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
Spirit: Your Constant Guide and Companion
Have you ever felt limited by your vision of God? Perhaps you've pictured God as distant, judgmental, or similar to disappointing authority figures from your past. In this powerful exploration of John 14, we discover how the Holy Spirit invites us to transform our understanding of who God truly is.
Jesus teaches us that loving Him is inseparable from loving others. "If you love me, obey my commandments," He says—and those commandments are fundamentally about love. What makes us true followers of Christ isn't how well we love those easy to love, but how we extend compassion to those we might deem unlovable. This challenging instruction asks us to examine where we've drawn boundaries around our love.
The promise of the Holy Spirit as our advocate, teacher, and reminder offers profound comfort. We are never alone and never without guidance. In our complex relationships, difficult decisions, and painful circumstances, the Spirit provides wisdom and creative solutions if we pause to listen. This divine presence brings a peace "the world cannot give"—an inner stability even amid external chaos.
Perhaps most powerfully, we're reminded of our oneness with God and each other. When we serve "the least of these," we are serving Christ himself. This truth reveals the profound unity that exists between God, humanity, and all creation. We're invited to stop hiding from this reality and embrace our connection to divine love and to one another.
Ready to experience a renewed vision of God's presence in your life? Join us in this journey of transformation, where the Holy Spirit empowers us to live as people of radical love—both for ourselves and for the world around us.
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.
Speaker 2:Good morning everybody. Welcome to First Love Church. If this is your first time here, thank you for being here. If this is your manyth time here, thank you for continuing to be here. So everybody say Yahoo. If you are here online, thank you for being here online. Thank you for participating digitally. It's very grateful If you want to continue to do that. You can like share different things like that digitally.
Speaker 2:I'm crying for two reasons. The first is because I really can recognize and see the beauty in that message that's communicated. That if we really paused for just a moment and recognized the beauty in creation that God does for each one of us and then also recognize that God wanted one of you who's present here today, it's really neat. Amen, can't really follow up with that one too much, but when mom was reading and starting the beginning to the worship today, she reminded me there is a renewal process, right, okay? One of my friends from Oklahoma told me a story that broke his heart and broke my heart too this week and I've been really thinking about that renewal process. It's present. Give me one second. We got you, man. Thank you, aw.
Speaker 2:One of my friends from Oklahoma told me a story about someone who experienced a renewal process of their vision of God when they were a girl. They expressed that they only had three times. They could ask their dad for help and that was it. It could be any day during the week, any time, but after three, whatever he determined was help, then he would pause. So her vision of God God the Father, was three times and that was it. So it's hard for me to really recognize that. Sorry, hold on.
Speaker 2:I really view God differently and after a conversation with my friend from Oklahoma, a conversation of really renewing what God is, she gets to ask God for more than three agreed. So that story really resonated with me because if we allow God to change in our eyes and maybe change the way that we've experienced him, we can then have an opportunity to really allow renewal and healing to take place. Amen, okay, I'm done. We're going to go ahead and go to reading. So that I'll cry hopefully less too. So One day, as he saw the crowds gathering, jesus went up to the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him and he began to teach them.
Speaker 3:God bless those who are poor and realize they are in need of him, for they need him and want him to be theirs. God bless those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God bless those who are not whole, for they will be prepared for the whole earth. God bless those who hunger in their search for justice, for they will be satisfied. God bless those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. God bless us those whose hearts are pure, for they will be seen by God. God bless us those who are worthy of these, for they will be called the children of God. God bless us those who are persecuted, for they will be pardoned.
Speaker 2:Amen, amen. All God's friends and family said Amen. So, as we step into the presence of God, who is very present, I would like to Open an invitation that Allow God to be transformed. Maybe your vision of God has been a father figure that has transformed. Maybe your vision of God has been a father figure that has been disappointing. Maybe your vision of God has been maybe a little skewed from life, but I would invite you to maybe look at it differently. Amen. So would you guys like to welcome my mom?
