The New Commandment (4 of 5)
Series: All Things Made New
Jeff Strite
John 13:34-35
A woman once told of her experience as a Church secretary. When she answered the phone she’d say, ‘‘Jesus loves you, Sharon speaking. How may I help you?’’ But one day she got distracted because she was talking to others in the office. When the phone rang she answered: ‘‘Sharon loves you, Jesus speaking. How may I help you?’’ There was a pause on the line... and then the caller said, ‘‘Somehow I thought your voice would sound different.’’ (Sharon Landers, Reader’s Digest12/98 p.180)
SHARON LOVES YOU... JESUS SPEAKING!
She slipped up. She didn’t mean to say what she said but she did, and because she said it, we chuckle... it’s kinda funny.
But there SHOULD BE truth behind her statement.
There should be a truth that - in everything we say - people should sense what we’re saying is: ‘‘I LOVE YOU... Jesus speaking.’’
In our text today - Jesus declared: ‘‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.’’ John 13:34
This idea - that we should love each other - permeates the New Testament. Just a few examples:
• Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
• Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
• 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
• James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’’ you are doing well.
And I could go on and on and on with such Scriptures. In fact, there are 62 verses that talk about ‘‘One Anothering’’ (by my count) of how we ought to treat one another.
But one of the questions we should ask ourselves is this: WHY? Why would God repeatedly challenge us to love each another? Well, the most obvious answer is this: We’re not v ...
Series: All Things Made New
Jeff Strite
John 13:34-35
A woman once told of her experience as a Church secretary. When she answered the phone she’d say, ‘‘Jesus loves you, Sharon speaking. How may I help you?’’ But one day she got distracted because she was talking to others in the office. When the phone rang she answered: ‘‘Sharon loves you, Jesus speaking. How may I help you?’’ There was a pause on the line... and then the caller said, ‘‘Somehow I thought your voice would sound different.’’ (Sharon Landers, Reader’s Digest12/98 p.180)
SHARON LOVES YOU... JESUS SPEAKING!
She slipped up. She didn’t mean to say what she said but she did, and because she said it, we chuckle... it’s kinda funny.
But there SHOULD BE truth behind her statement.
There should be a truth that - in everything we say - people should sense what we’re saying is: ‘‘I LOVE YOU... Jesus speaking.’’
In our text today - Jesus declared: ‘‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.’’ John 13:34
This idea - that we should love each other - permeates the New Testament. Just a few examples:
• Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
• Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
• 1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
• James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’’ you are doing well.
And I could go on and on and on with such Scriptures. In fact, there are 62 verses that talk about ‘‘One Anothering’’ (by my count) of how we ought to treat one another.
But one of the questions we should ask ourselves is this: WHY? Why would God repeatedly challenge us to love each another? Well, the most obvious answer is this: We’re not v ...
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