that. We make things a lot narrower than they need to be, and Jesus is reminding us that loving God looks like loving people and the love of God.
Speaker 1:The scripture says, the goodness of God brings us to repentance. It is the goodness, it is the love, it is the mercy. These are the things beloved that we're asked to even think about. If you have any thoughts, if there are things that are worthy of praise, think on these things. If there are things of peace, think on these things. What would it look like for us to live in a world where bombing people and war wasn't our way? I mean beloved. The way of Christ is the way of peacemaking. When Jesus said to Peter put down your sword, he was telling all of us that's not the way to deal with conflict. Is we're trying to lop each other's heads off? Beloved peace is the way. Love involves peace, and Jesus is asking us to be peacemakers. Again, we even hear this in the Beatitude Blessed are those who are making peace. They are the children of God, and so the hope for us is that we would learn this way of love, that we would be stretched in our togetherness.
Speaker 1:At this particular time in our history, we are more divided as a people than ever, and I think it's because we've been listening to the wrong stories. And one of the things that I love about Jesus is he's the master storyteller and he tells us the truth about ourselves and the world around us. I will use the Gospel of John to remind you of this. For God so loved the world that God gave Jesus his one and only beloved son, that whoever believed on him would not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Jesus, through the way of Jesus, would be saved. What a beautiful hope, beloved that in the following of Jesus comes the saving of the world. In the following and in the trusting of this way of love, it changes the way that we have maybe lived before and that we allow ourselves to be so full of the light of Christ, that inner light that tells us that there is another way. The other way might be a requirement for you to let someone merge. Might be you. Let someone in Might be you, encourage yourself.
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe In this coming month.
Speaker 1:We're here the first Sunday of November and here in the United States at the end of Thanksgiving. We celebrate Thanksgiving with one day and beloved. I just want to tell you you can't do it all in one day that, in fact, thanksgiving is something that we're supposed to cultivate. Being thankful is something that marks us as the people of God In everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you, and that, with all prayer and all supplication, make your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God will guard your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus. Over and over again, there are verses that talk about the practice of thanksgiving, one of the things that it will also do. It also brings unity. If you start talking about things you're thankful for, it brings unity.
Speaker 1:I stood in a place we were in the desert. It was in a place called Fire Valley, and I don't think I belong there. I just there are places for other people. Fire Valley is not for me, but I was there. We went into one tiny little place that was air conditioned in the Fire Valley and I said right out loud oh, I'm so grateful for this air conditioning, for anyone who is a part of the air conditioning. I am grateful For the person who came in early and turned it on, for the person who invented it, for the person who keeps it coming. And I was just, I was so hot. All I could think about was I'm just so grateful, I'm so grateful. And then, from all over the gift shop, somebody else would go amen, grateful to. Here I am, I'm grateful, I'm grateful. Now, I didn't know these people either, but they were hot and they were miserable, just like me. But we found something to be grateful for together and all of a sudden there was a unity. All of a sudden there was like a liftedness Instead of us helping out. We're grateful for this tiny room of air conditioning. The rest of us have have to walk out in this desert and it's going to be hot there too.
Speaker 1:But we can be grateful together, and I want to encourage us as a body of believers that we would spend the month of November practicing gratitude. Now, whether that means writing down five or 10 things during the day that you could be thankful for, or whether it's you just rehearsing it out loud, but when you go outside and you notice anything that you can be grateful for, name it, honor it, and I want to tell you then our Thanksgiving this year is going to be better because we're not going to get there and try to think of things. We will have spent the entire month cultivating this thankfulness, what it can do for your mental health. You can go home and Google that. The Harvard Review and some other really prestigious studies have been done about what it does to your body to actually be in a state of gratefulness, and not only unity, but it does help us in so many beautiful ways.
Speaker 1:And so, realizing how much the man understood Jesus said, you are not far from the kingdom of God, beloved, what do you need today? Because I want to tell you it's in the kingdom of God Every good thing that we need. We prayed a prayer this morning that Jesus prayed for us showed us how to pray. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I want to tell you that in God's good kingdom, there are no children that are dying because they are being bombed. In God's good kingdom, there are no children that are dying because they are being bombed. In God's good kingdom, there is no one with a hungry belly, because the earth is full of abundance. In God's good kingdom, there is peace. In God's good kingdom, we recognize each other as sister and brother. In God's good kingdom, we see every person as equal, because each person is made in the image of Jesus.