Speaker 1:So you know what happened. I saw Thomas crying and I started crying. I didn't know why, but we were just crying. That's what happens when your family, when you love each other, and I just want to say something this morning in case you missed it. That is how a man behaves. That is how a man behaves when someone's heart is broken. Their their heart breaks too. Don't let for anyone to tell you that men are cruel and hard. Men are in the image of God, who loves us, and Jesus, who wept with us when we weep. And so do you have to cry over everything? No, but let your heart be broken open and let the tenderness of God be seen in you. When someone shares a story with you, or when you see something that's wrong, allow your heart to break.
Speaker 1:Tears are sometimes the best prayers that we can pray. Sometimes, that's all we have are our tears, and so there's something so holy in the tears, in fact so much that the scripture tells us that, every time we cry, the nearness of God is so close to us that Jesus collects our tears, that they're so precious that he is right there collecting our tears. I think one of the things that I'm reminded of when the scripture tells us that our tears are collected is. You have to pay a lot of attention Because, particularly if you live a long life, you will have many opportunities to shed tears and there will be tears that you shed that you think no one notices. But I am here to remind you of what Thomas said Allow the spirit to change your idea about God and know that you have a loving parent who sees every tear and who honors them as precious. I'm grateful to be in the house of the Lord with you this morning. I'm grateful for everybody that is here. The light in us greets the light that is in you and the goodness and the resurrection power that is available to all of us this morning. I'm so grateful For everybody that's online. I'm grateful for your presence too, and it is not without consequence that we recognize your participation in this, but it is joy when we get to be together.
Speaker 1:Chris is home this morning and I was so excited to see him. I didn't know that he was coming. What a beautiful testimony. If you don't know Chris, introduce yourself to him and you can ask him that God is still in the miracle working business. You can ask his parents if God is still in the miracle working business. It's so beautiful.
Speaker 1:Todd is with us this morning, and this marks the anniversary of 34 years sober. God is in the miracle working business. I remind us that God does miracles, but then Todd makes a choice every single day to deal with the things that he struggles with in a way that is not harmful to himself or others. But it is a day to celebrate the good works of Christ among us, that every single person here has some kind of light, has some kind of giving toward the world and toward each other. And in the presence of God this morning, I remind you that the spirit of love is within you.
Speaker 1:It is with absolute joy that we get to come to this part of the service where we get to reimagine. Allow the spirit in us to reimagine who we are and who God is. I would like to bless us this morning with prayer as we begin. Our lives are so small, o Lord, our vision so limited, our courage so frail and the hours so fleeting. Give us the grace and the guidance for the journey we have ahead.
Speaker 1:We are gathered here this morning because we believe that we are called together into a work that we cannot even know the fullness of, and still we trust the voice of the one who has called us. And so we offer to you, oh God, all of these things our dreams, our plans, our vision. Shape them by your spirit, as you will Our moments, our gifts, our resources. May they be invested toward bright and eternal ends. Richly bless the work that you have given us, father. Shepherd us as well, lest we grow enamored with our own accomplishments or entrenched in old habits. Instead, let us listen for your voice, our heart ever open to the quiet beckoning of your spirit's endeavor. Let us, in true humility and in poverty of spirit, remain ever ready to move at the impulse of your love. You alone, o God, by your gracious and life-giving spirit, have the power to knit our imperfect hearts, our weaknesses and our strength, our stories and our gifts for the benefit of other. Unite your people and multiply our offerings, o Lord, that we might resound in your glory. May our acts of service and creation, frail and wanting as they are, be met and multiplied by the mysterious workings of your Holy Spirit, who weaves together all things toward redemption, toward good and toward glorious more glorious things than we have even yet to see and the courage to hope that our love and our labors would echo your love and your labors. Let all that we do here this morning, let all that we do in our brief lives, let all that we do in this moment be love In the work that you have ordained for this community to flower in winsome and in beautiful foretaste of the greater glories that are yet to come. Spirit of God, shape our hearts. Spirit of God, guide our hands. Spirit of God, build your most beautiful kingdom among us. Amen.
Speaker 1:It is the 10th Sunday of Pentecost, and why does that matter? Because we are all still practicing what it means to live in the spirit, to live fully connected to ourselves, to live fully connected to the universe, to the creation around us and to our brothers and sisters. And this is a season for us, and so I remind you this morning that the Spirit of God lives in you. You are connected already to God by God's own Spirit. In Romans, chapter 5, it says the love of God has been shed in your heart abroad through Christ Jesus. God's Spirit in you. It's already in you, and so it is with joy this morning.
