SUNDAY WORSHIP May 18, 2025 11:00AM Imagine Sunday's Bulletin Rev. Dr. Chris Ponnuraj, Preaching Mr. John Strybos, Music Director, Choir: Lingli Zhouj, Lauren Mitchell, Robert Orbach, Susie Reisinger 
Come and share the joy of Christ's love with us.
All are welcome! Join us for our
Friendship and Fellowship Hour after 11:00 AM service in Bodge Lounge. 
Join us for the next Showing
on Saturday June 14, 2025 Pot Luck dinner at 6 PM Movie at 7 PM |
The gospel lesson for this Sunday is taken from St. John 13:31-35 where Jesus is talking about the new commandment. As we read in verse 34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another”. Jesus says love one another. What does He mean? How am I to love? Why am I in love? Who am I to love? Once we start thinking about this word love, all kinds of things start happening within ourselves.
When we think about “Love”, questions, doubts, wonderment, values, ideas, relationships, all come into our mind. Yes, this four-letter word L-O-V-E seems simple enough, but it is the most difficult thing to follow and the most difficult concept we can encounter. I would like to look at this commandment of Jesus in two different ways. First, seeing why we are called by Jesus to love one another. Why did Jesus give us this commandment in the first place, then secondly, to ask ourselves what can we do to show your love and my love? But first, why did Jesus give us this commandment? Did you know that Jesus gave only two commandments in the New Testament? One about loving God and the other about loving each other. The commandments are written in different versions in different places in the New Testament, but essentially, they are one and the same. Jesus "commands" us to love. But the word "commands" is difficult for us because we believe that we live not by the demands of the law, but by the grace of God. So, why does Jesus command us to love? Why does he order us to love? Notice who Jesus was addressing when he gave this commandment? He was addressing his disciples, who were already part of his family, they had experienced his grace, and they were in a relationship with him. The new command has nothing to do with life or becoming a child of God. Christ has forgiven us and given us life before we even thought of obeying him. The new commandment does not tell us, "Do this if you want to be saved," but rather, "Do this if you want to glorify God". Do this if you want to praise Cod, do this if you want to serve God? It is thus not a commandment to qualify us for the kingdom. It is a commandment to us as members of God’s family. Only here we see Jesus addressed his disciples as "little children. Jesus is speaking to the disciples as part of the family, not as people who are seeking admission. He is not telling them how to become members but how we are to act as family members. As parents, we give instructions to our children. If they don’t listen to us, we are sad, hurt, but we don’t throw them out of the family. Obedience doesn’t make us members of a family as birth does. Likewise, we become members of God’s family not by obeying his commands but by receiving the new birth he gives us. Our obedience is how we glorify God. As part of the family, Jesus tells us how we are to give Glory to the father of the family, that is by loving one another. Jesus is saying, if it is your intention to glorify God, to give praise to God who has made you a member of his household. If you want to respond to God’s grace in your life, if you want to respond to God’s love in your life, if you want to be a responsible family member, here is how to do that; obey the commandment of love. Why does Jesus command us to love? because God has loved us so much that we are motivated to reflect his love to others.p If you would like to know more about how to love each other, please join us in our worship on Sunday at 11:00 AM. Peace! Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj Minister |
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