Seek First the Kingdom: Perfect Love

How will people know we are followers of Jesus? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called upon his disciples to love not only neighbors but their enemies. On another occasion Luke tells us that Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus defined a neighbor by telling of the unexpected kindness of a Samaritan to a man who had been robbed. Loving others reveals our relationship with the heavenly Father. Message based on Matthew 5:43-48 and Luke 10:25-37.#Jesus #Love #Compassion #GoodSamaritan #Selflessness Quotes:Thomas Linacre: Either these are not the gospels or we are not Christians.Adam Davidson: I would understand Christians being sad about somebody else’s sin, but I can’t understand Christians being mad at them. Anne-Marie Zellers: Lord help me to treat others in a way that leads them to you.Duane Brooks: Every person we meet on the street or at the grocery store we know a few things:  they are created in God’s image; Jesus loved them so much he died on the cross for their sins.Kurt Kaiser: Oh how he loves you and me . . . oh how he loves you and me; he gave his life, what more could he give? Oh how he loves you. Oh how he loves me. Oh how he loves you and me.Duane Brooks: We have been loved too well by our heavenly Father to speak and act unkindly to people even if they think they are our enemies.G. K. Chesterton: The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.Duane Brooks: We have been forgiven too much not to forgive others.A mentor said to John Claypool: stay as close as you can to the Father, and to others and work to bring them closer to each other.John Murphrey wrote a poem for his wife Ann.  She died on February 2, 2008.I met Him long ago, But why so long for meTo hear His daily whispers to my soulI guess I’ll never knowHe lived and breathed before my eyes Each time she looked my wayToday she lives within my heartAn example of His bestShe opened up my mind to HimHis living-presence she displayedThis “living-presence in her heartThat’s what defined her lifeLeft me aching for the sameUntil the Master cameNow I know what she knew thenHis spirit lives and breathsSeeks and find a heart like hers to express Himself to all on earthSoren Kierkegaard: Most people really believe that the Christian commandments (for example, to love one's neighbor as oneself) are intentionally a little too severe—like putting the clock ahead half an hour to make sure of not being late in the morning.Bishop Whipple: I have tried to see the face of Christ in those with whom I differed.Helmut Thielecke: Loving our enemies is not loving the dirt in which the pearl is buried but the pearl which lies in the dust.  God does not love us because we are lovable.  But we become lovable because he loves us.C. S. Lewis: Do not waste your time bothering whether you “love” your neighbor; act as if you did.  As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets.  When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. Thomas Merton:  To love someone is to will the good for them.Duane Brooks: Your enemies are not my enemies.To discover more messages of hope, go to tallowood.org/sermons/.Follow us on X and YouTube @tallowoodbcFollow us on Instagram @tallowood.baptistFollow us on FaceBook @tallowoodbaptist