Speaker 1:Jesus says in John, chapter 14, if you love me, obey my commandments. It's a lot harder than it actually seems. Why is it hard? Are the commandments hard? Yes and no, it can be both. No, because they're this. There's only two of them Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength, and thank you. Love your neighbor as yourself. Two things, but those might be the two hardest things that we're ever asked to do Love ourselves and love our neighbor.
Speaker 1:Now, we have many reasons why we don't want to love our neighbor and we have many reasons against ourselves, why we feel we are not worthy of love. And Jesus comes and says listen, if you love me, if you love Jesus. And I just want to tell you, jesus is wonderful. I hope we can all agree on that. I hope that no one has ever told you that Jesus is not worthy of your love, the most beautiful person who has ever lived in this earth, so full of compassion and mercy. And we can all get this. And I think it's beautiful how we can all agree to love Jesus.
Speaker 1:But what makes us followers is how we love Judas. Yes, what makes us people who follow the way of Christ is how we love those that we deem or we judge are unlovable. And there is an invitation by the Holy Spirit this morning to expand our imagination, for us, as the people of God, to be re-enchanted by the hope of Christ, by this new way of living. And Jesus is saying this to the people who God to be re-enchanted by the hope of Christ, by this new way of living. And Jesus is saying this to the people who have gathered around if you love me, then love everybody else and love yourself. This is what the words say to us this morning. And then Jesus says and I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you.
Speaker 1:Now, this is such a beautiful portion of the scripture and it's an affirmation to us of God's own spirit. Jesus said I'm going to ask the Father, I just want to ask you this morning to contemplate. Do you believe that God hears and answers the prayers of Jesus? Right, and so Jesus is asking that. The Spirit, that means we're definitely getting it, because you know, has that ever happened in a family? Before you go ask? No, you go ask, you go ask. You see who has the most favor, to like kind of curry in this situation. And Jesus is asking for us. He has already asked. It's already happened and he will give you another advocate.
Speaker 1:Please be aware here that Jesus himself considers his humanity and advocation to God to between us that we would learn how to love the divinity that is in us and also love the humanity for us, to embrace every part of us and say this is what it looks like to be a human. I appreciate very much Thomas' vulnerability this morning, but this is what it looks like to be a human that our hearts break when someone else is in pain. It is not human to be cruel. It is not human to separate ourselves from others. This is the plan of God for all of us to understand, and Jesus actually prayed this one too. John, chapter 17 you can look it up. Father, I want you to make them one. Make them one like you and I are one. So this oneness, this is a prayer that Jesus is praying for us. This is the goal. He will give you another advocate who will never leave you.
Speaker 1:Jesus is preemptively saying this because his friends are really worried that the advocate that they have is leaving. Well, jesus, if you're not here, then how will we know what to do? How will we know how to get to the Father. How will all the good things you promised be here? And Jesus said it's okay, I'm gonna send you another one, I'm gonna send you the Spirit. He will never leave you. The Spirit. He will never leave you.
Speaker 1:Talk for a moment and think for a moment about what it is like for us, as humans, to fear being alone. It is ultimately something that we all have experienced, or have believed. We've experienced, and this is the invitation you will never be left alone. This is the name of God in God's own self Emmanuel, god with us, Love with us. We are never alone because God is with us. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth and in the past few weeks, together as a congregation, we have been practicing I hope you have. If you haven't, there's plenty of time, but practicing a prayer that goes like this it's not very long. Holy Spirit, I am willing to see things differently. Now. The time that you would pray this is when you're frustrated at someone, when someone has disappointed you, when someone has not done what you clearly told them to do or treated you the way that you clearly decided or determined that you should be treated. This is the time to pray this prayer, holy Spirit, I am willing to change my mind about this.
Speaker 1:First of all, the invitation is necessary because love does nothing without consent. Love is all powerful, but love does not force us. Love does not put dominion over us. Love invites us. The Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. The Spirit of God lives in you. Beloved, you have the presence of almighty love with you. You have with you the Spirit who, according to Jesus, will teach you all things. So I will not abandon you as orphans. I will come to you. When I listen to these words, I hear inner monologue. I will not abandon you as orphans Because here we are, a group of adult people who, in this time, are listening to Jesus and have followed him, and Jesus is talking to them about their own fears.