Speaker 1:This is what Jesus is summing up Now. He goes to the cross right after this, and this is important for us to remember. Like at least as a parent, this is how I do when I'm leaving. That's when I'm like. You know, I've probably given you a list of things to do, but when I'm leaving, I'm reminding you of the things that are important right as I leave, and Jesus is going to the cross and he's reminding. If you want to know what the most important one is, it's love. It's love. Love is the guard, love is the way, love is what is required of us.
Speaker 2:You know this really involves a willingness to be reprogrammed. I was really thinking over the past couple months how that's really kind of like. The difference between us as human beings and any other animal is that we really have the ability to change our mind, and sometimes that's going to take work. But it's really cool that you can do that, that you weren't just this machine program set, and some of us are set on a course. But I tell you, if you can ask God to help, you see some things and you know I just don't want to be that person that's negative all the time, you know. And so you know I was at the airport standing in line and these people were just decided to glob onto me and tell me about how negative everything was. And I remember thinking to myself how do I get out of this? Because there used to be, I would just join in, because that's the best thing to do. I mean, you know you can make a friend commiserate over the sorrow and I really realized, like you know, in changing our mind we have to come up with a plan. You know how am I going to? You know I'm going to take a page out of Heather's book and this is what I'm going to do next time. When they start random person talking about immigrants or politics or whatever, I'm going to say well, you know what? You're right, let's start praying right now and I promise you they'll either bow or they'll run like you sprayed them with raid. Sadly, most of the time it's the second, but either way, you win right, because their hearts will be changed towards that bitterness or that bitterness will be removed from your life. You know, and we have to decide that.
Speaker 2:You know that my mind needs changed in some of these patterns, some of these ways that I tend to always look at a situation and it's terrible. There are certain people. Every time I meet them, they manage to be able to tell me how bad things are, and I'm always amazed that they can find that many bad things being on this earth. I'm so amazed at it. But I have a perspective difference and so you know, if I don't allow God to change me, then I will get stuck in that, and gratitude is one of those things that literally has been proven scientifically If you can hold a thought of gratitude for longer than 15 seconds, then it can begin, and it begins at that point to change the chemical makeup of your brain and you begin to develop new patterns and listen. If you're a negative person, just admit it. If you didn't know that, ask everyone around you. They will tell you. And just in every area there's people that are going to point out things to you and you can be like, well, I can't believe they told me that I was this, or you can look at that and go that I didn't realize that I affected people the way that I am. Lord, help me change my, my thinking on that. Help me change on that. Help me change my, because clearly, a pattern of thinking I have has arrived to this, where I I've deduced that's the best way I should behave in this situation. And while everyone else is repulsed and withdrawn because of that, I know I don't have to stay like that. We, we have been given this gift as human beings to allow love to give me a different perspective.
Speaker 2:You know, people have a lot of problems with immigration and you can stand and say all kinds of stuff and have great points that are way better than thoughts I've ever had, you know. But as a simple person, I can sit and say, well, it doesn't make sense. You know, if everybody comes in. How is our resources? And you know, and you can just kind of freak out and I get that.
Speaker 2:But guess what? My daughter is trying to get her passport to live in Paris. Yeah, visa or visa, I'm sorry. And now the immigrant isn't some theoretical person who's pushing through borders, now they're the person that I love more than anything, right. And so the immigrant is my daughter. You see, the immigrant.
Speaker 2:I want the best. In fact, I will sacrifice for my daughter. I will take less health care, if that's what it is, so that my daughter doesn't have to do without starving, maybe in another country. Of course, she's not mine, but what about if we? You know what I mean. Now, these are scary thoughts because it's going to challenge you. Well, I don't know, brother, I don't care about all that. I want love to rise up in me and that be why I make the decisions I do. So you know what, in fact, my daughter was with her boyfriend and he was saying you know, the problem in our country is these immigrants. And she says hold up, your girlfriend is one. He goes. Well, I don't mean you. Yeah, you do, but love is the only thing that changes that church. Amen, isn't that good for us? Isn't it good medicine, what we just heard?
