Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Good morning, church. Take a seat. And would you bow your heads in prayer with me?
[00:00:07] Father, we do look to you, Lord. We pray for your help, for your wisdom, for your blessing on us. And Lord, we pray that you would be at work in each of us, that we could love each other the way you love us.
[00:00:23] Father, where you want to challenge us in those ways, give us an open heart where you want to change us and shape us, Lord, help us to partner with you in that.
[00:00:33] And I pray, Lord, we could learn to love each other in ways that show we are your disciples and that make a difference for good in each other's lives and in this world. We ask for grace in all of this in the great name of Jesus.
[00:00:51] Amen.
[00:00:53] Well, it's good to be with you today. Church. We are doing our final sermon today in the book of Romans in this gospel series. So today we're gonna wrap it up and look at Romans 15.
[00:01:06] And this is all about how what we understand about Jesus and what he's done for us, how that's meant to get into our relationships, that our understanding of God is meant to change and shape how we treat each other. So that's what we're gonna talk about today. And as I was thinking about this, I was reminded me, and I have an older brother.
[00:01:32] He's four years older than I am, but when he was about 7 years old, he was like 6, 4, 2, 50, like this, you know, he's a corn fed Ohio boy, you know, and so he like at a very young age, he was big and he just, you know, been that way. And I've always been petite.
[00:01:55] I don't know why you're laughing at that right now.
[00:01:58] No, he's 6 4, but I'm not quite that size. He's four years older. And when we were young man, we fought like cats and dogs because. Anybody have an older brother here? Would you agree that like they have an ability to get under your skin like no one else? Like it's a God given ability. Anybody? Yeah. And so we would go at it and we fought like we have a great relationship now, but when we were kids, you know, we were always at each other, antagonizing each other, fighting each other. I always had to equalize the fight, you know, that's why I don't believe in fair fights. So whatever I could throw at him all that, I would do it.
[00:02:41] And. But now kind of looking back, I look back at that and I was like, man, I wish, I wish we would have been better to each other. You know, I wish we would have supported each other. I wish we would have, you know, had a different perspective. And so now with my girls, Emmy and Abby, like, I'm really attuned to them getting along. Like, that's really important to me because I want them to grow up really having each other's back. Because, look, life's gonna be tough enough. You're gonna have plenty of a trouble outside.
[00:03:14] And I want you to realize, man, God made you sisters for a reason. And that bond is so incredibly important.
[00:03:22] And so the other day, they were in the basement fighting. And I've also noticed that girls fight different than boys.
[00:03:30] You know, they were getting into it, and here's what happened. You're not invited to my birthday party.
[00:03:37] Whoa.
[00:03:38] Like, that. There would have been broken walls if it. You know, but that. That was kind of them fighting. And so, you know, they were going at it for a little bit. So I was, like, you know, sensitive to this. So I went down. I, like, grabbed them. And, like, I could tell they knew, like, all right, here comes. Here comes a lecture. And. And they were right.
[00:03:57] And I was just like, look, like, hey, I know you're fighting, but, like, you got. God's made you sisters. You always have to support each other. You always have to have each other's back.
[00:04:07] If someone else is giving you trouble, like, you be there for the other person, you know? And I'm waxing very eloquently here, and I don't think you really went very far, but I gave it my best shot. And what I realized is that if their relationship's gonna grow in the way I want it to, then there's gonna have to be a lot of give and take in conflict.
[00:04:36] That, in other words, if their relationship's going to get stronger and stronger, that means that there's going to be times where one has to be more humble than the other, where one has to be more selfless than the other, where one has to kind of say, all right, I'm going to let this roll off my back, even though it kind of irritates me, because you can't have a meaningful relationship without a willingness to do those things. You with me on this?
[00:05:04] Because if the relationship is overly fragile and it can't handle that, it will never develop to the place it needs to be. You with me on this. And today we're gonna see that Paul says that those same truths are true for us. Cause here's what I believe about God. I think God looks at us sometimes, and he's like, Man, I want you guys to treat each other better.
[00:05:32] I want you to have a relationship that is a place of strength, a place of support.