Speaker 1:We do not want to be left out of family. We do not want to have to earn belonging, be left out of family. We do not want to have to earn belonging. We do not have to want to feel that we are going to be left out, and Jesus is already affirming to us that that will not happen, that we are part of the family that Jesus is making that we are part of the family. What it looks like to be human, and Jesus is saying the spirit it has given to us will allow Jesus to come to us. So the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live, and when I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my father and you are in me and I am in you.
Speaker 1:We are a people who believe in the resurrection. We are in fact marked by that resurrection. We are a people who know that death is no longer the final separation, that there is no separation now, because love has crossed that barrier and love is eternal. And every one of us here this morning understand the power of eternal love to some respect. When someone who has been in our life, who has been dear to us, dies, we know that love does not die. That person's body may be no longer visible, but that love is eternal. And this is what Jesus is reminding us that love is eternal. Bank everything on love beloved, throw it all in on love, because love is eternal. Will people's love sometimes fail you Absolutely? But will the love of Christ fail you Absolutely? Not. That is eternal.
Speaker 1:In fact, many of the authors in the text remind us that there is nothing that could separate us from the love of Christ. In the text remind us that there is nothing that could separate us from the love of Christ Not death, not hell, not angels, not demons. Nothing uncreated, nothing created. Nothing will separate you from the love of God. Beloved, you are loved exactly as you are by God because you are made in the very image of God. In Ephesians, chapter 3, it says long before the earth was formed, god had you in mind. It is good news. You are not an afterthought. You are not just thrown in there and God going. I don't know what we're going to do with her. God has planned you. You are in the mind of God. Beloved, you will always be in the mind of God. And God, who loves us, has plans for us. And in Ephesians it says before the earth was formed, god had you in mind that we would be made whole and holy by his love. Wholeness has always been the plan for the whole human race, for all of creation.
Speaker 1:We read this morning from Revelation when it said God said I just wanna remind you, I'm making all things new. Have you ever walked into an artist's studio before? I have. Sometimes it's a little startling. If you didn't already have seen the end result, you're like, oh, this is a mess. But then when you've seen the end result, you're like, okay, this is process, beloved, all of us are in process. Do not look at the mess. Look at the artist who says I am making all things new.
Speaker 1:And when you look at yourself in the morning, I hope you'll hear the words of scripture that reaffirm to us you are loved and God is making all things new. You are welcomed. You will know that I am in my Father and that you are in me and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. You're gonna hear this repeated in this portion of scripture and this is part of the way that this particular culture talks is in a repetition.
Speaker 1:But Jesus really wants to get a point to us across here, and it is this love looks like obedience. Obedience not to everything, not to every rule, to every person, but obedience to following the commands that Jesus gave us. Love yourself and love others. This is what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. Jesus said don't even say that you love me if you're not going to love everyone. That's a little uncomfortable for us because we have a lot of ideas about who should be loved. Jesus comes and says you're to love everybody without trying to determine whether they're worth it or not or worthy of it. We are to love everyone and we are also to love everybody without trying to determine whether they're worth it or not or worthy of it. We are to love everyone and we are also to love ourselves with that same kind of compassion.
Speaker 1:Beloved, the Spirit of God in you is with you and has been with you In every situation when you felt overwhelmed and abandoned and alone. The Spirit of God was still there, and I am asking the Holy Spirit this morning that he would open our eyes, that we would see the goodness in the world around us. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me, and because they love me, my Father will love them. Jesus is teaching us a lot about God. In fact, when Jesus comes to earth as a man and lives in his full humanity, he tells us over and over again. You have heard it said, but I say to you, I'm telling you something different, and I appreciate very much.
Speaker 1:What Thomas invited us to do this morning was to allow the Spirit to reveal to us who God truly is. God is love. God is all-loving, always, always, always. God is all love and you are made in the image of that love. You know love and can recognize it because it's first in you, and this is the good news. They will love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them and reveal myself to each of them. And Judas not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name said to him Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not the world at large?
