10/25/20

Sermon Notes:

Here are the lectionary selections for Sunday, October 25, 2020 Deuteronomy 34:1-12 and Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17  • Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18 and Psalm 1  • 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8  • Matthew 22:34-46

On Sunday, we will hear Jesus tell of the two greatest commandments, to love God with all that is in you and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is, in essence, the work of the church. The church is certainly a non-profit meant to help those in need. It is also, and first, a community of believers who have committed to these tasks of loving God and loving self in order to love others well.

This “greatest commandment” is important enough to make it into all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Everything we do at the church is an opportunity to bring these commandments to life in our lives. When the session takes on the work of the church, sometimes joyous, sometimes hard. When fellowship plans fun outings. When mission takes us to meet and serve people we do not ordinarily see. When, in worship, we make a connection from God’s word to our lived experience. Or when we work in the yard together. 

These two commandments sound simple, but they are the work of generations of saints, of which you are a part. In this long line of saints, the ribbon that connects us is persistence in God’s Word and the sign of that persistence is love – love of God, self, and neighbor. 

See you Sunday for more on these greatest commandments.