Living Life Well — Week 1

Loving God is not merely something we are called to do but the first and greatest commandment, the foundation on which every other command rests. This message opens the core-value series by walking through the Shema of Deuteronomy 6 and Jesus' answer in Matthew 22 , recited by faithful Jews twice daily for millennia. Rather than appealing to duty or guilt, the teaching reframes the call entirely: we love God by first grasping how deeply he has loved us. Like a citizen honored to be summoned, our posture toward God can shift from obligation to privilege. The Greek agape describes God's unconditional, everlasting pursuit, demonstrated when we were still his enemies, and the only fitting response to a God who first loved us is to love him in return.