Speaker 1:I think sometimes our questions tell more about us than our search for answers. And this particular person, who was a student, was like I thought you were going to be famous. Tell the whole world this so that everyone would know how great we are. We were going to make this all the way plain for everybody, right? This is the new rule. And Jesus says Like we were going to make this all the way plain for everybody, right? This is the new rule and Jesus says I'm revealing it to you so that you will go and reveal this to the world. This is how we become, how we actually walk in the light that we are, when we become people who are so marked by love. Jesus said this is what it means to love me. We have these ideas, I think, about God.
Speaker 1:I think one of the most dangerous things that we have done in a spirituality is put God in the sky. God lives far away, way out there, far in the universe, and we maybe see him with the Hubble telescope. I want to tell you that the scripture tells us and even Jesus did that God is so close to you, he's in your next breath. God is here with us, so close to us, and so I do believe that God has created the cosmos, and I am a person. I hope that all of you will be. I hope the stars will just testify to you all the time of how amazing and wonderful God is. I hope all of nature will testify to you.
Speaker 1:This has been my new plan to ask for the testimony, because I have deemed some of nature not as wonderful as others. I don't know if you have, but I have judged certain creatures as not as worthy of testimony. I'm like I do not want to hear you, I don't want to even see you. I want to pretend like I did not see the size of the spider. We were in the workshop the other day and there was a carcass of a spider, and just the carcass of it made me realize that that had been shed so they could even gotten bigger and I literally wanted to rebuke it. I was like this is a work of the satan. This is terrible. It's not. It is God and all of God's goodness. But you see what I mean. I have judged some things unworthy and I want to tell you that that is a dangerous thing, because that gets very creepy into the way that we start judging people that way too. And so Jesus is reminding us all things, all things showing love, all things showing the good creator, and this is the hope. All who love me will do what I say.
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. This is the invitation that we, as people who follow Jesus, would do what Jesus says. And Jesus said to love everyone and love yourself, be compassionate, be merciful, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me. And remember my words are not my own. I am telling you this is from the Father who sent me Again.
Speaker 1:Jesus is asking us to change the way that we think about God. It's hard to change your mind about anything. I don't know if you know that it is. We are people who have determined how we like things, what we prefer, and it is very difficult to us to change our mind. In fact, it's almost impossible. But that is why God has given us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the thought adjuster. The Holy Spirit is the one who can elevate our thinking. The Holy Spirit is the one who can give us creative ways to deal with things that we deem as problems. The Holy Spirit is the unifier. The Holy Spirit is the one who is given to each of us and Jesus is reminding us. I am telling you something about God that maybe you did not know, or maybe someone told you something opposite. We're going to be with you. I was thinking about that this morning in one of the songs that we sang.
Speaker 1:I don't know what the future holds, I cannot predict that, but I know who's already in the future Some of us. I am, this morning, a recovering worrier. I don't know if you are, but I have practiced worry, and I would say of myself I also have arrogance. So I would say of myself, though, that I at one point could have been Olympic-level worrier, because I could worry not only while I was doing everything, but also while I was sleeping. I could, in fact, turn over the pillow at night and be aware of something and start worrying about it Beloved, that is not the life that God promised us. That is not the goodness of mercy. Abandon that, but that's very hard when that's what you practiced. It's very hard, but I want to tell you the Spirit is here with us this morning, and love is a way better choice.
Speaker 1:But the future is something we cannot control. We don't even know, but we know that love is already there. Everywhere we go, god goes. Love already goes with us. We do not have to project all of our fears into the future. We recognize love is already in the future that we have a God who is with us. We do not have to project all of our fears into the future. We recognize love is already in the future that we have a God who is with us, always present with us. I am telling you this because the Father sent me. I am telling you these things now, while I am still with you, but when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, the Holy Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. That is such a comfort. It really is beloved.