Speaker 1:One of the things that I loved about our trip together and I love about our church community and the community at large that is gifted to us in our humanness is we all have a love for something, and when we get together and can be in unity, then our love for whatever it is that we love can influence the people around them. We were walking together Silas, I and Dennis and there were many people walking with us, and we were in Zion National Park and there's things that I love. We'd just been in Death Valley and so water to me was just glorious, I don't know. It was sparkled more like there was water in this Zion. I was like, forget Death Valley, people, come to Zion. I mean, let's start singing a song to Zion, to Zion, upward we go. That's an old hymn, in case you didn't know that, but this idea of there's water in Zion, and so every time we'd go somewhere, all of a sudden something would change and I'd be like there's moss. That means there's water, even if we can't see it, and you know like I'm excited about it. So then Silas was like, oh, look at the moss, because again he's getting now excited, because I'm getting excited for where the water is and we sat down by streams of water and they were just so incredibly beautiful. I'll put some of them on Facebook for you because it's just wonderful. And we sat there and we prayed for you, each person. We prayed for the things that you care about, and I care about water and about seeing things thrive. And Silas likes the animals and the animals, particularly these really chunky, chunky squirrels. They're getting ready for winter and they got their like winter coats on. They're just chunk amongst, they're just adorable and they're just everywhere and he was looking for those.
Speaker 1:And then Kylie is a new friend to us and I've had an issue and Jesus said that I could unlearn some things. In my mind. There was a really big cavern between good bugs and bad bugs. I mean a mosquito. She hasn't convinced me yet, but I cannot find a reason for them. They just feel like they're bad in my mind and I know that there's a part of life that they give toward. But I have a good and bad thing when it comes to bugs. But because of Kylie's influence I'm like, well, let them live. I might not understand it, but they have a role to play. It's not my business to tell that bug it can't be here unless Kylie tells me that bug is invasive. And then you know I'm a judgment woman here. But let mercy rule in us and one of the things I love about when people love something and they share with us, it expands our capacity to see things, to change the way that we live, to include more things. I'm sure that kylie has many things that she loves more than bugs, but her appreciation of that has inspired and allowed us to change us me, to change the line that says that you're either good or bad.
Speaker 1:I'm like constantly interrogating a bug. You know, are you going to bite me? Do you belong here? You know, instead of just going, the world is full of such beauty. There is such gorgeous, beautiful things that are happening between people, and if all you hear is negativity, beloved, turn the channel, change the way that you feel inside and find things that are good. Beloved. People are amazing.
Speaker 1:The things that people are creating in these days, the art that people are doing is incredible. There's one particular gentleman who is taking. He was grading leaves. I was watching this thing, different lining up all these leaves on the ground and somebody said, what are you going to do? And he was like, oh, I'm going to make art. And they're like we're in the middle of a forest, where you're going to make art. And they're like we're in the middle of a forest, where are you going to make art? He makes the most beautiful art on trees. He uses honey and puts the leaf on the trees and then makes these like they're just glorious and just the mind of someone who thought I'll pick up the things that are on the ground and put them all up the trunk and make these beautiful art. It's just.
Speaker 1:People are amazing because we're made in the image of a beautiful God who is a creator, who is an artist. I mean, the very first way that God introduces God's self to us is creator, is artist, and there is a hope for us in finding the beauty Beloved. We are followers of Jesus. We can see things differently. We can choose to see the love. We can choose to understand that the kingdom of God means love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness. These are the things that remind us, in the spirit of God, in the hope of God, that there is a chance for a new world to come, and it can come now, in our midst, as we follow this way of love. There is hope for us, not only in the idea idea, but in what we do. In fact, most of our world intends to divide us. We want to know what team someone has to be on, where they are, rate them, find them, separate them, and what the communion table does for us is unite us.
Speaker 1:This is such a beautiful, sacred mystery. It is such an incredible sacrament that every time that we get together in fact, jesus said, I want you to do this Every time you gather together, do it, do this, have this meal together to remember me I want to tell you that Jesus is always among us. He's not just present at the communion table. The presence and the nearness of God is promised to us, that every person that you meet, jesus stands right next to them. Jesus is so near to them.
Speaker 1:And so, maybe, when you think about that and you think of the apostle who said let your gentleness be known to all, the Lord is near, reminding you that this precious person is made in the image of God and the table of the Lord is a spiritual thing.