[00:05:41] The world is going to be tough enough, but I have made you brothers and sisters through Jesus Christ, and I care deeply how you treat each other.
[00:05:54] And I think in some ways, as we read these words from the Apostle Paul that we're going to read in a minute, I think in some ways Paul is kind of pulling us in and he's saying, hey, look, Christ has made you the family of God. And here's what it looks like to be that. Here's how we treat each other as part of God's family. And so we're going to look at Romans 15 today, and I'm going to begin at verse one. And if you were, we don't have time to go through all these chapters in Romans, but if you're going to, just look at the last few chapters of Romans, they're all about relationships. They're all about how the good news of Jesus is meant to guide us and shape us and direct us differently in our relationships. So here's what it says. Romans 1:15, verse 1. We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. And if you just look through these verses, notice how many times this idea of not pleasing ourselves comes up.
[00:07:04] Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself. But as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.
[00:07:17] For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
[00:07:26] May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another in accord with Jesus Christ, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father, our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:07:45] Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.
[00:07:52] Now, just to put real simply, what Paul is showing us today is that the good news of Jesus, the gospel, what we've been talking about for these last several weeks, it doesn't only change how we relate to God, but it changes how we relate to each other.
[00:08:13] That what Jesus has done for us and what that all means, it doesn't just live in your head and stay there.
[00:08:21] It doesn't just live in your heart and stay there, but it's meant to come into those places. And then it's meant to shape how you treat the people that you live with how you treat the people that you go to church with, how you treat the people in all different areas of our life, that what Jesus has done, it gives us a different way of thinking and approaching and relating to others. And that's what Paul is showing us here.
[00:08:52] And what's really cool is that he gives us some really kind of counterintuitive ways about what this looks like. Because here's what we tend to think.
[00:09:04] The way I treat people is a little bit dependent on what they're like.
[00:09:12] You know, sometimes in life you get in those points. You're like, well, I would treat them better if they weren't so annoying. You with me on this, you know, I would be more loving if they didn't drive me crazy all the time.
[00:09:29] And we tend to say, well, it's kind of about them. But what Paul is doing is he's saying, no, it's about us.
[00:09:36] That learning to love people is about our relationship with God first and not about them.
[00:09:44] And in fact, God wants to grow us in our ability to love people well, especially when they're not all that easy to love. You with me on this.
[00:09:58] And this is what he's showing us. So really it begins with self management. And here's why this is so important when we look at the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said, look, there's two big things to focus on. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, and those are the targets of your life.
[00:10:19] And all of these verses is Paul showing us, how do we love our neighbor as ourself?
[00:10:25] What does that really mean? And what does that really look like? And I would say church, that the more we step into that, the more God is glorified through us in really, really powerful ways. See, it's one thing to talk with people about the reality of God. It's another thing to show it by how you treat people.
[00:10:50] And that's really, really powerful. Tina mentioned this morning that it's so cool the opportunities God is opening up to serve this school, the kids, the families, the faculty.
[00:11:06] And it's just really starting to kind of get some momentum in this.
[00:11:11] And as Tina mentioned, they reached out to us and they said, can you do this backpack program so our kids here can have food to go home with? And my first thought was, like, of course we can. Like, I don't care what it costs. I don't. We'll find a way. And then they were like, well, okay, do you think you could also help serve their siblings? That might not go here, but might, you know, but are in the same level need. And of course, my. My first thought is, absolutely, we'll find a way.
[00:11:46] Because just imagine some of these families and some of the needs being met by people who don't know them at all, but are doing it in the name of Christ.
[00:11:59] That's powerful. Church. And I knew as soon as we were talking about this, I was like, the church is gonna love this.
[00:12:05] I was like, the church will make this happen.
[00:12:08] And you doing that, I just want you to know that glorifies God in a special way.
[00:12:14] Church. We're gonna get Christmas gifts for every kid here.
[00:12:19] We got lists.
[00:12:22] How awesome is that?
[00:12:24] And maybe some of these kids and families, maybe some of them have zero connection to God, zero connection to church. And all of a sudden, their first interaction is going to be this blessing in this generosity. What do you think that's gonna make them think about God?