Speaker 1:Have you ever thought to yourself the reason I'm in this mess is because I just didn't know what to do. I just didn't know that if I made this choice, this is where it was going to end up? Beloved. That is not the truth at all. In fact, the Spirit has been given to us Now. Did we pause to ask the Spirit? I don't know about that, but there's a wisdom there. Did we pause and ask the Spirit to come to us? There's a wisdom there, but we are never alone. The Holy Spirit will teach us everything that we need to know. I don't know what it's like to live in your home and to live in relationship with the people that you have, but I know the Holy Spirit is with you, and the Holy Spirit knows everything. And the Holy Spirit that is in you gives you wisdom, gives you ideas and how to connect with people, how to build bridges, how to forgive people, how to get past things and allow the love of Christ to heal us and bring us into wholeness. The Holy Spirit will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you. I love this idea of reminding, because that's one of the reasons we gather every single week together. We need to be reminded of the love of Christ. We need to be reminded of the ways of Jesus. We need to be reminded of what it means to think like God thinks, to align our thoughts with God's thoughts.
Speaker 1:We sometimes, in the devotion that we have and in the way that we live our life, we use words and we we even used a word in the song today, and it said I'm going to lift up Jesus. I've been a child it was a long time ago but I remember thinking about things very literally, and I heard that song when I was very little. I thought to myself I will not be doing that because people are much bigger than me and I am not very strong, so maybe that's for an adult to lift up Jesus, but I will not be lifting up Jesus. We can laugh at that kind of thought, but there is a truth that is given to all of us To lift up Jesus is to exalt or put above every other thought. We have the way of Christ when we say what I would like to do is extract vengeance on this person. To exalt or lift up Jesus is to go, yes, but I am to forgive my enemies. To exalt or lift up Jesus is to go, yes, but I am to forgive my enemies. And this is what it means to lift up, to make it higher than or make it greater, and so the Spirit will give you these ideas, and then the Spirit will also remind you of everything that Jesus has told us. I'm leaving you with a gift Peace of mind and heart Beloved.
Speaker 1:This is an evidence of the Holy gift. Peace of mind and heart Beloved. This is an evidence of the Holy Spirit Peace. When I read the AP news on my phone. I don't know how you get your news, maybe a newspaper? It is my judgment that this world needs peace. I look at that and I think we need peace here, and this is a gift. This is an evidence of God's own spirit. This is an evidence, a fruit of love in our life, and we can have peace when it looks like everything else around us is not full of peace. But we are the light of the world beloved. We are people who can change the way that we think by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:And when was the last time that you asked the Holy Spirit or gave space in your life for the Spirit to change how you think about something? Jesus is asking us to change the way we think about God here. God is good and he's not going to leave you. In fact, jesus talks about this with the Holy Spirit, and we've mentioned it a few weeks ago in our rehearsing of this that if you are a good father and your kid asks you for a loaf of bread, you're not going to give him a stone. And the same is true of God.
Speaker 1:When you ask for things that are for the good of everyone, god is going to give it to you. Your prayers for vengeance will not be answered. Beloved Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. That's always pretty a good idea Because we as a people you've seen it happen in small nurseries right, one kid does something and then the kid that it happened to comes back at like 10 times worse. You're like that's just a disproportionate.
Speaker 1:And so, as human people, we often meet out judgments in cruelty and in anger, and God, who is all loving, said leave that to me, please. God who sees everything, god who is a rewarder, god who watches nothing and does not come to our aid. There is everything that is given to us in this beautiful trust of saying my loving heavenly parent saw what happened, the good and the bad. Jesus says you don't tend to even give a cup of cool water to a child without me seeing it. I am leaving you with a gift peace of mind and heart, and the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So do not be troubled or afraid. Be courageous, dear heart, we are loved, we are held in love, and love is making all things new.
Speaker 1:Remember what I told you I'm going away, but I'll come back again to you. Listen to this again. If you loved me, you would be very happy that I'm going to the father, who is greater than I. I have told you these things before they happen so that when they happen, you will believe I don't have much more time to talk to you because the rule of the world approaches, but he has no power over me. But I will do what the father requires of me so the world will know that I love the father. Come on, let's the world will know that I love the Father. Come on, let's be going. I love that part. That's one of my favorite parts of the verse. Let's be going. We're going to talk about courage. We're going to talk about love. We're going to talk about changing our thoughts. But now, on with our lives, on with the actual living that we have to do, on with loving our neighbor. On with taking care of each other.
