Sermon: To Love my Community

Sermon Date: 6/9/2025

Bible Verses: Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:30–31, John 13:34, Romans 13:8–10, John 15:13, 1 John 4:7

Speaker: Rev. Timothy "Tim" Shapley

Theme: https://uppbeat.io/t/northwestern/a-new-beginning

Introduction: The Command We Know, the Practice We Struggle With

We know the greatest command is to love God and love others.
We’ve heard it countless times. It’s foundational to our faith. It’s on T-shirts, bumper stickers, coffee mugs. “Love God, love people.” We nod our heads. We say “Amen.”

But let’s be honest: it is one thing to know this command, and it is another thing entirely to live it out—especially right where we are.

It’s one thing to talk about loving humanity in general. It’s easy to say, “I love the world.” But loving the world in theory is very different than loving:

• The neighbor who mows his lawn at 6am.
• The coworker who constantly tests your patience.
• The family member who holds a grudge.
• The stranger at the grocery store.
• The homeless person on the corner.
• The difficult person in your small group.
• The person in your community who looks, votes, thinks, or lives differently than you.

This is where the challenge is.

Loving in real life—in your home, your neighborhood, your workplace, your city—is where the command meets the test.

And this is where Christ calls us to shine.
Not in vague ideals—but in visible, sacrificial, intentional love.

Today, we’re going to walk through Scripture to see how God calls us to love our community—not just in theory, not just with words, but in practice.
In how we live.
In how we serve.
In how we relate to others.
In how we become the hands and feet of Jesus to the people around us.

Because if we love God truly—it will show up in how we love those He has placed around us.

1. The Foundation: Love God, Love Neighbor (Luke 10:25–27, Mark 12:30–31, Leviticus 19:18)

Luke 10:25–27:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 12:30–31:

“There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Leviticus 19:18:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Key Truth:
The command to love others is not a New Testament invention—it has always been God’s heart.

Sometimes we think of love as a “Jesus thing,” as though grace and love showed up only in the Gospels. But from the very beginning, God’s nature is love, and His commands have always reflected that.

Back in Leviticus 19:18, God told His people:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

This wasn’t new with Jesus—it’s ancient. It’s part of the very character of God.
And here’s the key: to truly love God is to reflect His love outward—toward others.

You can’t separate the two.
You can’t say, “I love God,” and withhold love from your neighbor.
You can’t say, “I worship God,” and live in bitterness toward the people around you.

1 John 4:20 says it plainly:

“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar...”

Our love for others is the evidence of our love for God. It’s the overflow.
If I’m full of His love, that love will naturally spill out into how I treat:

• My spouse
• My children
• My coworkers
• My church family
• My neighbors
• The stranger
• Even my enemies

To love God is to reflect His love outward—it’s never meant to be a private, internal thing.
It’s meant to shine.

Application:

• Who is my “neighbor”?
• It is anyone around me—regardless of race, politics, background, or beliefs.

1. The New Commandment: Love as Jesus Loved (John 13:34)

“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.”

Key Truth:
We are not called to love others by our standard—we are called to love them by Christ’s standard.

John 13:34 says:

“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.”

Think about that for a moment:
Jesus didn’t say, “Love others the best you can,” or “Love them when it’s easy,” or “Love them when they deserve it.”

He said: “Love as I have loved you.”

That’s a whole different standard. It’s a higher calling. And it’s what the Holy Spirit empowers us to do.

What does that love look like?

1️⃣ Sacrificial

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

Jesus loved us with a sacrificial love.
He laid down His life—not just in His death, but even in His life:

• He laid aside His glory.
• He served when He was tired.
• He gave when it cost Him.
• He loved people who misunderstood and rejected Him.

We are called to lay down our preferences, our comforts, and even our time for others.

2️⃣ Forgiving

On the cross, Jesus said:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” — Luke 23:34

If anyone had a right to withhold forgiveness, it was Jesus.
And yet He forgave freely.

Loving others like Jesus means forgiving—even when they don’t apologize, even when it hurts.
Bitterness is a wall that blocks the flow of love.
Forgiveness tears it down.

3️⃣ Persistent

Jesus loved persistently.
Even when His disciples failed Him—He kept loving them.
Even when Peter denied Him—He restored him.
Even when we are weak or wandering—He pursues us with love.

Too often, we love others until they disappoint us.
But Christ’s love is persistent—it keeps going.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” — 1 Corinthians 13:7

4️⃣ Unconditional

Jesus loves us not because we deserve it, but because He is love.

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8

Our love must be unconditional—not based on how lovable someone is, but based on God’s love in us.
If we only love people who are easy to love, we are no different from the world.
But when we love the unlovable, the difficult, the broken—that’s Christ-like love.

Application:
When people in our community fail us or even oppose us—do we love them as Jesus loves?

III. Love Fulfills the Law (Romans 13:8–10)

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

Key Truth:
When we love our community:

• We embody God’s law.
• We stand out in a selfish world.
• We become a living testimony to Jesus.

Application:

• Does my community know our church because of our love or something else?
• Am I seen as someone who builds up, or someone who complains and divides?

1. The Source of Love (1 John 4:7)

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Key Truth:
We cannot manufacture this love in our own strength.
Love is from God. The more we:

• Abide in Him
• Know Him
• Worship Him

…the more His love overflows from us into our community.

Conclusion: Loving My Community—A Prayer and a Practice

Summary Points:

1. The command is clear: Love God → Love others. (Luke 10, Mark 12)
2. The model is Jesus: Love as He loved. (John 13, John 15)
3. The impact is powerful: Love fulfills the law and changes the community. (Romans 13)
4. The source is divine: Love flows from God. (1 John 4)

Reflection Questions:

• Am I praying for a heart that loves my community?
• How can I practically love someone this week?
• How can our church become a place known for Kingdom love in this community?