[00:12:44] Something good. Amen. You with me on this? And I just wanna say, church number one, you live these things out. And I don't take that for granted. This is a generous church. This is a church that wants to roll its sleeves up and serve people and love people. Not so you get the glory, but so God does.
[00:13:04] And I just really appreciate that. And number two, I think we need to just keep growing in that and keep saying, yeah, Lord, use us. Let us not just talk about the love of Christ. Which, yeah, we need to do that, but let's also show it by what we're willing to do. And Paul is guiding us. He's saying, all right, this is how we begin to live this out and show up. And he gives us these principles, and I just want to walk through them. The first one he says is really, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. Now, the context of this statement is that this church, just like any church, any group of people, it was a mix of different people at different points with different perspectives on some things. And because of that, it was creating all this conflict.
[00:13:57] And Paul was saying some of the things that you guys are arguing about, the more mature among, you know, it's not a big deal, like, who cares? Whatever. But what Paul says, he says, if you are strong, then your obligation before God is to use your strength to be patient with others.
[00:14:23] I think that's such a powerful thing to think about.
[00:14:26] See, we might think that, well, being spiritually strong means that we sort of just assert and we kind of make sure our way or our perspective happens or gets seen or heard. But Paul says, no, no, God gives you this spiritual strength so you can support patiently other people.
[00:14:49] In other words, spiritual strength comes out through patience with other people.
[00:14:58] I think that's pretty powerful for some reason. It reminds me when Allie and I first got married.
[00:15:04] We had a pickup truck, which was awesome.
[00:15:07] But then every weekend, I was somebody's best friend.
[00:15:13] And I know many of you have pickup here, and I hope that you don't experience that same thing, but it'd be like, I get a call from somebody like, hey, I went to seventh grade with you. Do you remember me? But anyway, I'm moving this weekend, you know, and it was like.
[00:15:28] And so that kind of got old. Plus, it was a little expensive, so got rid of that because I was like, this is for us.
[00:15:37] This isn't our ministry to everybody moving every weekend. And so I got a Toyota Corolla instead.
[00:15:47] And you know what? No one has called me on the weekend about that since.
[00:15:51] If you want to take it for a drive, though, I got it in the parking lot. You can open up all four cylinders.
[00:15:58] It's awesome.
[00:16:00] The coolest thing about it is my son Teddy, he's two years old, he calls it a race car.
[00:16:08] And I'm like, I love this. You're the only person in the world that thinks that thing's a race car, but I'm gonna go with it. But we were like, no, this is for us, not everyone else. But what Paul is saying is, hey, if God has made you strong, if God has maturity, it's not just for you.
[00:16:29] It's to support and bless others.
[00:16:32] That. That strength is meant to show itself in patience and a generosity of spirit towards others.
[00:16:43] Now, the context, again, is about all these disagreements that are happening.
[00:16:47] And what we tend to think sometimes in our world today is that if you don't agree with me 100%, you don't love me.
[00:16:58] That's kind of how we view it a lot of times. So it's like you agree with everything I think or do or say, or you don't love me. And we think about relationships that way. But what I want you to show is the Bible does not think about relationships that way. It says, no, no, that's not how it works. Because at the end of the day, that is impossible to actually do. I don't agree with myself all the time. You with me, I'm like, what were you doing? Why did you say, you know, some of the most meaningful relationships in your life, you're not gonna see eye to eye on everything.
[00:17:34] And that doesn't mean you drop the relationship Married people. Can I talk to you for a second?
[00:17:42] If that's your standard for marriage, you're not getting very far. Amen.
[00:17:47] I remember Allie and I have been married for 12 years now, and I remember, like, year. I don't know, maybe it was like, somewhere in the middle, like, five or six, and we were arguing about something, and it was like the billionth time we've argued about the same thing.
[00:18:02] I know that's never happened to you. You guys. You guys got it figured out.
[00:18:08] Remember, like, we were kind of in this midst of this argument. And I remember, like, we both recognized. We're like, man, we've been art. Like, we've been disagreeing about this for, like, five or six years.
[00:18:18] And I kind of got worried. I was like, how can we not figure this out? You know, like, we're smart people. We want to treat each other right. Like, why?