Speaker 1:Matthew, chapter 25,. Jesus is again asking us to change our mind about God, about ourselves and neighbor. And Jesus is telling them a story. And Jesus says this for I was hungry and you fed me. Over and over in scripture we see, love does not allow anyone to go hungry. Even the miracles of Jesus show this. When there is lack, there is a way to feed and Jesus asks us to be a part of this. I was hungry and you fed me. I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you invited me into your home. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you cared for me. I was in prison and you visited me. I look at all these things as you do, and this is what love looks like. Love looks like effort. Love looks like whatever is in your hand, doing it to aid someone, to bring comfort. What does that person need and how will you be the light to them? Jesus says I was that person. And the righteous ones replied. Ones replied Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink, or a stranger and show you hospitality, or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you? I mean, they were actually thinking about this and going. That never happened. We never saw you like that.
Speaker 1:And the king will say I tell you the truth, just the verses previous. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will come and will be the spirit of truth to you. You will know there will be a witness inside of you. This is true. Love is eternal. This is true. Hatred cannot be a part, any part, of God. There is no darkness in God and the king will say I tell you the truth. When you did it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me. Jesus affirms this oneness. Jesus affirms that when you take care of the person next to you, you're doing it unto Jesus. When you take care of those little precious children in your house, you are doing it to Jesus. When you take care of your elderly neighbor, when you take care of the person next to you when you go out, whatever you do is the light of the world. That is good. You are doing it unto Jesus. You are doing it because you know you have been loved first. You are doing it because the spirit of God in you is making all things new. You are invited into this beautiful world that says that there is for us a reality right now, in this present place, where there is joy, where there is peace, where there is comfort, where the presence of Jesus is, where the presence of the Holy Spirit is, there is peace, and so we have a choice to change our mind about things.
Speaker 1:When you find yourself upset about something, ask yourself have I asked the Holy Spirit to change my mind about this? Often, we don't really want to because we've already figured out a plan. I'm going to tell them this one thing and that's going to teach them? Really? Probably not. You've probably said something like that before and it's taught no one. What if we followed the way of the Holy Spirit? This is the invitation, and Jesus said when you do this, the Spirit will be with you and you'll be walking with the Spirit. This understanding this, this understanding this oneness that we are called to, happens in our daily living, happens in the choices that we make toward ourselves Beloved. We are called to be compassionate witnesses toward ourselves, toward our neighbor, toward our world. Jesus is calling us to live in God. When I think about God and I'm sure you have too, and in fact the video that we watched this morning was from Isaiah, chapter 40. People have been thinking about God for a long time, and very often what we do is think about how we have experienced people or people that have said we've loved us, and that is why Jesus is asking us this morning consider who told you.
Speaker 1:There is an account, a poem, in the very beginning of the text. It's in the book of Genesis, and mankind finds themselves in a pickle trouble. They have really messed things up. This is what they believe, and so they're hiding. Which, again, when you really think about it, all the ways we hide from each other, all the ways we isolate, all the ways we keep ourselves back. This has been a human problem since the very beginning. And these two say to God God finds them. Of course they're hiding in the garden that God made, because they feel like they've done something wrong. So they hide and God says where are you? I wonder if the Spirit's asking you that this morning. Where are you? I wonder if the Spirit's asking you that this morning, where are you? Where is the true self? Where is the one who's created in God's image, in love's image? Where are you hiding? And they said we did what we shouldn't have done and we were afraid. So we thought this was a good idea to go behind the bush.
Speaker 1:Do you know how many ways we hide? And it's, I mean, the spirit is inviting us to something else, and God said this to them. Who told you that you had done something wrong? Who told you that you should hide? Who told you? This is the question we should ask ourselves all the time. Who told me I don't belong here? Who told me? And then, if someone told you and you feel like they're an authority, go higher. God says that we belong. Go higher with our thoughts. Allow Jesus to remind you that every single one of us are invited. We practice holy communion. Every time we get together, a sacred embodiment Together, we remind ourselves of this and Jesus says this to us tell the story, tell the story, tell the story, and we tell it with our bodies every time that we gather, every time we come together and we remember we're loved. God has good for us, god has good plans for the world, and we are invited into this new way of thinking and this new way of being, and that we could remember.