Speaker 1:But not only is it spiritual, it is supernatural. There is something that comes upon our obedience and our trust. There is something that reminds us that it is the love of God that was given for us that changes us, that invites us into this new birth, into this new family, into this hope of generosity. There is a gift for us at the Lord's table. For those of you today, even who are with us and who are suffering, there is a comfort for you at the table of the Lord. Every time we come to the Lord's table, we are reminded every resource that I have, that I have need of, is found in God, and so, whether you need healing, whether you need comfort, whether you need a mind adjustment or peace, all of it is found at the table of the Lord as we remind ourselves of the goodness of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:You know, as human beings, we're going to walk around somewhere and we're going to get our fed. You know, as human beings, we're going to walk around somewhere and we're going to get our fed. You know you're going to scrounge around today and get some kind of lunch or dinner. You'll scurry around your life and try to get fed and truth is, you'll get information poured into you at one way or the other. And so I really think that coming to the Lord's table is for us, intentional. And so I really think that coming to the Lord's table is for us intentional. You know, I could hear and get fed anywhere, but I'm choosing this place. You know, and the truth is, since we were young, this world has been feeding you, has been training you, and you didn't realize. But your frame of mind and the way that you process is just but come natural, training you and you didn't realize. But your frame of mind and the way that you process Is just but come natural to you by what was given to you, you know. And so If we don't challenge that, and that's what I believe Coming to the table of the Lord does, and coming to church and being a part of you know, ever since we were little, we heard one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong. And that's the way we correlate everything in life. What am I going to keep? What am I going to discard? What is good, what is bad, what is in, what is out? And then we come to the table of the lord and god says you're all my beloved and. And god is asking, and I really want you to catch this. I know we're winding down on our teaching, but don't, don't tune me out here, because that dualistic thinking is what the world hands us, but the the ability to be able to change and begin to see people instead of in that way of value this one's tall, this one's short, this one's black, this one's white, this one's good, this one's bad, this one can help me, this one can't To see them the way God does His children, our brothers and sisters. That changes something in our thinking and the way that we approach a person. We don't have to approach him with with any aggression.
Speaker 2:I saw someone just the other day in Las Vegas and they this lady was giving me the stink eye and I think in past time I would have been. What does she want? Does she want to go? What's her problem? What's this opposite? So I don't know her, but that's my sister and I said, hey, why are you giving me the stink eye? She goes. I didn't give you no stink eye. I said, yeah, you are, why are you? But I wasn't aggressive, I wasn't mad and I wasn't mad and I made that woman.
Speaker 2:I need her smile, you know, because that, just that, the way of looking at that, it's breaking down for me. I don't want to see that person as my opposition. That person has some issue that maybe I can help with. Amen, what if love can really break down this? What if love really can transform? And I believe in it so much that we're going to celebrate the Lord's table and invite you in a few moments to come up, because I believe, when we receive what he has for us, that daily bread, that within it is the ability to see things differently, to transform from who we were into who he's called us to become. Amen.
Speaker 1:So we will continue to be people who break bread and we will be people who remember, who pass the piece and pieces of torn loaves as bodies that keep the score of the body that was given, the body that was broken, the body that was healed, and together we bear witness to the tearing apart, to the groaning of creation, to the warring of flesh, as we gather together to heal from our proclivity, to forget that we are not alone. We are never alone. As we gather at the table the table that is full of the grace of God who lives and who lives in each of us, we will continue to drink the wine and eat the bread and tell the stories, to tell each other better stories of a kingdom that is yet to come, a kingdom that is full of peace, a kingdom that is full of love, a kingdom that we full of peace, a kingdom that is full of love, a kingdom that we will not forget, the kingdom that is of the Christ. And we gather together this morning and we remind you of this truth that everyone is welcomed at the table of the Lord, that love has heaped up a feast and invited everyone. And at the table of the Lord we're reminded that every good thing we have is given to us by the love of Christ, by God's love. The food that we eat, the breath that we inhale, that is because of the love of Christ. And so I remind you that, in that generosity, that we then too have opportunity to be people of generosity, that we would give the world everything that we have been given.
Speaker 1:In fact, at one point, peter and John are walking into the temple and they said listen, I don't have the things that you think you need, but whatever I have, I give it to you freely, whatever is in our hands. What if we could be generous and loving to the world this week? I am not a prophet, but this is a week that a lot of people will feel disheartened, beloved. We have an answer. We have the comforter inside of us and we can be comfort and we can be peace and we can be love. And we can be peace and we can be love and we can practice what we learn at the table, and that is that everyone is welcomed, that, without any kind of regulation, everyone is invited to the table of the Lord, because God is just that good. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