[00:18:28] How can we not be able to figure this out? And now we're at year 12, and we haven't figured it all out.
[00:18:38] We're still there. But the one thing that really helped me in this is that we read this book called Making Marriage Work by John Gottman. And it's just kind of a simple book, but it has a lot of good principles about marriage. And one of the things he says in it, it was, like, so freeing to me. He said, look, you're not going to come to resolution in marriage on a lot of things. Now you want to be on the same page on the big things. He's not saying that, but there's a lot of other things that you're not going to come to resolution. The problem's not going to be fully solved. And he says, and it doesn't matter.
[00:19:15] What matters is that you treat each other with dignity and respect in ways that each person feels heard and valued.
[00:19:27] And it doesn't mean you have to see that ad. It's probably not going to happen. And that's fine. And I read that. I was like, all right, I think we're going to be okay.
[00:19:35] I think, you know, it truly was, like, freeing to me. And in many ways, this is what Paul's saying.
[00:19:41] He said, we, the people of God, it's bringing all kinds of different people together from different backgrounds, different life experiences, different viewpoints on some things. And Paul says, look, we have to be patient with one another, and we have to realize.
[00:20:01] And Paul says, this is a mature perspective, that we're not going to always see eye to eye, but. But we can still be in it for the benefit of the Greater relationship. You with me on this. This is a profound principle if you really think about it. And Paul's saying the gospel helps us to get there, and then he says, and it gives us a new aim. So again, if you just look at all these phrases of don't try to please yourself, but please your neighbor to build them up.
[00:20:31] This is just a radically different orientation. See, it's so easy in all of our relationships in life. And I'm not talking so much about marriage, but more friendships and our relationships with each other as God's people.
[00:20:47] It's easy to turn all of those really inward and to think about, like, what are people doing? For me, you walk into a room and you're like, okay, who noticed me and who didn't?
[00:21:01] And you're, like, keeping tabs.
[00:21:03] The problem is that perspective will crush you, and that perspective will keep you from loving people the way God wants you to.
[00:21:15] What Paul says is, he says, hey, look, don't put yourself at the center.
[00:21:22] Focus on other people and serving them and building them up, and it will change your life in the way God wants it changed.
[00:21:37] And as simple as that idea is, man, you just start your day that way. And you're like, okay, I'm gonna try and not put myself at the center of all this and just say, all right, how can I show up? How can I serve? How can I go first to meet people, to connect with people, to. To love people? I'm telling you, it's a way more fulfilling way to live.
[00:21:59] See, so much of the Bible is paradoxical. Like, Jesus says this. It's better to give than to receive.
[00:22:06] And everyone hears that and they're like, yeah, right.
[00:22:11] And Paul says this, hey, it's better to not overly worry about pleasing yourself, but instead to go into please and to build and to serve other people.
[00:22:23] Like Paul. Do you really know what you're talking about?
[00:22:27] But here's what I believe. If you try it, you will see the power of it. I remember years ago, I was like, right out of high school, me and my good buddy, we went to this motivational speech thing, and it was called Break on Through. And someone gave a really inspiring talk. And then you had a board, and you wrote your life goals on the board, then you karate chopped it. And broke was cool back then.
[00:22:57] You don't seem to think so now, but it was sweet.
[00:23:01] And so me and my good buddy went to do this, and, like, I wrote down, you know, my big goals and stuff, and I thought I had some good ones on there. And then My buddy wrote down his. And he was showing me, because you kind of share them with each other. And his goals were like. I remember one real specifically, he said, I want to make someone's day each day.
[00:23:26] And I was like 19 or something. I read that. I was like, oh, that's kind of lame. That's what I thought.
[00:23:31] Don't judge me.
[00:23:33] So I was like, I think you should have, like, a bigger goal, like make a bunch of money or, you know, achieve something great. Like, I was like, that, that's. And like. And all his goals were like that. They were like very.
[00:23:44] Others focused in very small ways. And mine were a lot more, you know, lofty and ambitious and stuff like that. And at the time I was like, I don't know about. Those are like, you should have something better on your board.
[00:23:57] But now I look back and I'm like, you know what? He actually got it in a way that I didn't.