Speaker 1:Somebody asked me something this week and said to me how do you know? And I said you know what? I remember it in my bones. Have you ever remembered something with your bones. I encourage you to do it. It's an ancient remembering You're like. I know this was good. I know this is the way. I know that the spirit will be faithful. Listen to your bones this week. I know that our bones will also tell us creaky things, like our bones will tell us that we're tired and our bones will. But our bones will also tell us things that we have forgotten, that we are loved, that we're made of stardust, that we are connected to our creator and to each other and in the wholeness of grace. Whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you are doing it unto me. Jesus calls us to be people of radical love for ourselves and for the world, and then says the Holy Spirit is going to empower you to be this kind of love. The Holy Spirit is going to empower you not be this kind of love. The Holy Spirit is going to empower you not to be afraid but to be courageous. The Holy Spirit is going to empower you to think different thoughts.
Speaker 1:Chris stands as a testimony today. He didn't know that I was going to make this account and maybe that's why he didn't show up at church before this. But I will tell you something, because I know his testimony and it's one of the reasons why all of us need each other. God is still in the miracle-working business and when all of us stand here before we could be other places, we could have made other choices, but we stand saying that we believe in miracles. People's thoughts can be changed. Todd is here as a miracle, as an example. People's thoughts can be changed.
Speaker 1:Once you thought that the only way I could deal with this pain is through alcohol. There is another thought, there is another way of living. Once you thought that you had to live a miserable life because everything terrible had happened to you, there is another way of living. Once you thought that you had to live a miserable life because everything terrible had happened to you, there is another thought beloved. There is a greater path, there is a way to wholeness, and you might need a therapist. God bless them. And you might need brothers and sisters to help you with these things, and you might need the holy communion table. Jesus is present with us and there is a grace for us to understand the wholeness that Christ is offering us.
Speaker 1:Wholeness, holiness.
Speaker 1:By the love of God, the king will say I tell you the truth when you did it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.
Speaker 1:The spirit of God will always bring unity, will bring oneness. My father will love them and will come and will be in them. Beloved, I affirm to you this morning what you know you are worthy, god loves you and sees you and is with you. And if you have ideas about God or stories about God, or someone told you that God was in any way cruel, then I would like to ask the Holy Spirit this morning to change the way that you think about love. Love is eternal beloved and God is love, and together in the house of God, of God. O Lord, you whose love is without measure, help us. We pray to love as you love, by befriending the friendless, defending the defenseless, caring for the careless and showing mercy to the merciless, so that we might become your beloved community in the world, in word and in deed. This very day, we pray this in the name of our King Jesus, the Christ Himself.
Speaker 4:God who is love, amen. I'm up here to minister communion, but I just had a thought that was being stirred in my spirit as we were going over these scriptures and I've really given much thought to how it is that when you're doing things to the least of these, that you're doing those things unto God. You know, it's really that truth that God and those least of these are one. Those least of these are one and we're asked to do those things for those people. And sometimes we think, yeah, we just got to do some good. But it's getting surrounding that idea that we begin to realize that we're one as well. And that's the miracle.
Speaker 4:And I was wanting to know if you all knew how a moose hides very poorly. I don't know the exact weight of a moose, but they're pretty big and what they'll do is they'll hide their giant moose head behind a tree. But their moose body is way bigger than the tree, their moose horns are way bigger than the tree and that moose is convinced it is doing a great job of hiding because it can't see you, because its eyes are blocked. But I'm sorry, moose, that's a terrible job of hiding.
Speaker 4:And I was contemplating the moose because we, because we are children of God, we're one with God, but we're all hiding in plain sight, we're pretending like we're not one. You've been in a game that you've played with yourself that somehow you're different and you're outside of that. And God's inviting you and I to this oneness, because there's healing there, there's wholeness there for us. So don't be a dumb moose out there, hiding in plain sight, as if I'm not part of this, because you've always been part of it. You're God's plan. You're God's plan, you're God's daughter, you're God's son, and so he's inviting us today. And I think these practices are so good for us. It's so good to see somebody who's hungry and bring them food, because we can live a life as if that's not happening.
Speaker 4:We're hiding in plain sight when there's need all around us, and that's why I love the practice of the table, because I'm pretending like I don't need my daily bread and I need to be awakened out of that dream to the reality that I'm one with God, and I'm one with you and you're one with me.
Speaker 1:We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
