The Great Commandment

“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’” — Matthew 22:34–36 “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” — Matthew 22:37-40 1. What does it mean to love God? Loving God is about prioritizing Him above everything else. Love God with all your heart. JESUS FIRST Love God with all your soul. Love God with all your mind. The things you put in your mind will become the things that rule your heart. The process of loving God with our minds: Step 1: Bible Intake Step 2: Clear and Correct Thinking About God Step 3: An Emotional Embrace of God 2. What does it mean to love people? “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” — 1 John 4:11 The reason many of us don’t love like God is because many of us have not been affected by the love of God. - The love of God is undeserving. - The love of God is self-sacrificing. - The love of God is forgiving. - The love of God is incarnational. “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” — 1 John 4:12