[00:24:03] And I look back and I'm like, I see the wisdom of that.
[00:24:08] What are the goals? What are the aims in our hearts and relationships?
[00:24:12] See, Paul's saying, aim not to please yourself, but others and to build them up.
[00:24:22] Do we aim in our interactions with others to build people up?
[00:24:29] We have a world that loves to tear people down.
[00:24:33] We have a world that loves to say, oh, this person failed.
[00:24:37] Let's get it out there. We love to do that. Our. In many ways, a lot of our news cycles are built on that reality, and we love to do that. But what Paul calls us to be is builders. Here's what I've learned in life. It's a lot harder to build things than to destroy things.
[00:24:58] It doesn't take a lot of forethought and effort and discipline to break things.
[00:25:06] That's a lot easier.
[00:25:07] It's much more difficult to build things with your life.
[00:25:13] Years ago, I went on this mission trip and we were in Iowa, and there was like this huge flood that happened. And so they sent us into this big building to demolish it, to destroy it, because the flood had ruined everything.
[00:25:25] And so they gave some of us like a sledgehammer. And like that whole week we were just destroying this structure, just tearing it apart. And I will tell you, I am surgical with a sledgehammer. Like, my skill level is great. And that's all we do. We just broke everything apart. And you know what? It took zero skill.
[00:25:47] Wasn't hard. You just swing around, you break. It doesn't matter. No skill. But then I've been on other trips where we're Trying to build something like a house for habitat, that takes a lot of skills.
[00:26:00] That is beyond me. I need. And that's how it is in life. It's easy to go around and to wound people and to critique people and to do all that. That's an easier way to live.
[00:26:14] What Paul's saying is really more important is to be a builder where we connect to people in the type of way that we make them stronger, that we help them move towards God, that we enrich them and add value to their lives. And Paul says, aim to be that. And then he says this. This is really interesting to me. He says, in Christ, Christ served us and did not consider his own good. And he said, and he got punished for it, that he experienced pain and attack for it.
[00:26:57] And here's what you need to know.
[00:26:59] When you and I go and try to love people, one of the things God wants to do is grow our skin a little bit thicker.
[00:27:13] Because you can't love people well without getting a thicker skin.
[00:27:17] Cause here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna leave here.
[00:27:20] You're gonna be like, you know what?
[00:27:22] I'm gonna serve my family this afternoon.
[00:27:25] I'm gonna do something humble.
[00:27:27] I'm gonna do something loving.
[00:27:30] I'm gonna go out of my way, and you're gonna go and do it. And then you're gonna get, like, the most attitude you've gotten all week.
[00:27:37] And you'll be like, see, that's why I don't do it. And you're gonna give up. You'll be like, oh, see, I tried.
[00:27:45] I went to do it. And what you need in that moment is you need thicker skin. You need to let it bounce off of you so you can keep serving that people.
[00:27:55] Paul is saying, he's like, look, Jesus was the most loving person ever, and people killed him and people mistreated him.
[00:28:08] That love cost him something. You with me on this? And Paul's saying, in the same way, when you and I, when we really try to love people, it will cost us something. But it is a cost that is worth it.
[00:28:23] It's a cost that we want to pay. It's worth paying. Yes. If I try to love people, look, people aren't always gonna reciprocate that. And it hurts when you love people and then they treat you in a way where you're like, man, I'm.
[00:28:39] I'm putting my neck out here. And that's how you're gonna respond. Like, that hurts.
[00:28:44] That stinks.
[00:28:46] Or sometimes you're like, I'm Gonna keep showing up, even though it feels like I'm hitting a wall in the relationship. That hurts.
[00:28:54] That's hard.
[00:28:56] But part of what God calls us is to be people of thicker skin that can keep showing up and keep serving and. And keep loving and keep extending his mercy and his grace. You with me on this? One thing I've learned in my life, that the more I can let things roll off my back, the better I can love people.
[00:29:22] You ever have those days where you're just, like, more sensitive than usual and just like, everything is like a personal offense?
[00:29:30] Yeah. Hopefully that's not today for you.
[00:29:33] But, you know, you have those days where it's like. Like you're. You're just. You're. You're in it, and you can start to tell, like, everybody's walking on eggshells around you.
