Andrew McClenaghan - Sunday, 3 July 2022
Our Love for God
Scripture References: Deuteronomy 6:1-25, 1 John 2:8-26, Ephesians 2:14-21
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Close“All You Need is Love”, “Love is All Around”, “What’s Love got to Do with It” and countless other songs have love in the title. Is there a word that has been misused as much and as often by our world as love? God’s love for us is, and always has been, active. The greatest action being the death and resurrection of His Son on our behalf. Today in the second in our series on Love we are looking at Our Love for God. It’s not just a suggestion or a nice idea but Deuteronomy 6:5 is a command from God that we are to love Him with our all, our everything, our heart, mind and strength. We prove our love by keeping His commandments, by not forgetting Him, no matter how comfortable our lives become. Not because we owe a debt - it’s a free gift- but so we can display our love for God to Him and to all the world.
Scripture References: Deuteronomy 6:1-25, 1 John 2:8-26, Ephesians 2:14-21
Related Topics: Love | More Messages from Andrew McClenaghan | Download Audio
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Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem. As Matthew prepares us for His entry into Jerusalem, he helps us confront Jesus’ authority, and the way in which it restores the concern of God for the outsider, and confronts the insider. This is the start of the Passover week. Jerusalem is a roiling maelstrom of religious and political fervour. And Matthew organises the narrative of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem around displays of His authority, rooted in recognition of His ‘old power’ – four Old Testament quotations structure the passage. As we come face-to-face with Jesus’ authority, three truths stand out. First, Jesus’ authority is extensive and all-encompassing. Second, Jesus’ authority is for the outsider, and rooted in God’s deep commitment to bring the outsider inside His kingdom. And, third, Jesus authority confronts the insider, and urges them to repentance. Come and meet Jesus, the King, in all His authority, as He enters Jerusalem!
What is greatness? In particular, what is greatness in the kingdom of God? That is the question addressed in the passage from Matthew today. Jesus is approached by two different groups. First, the family of Zebedee: James and John and their mother. Second, two blind men. Jesus asks both groups the same question “What do you want me to do for you?” What they request is quite revealing. And so is Jesus’ response to their requests. The Zebedees request position, status, reward for effort. The blind men request mercy, for their eyes to be open. Which request lines up with Jesus’ teaching previously? Which request do we tend to go to ourselves?
The Department of Home Affairs has an Australian Values Statement on its website. Visa applicants for residency/citizenship must sign this. And one of its key principles is that we are a ‘fair-go’ country. We would all agree with that. I suspect, too, that we would summarise our ‘fair go’ culture by stating that ‘you get what you deserve/what you work for’. In fact, many of us have established our relational, social and work ethics on this very principle. But is that what the ‘kingdom of heaven is like’? What is its value statement? What is the hallmark of such a kingdom, and its ruler, even its citizenship? Today, after Jesus has assured his disciples that the dependent will be provided for by their king, he now uses the same ideas to issue with them a warning not to abuse, misuse, ignore or become entitled in the face of the kingdom of heaven hallmark—which is grace.
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