[00:29:43] Anybody?
[00:29:44] Just this week, I had one of those days. I don't know why I blame it on the change of weather and time. I don't know.
[00:29:52] And I just, like, I was just highly irritable, highly sensitive, and Al was asking me for a couple things, and I was just irritating me. And then it was bad times. Had to put the kids down, which. That always irritates me.
[00:30:07] And I was just like. Just not.
[00:30:09] And it was all a me thing. It was all 100% a me thing. And I was just kind of, like, getting really tense and terse. That's what I do. Kids, come on. I start to act like a drill sergeant with him about stuff. And Allie knows. She's like, are you okay?
[00:30:28] And I'm like, I'm fine.
[00:30:32] Anybody relate? Just like. No, there's.
[00:30:35] Listen, when I am in that place, I am not loving people. Well, you with me on this.
[00:30:44] I want to find a reason and make it a them problem.
[00:30:48] But unfortunately, the more I read the scriptures, the more it says nobody. That's a you problem.
[00:30:57] Grow up.
[00:30:58] Amen.
[00:30:59] Be stronger.
[00:31:01] Okay. Someone says something and annoys you, let it go.
[00:31:06] You ever just ruminate on it, and then all of a sudden you're building up this whole world in your mind, and it's making you move away from that person instead of towards them.
[00:31:20] Where if you just let it go, you could be in a better spot. You with me? This is what Paul is showing. He's saying that's what the gospel helps us to do, that we can weather the difficulty of loving people well, because if we want to love people like Christ, it's going to be tough.
[00:31:39] It's not easy.
[00:31:41] It's easier to go around this Life and to put ourselves first and to treat people on whatever standard we think.
[00:31:49] And not the standard of Jesus Christ, but yet church. This is what the gospel calls us to because this is how Christ treats us.
[00:32:00] And Paul says, you're going to need a tougher skin and you're going to need encouragement along the way.
[00:32:09] And I don't have time to get into all this because I'm preaching longer. This sermon. Every sermon I do, it gets longer, you know, anyway. But if you look at these verses, Paul talks about the role of scripture in our life, and it's really pretty fascinating.
[00:32:25] And he says in it we can find instruction, encouragement, endurance, and hope.
[00:32:32] Here's what he's saying.
[00:32:34] If I'm gonna love people, well, I cannot be a slave to the environment around me.
[00:32:42] Meaning if everybody's being a jerk, that I become a jerk.
[00:32:48] My attitude cannot be dictated by someone else's.
[00:32:53] I need to have an internal strength that I bring into the relationship, and that comes from God.
[00:33:03] And what Paul says is, as we read and understand Scripture, it gives us the encouragement that we need.
[00:33:10] It gives us the endurance that we need. It gives us the wisdom that we need.
[00:33:18] Relationships are messy.
[00:33:21] Lord, what do I do? How do I respond to this? I need God's wisdom, and it gives me hope for better days. So what Paul says is part of living a healthy life where we're connected to people the way God wants us to, is making sure we learn how to fill our own tank.
[00:33:39] We learn how to connect with God and connect with His Word in a way that it's pouring life into us because it's going to be drained out of us as we go and serve and love and. And show up and give our best. You with me on this. And then Paul says this last thing. He says, therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.
[00:34:04] Here's just what I want to say about that.
[00:34:07] All of our relational patterns Paul is showing are built on how Christ has treated us.
[00:34:18] Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you.
[00:34:22] At other points, he says, forgive one another as Christ has forgiven you.
[00:34:26] See, everything comes back to what has Christ done for me.
[00:34:33] Then those are my marching orders in dealing with the people around me. You with this. Now, here's why this is so powerful today. If you have maybe relationships that are strained, maybe relationships that are distant, maybe, you know, there's irritation and confusion, whatever, you know, you're just struggling in some way with someone.
[00:34:56] I just want to encourage you to take a moment and to think about how Christ has treated you and then think about that relationship.
[00:35:07] Here's what I find when I'm getting impatient with people.
[00:35:11] I was just like, oh, this is irritating. This is annoying. I find it so healthy. When I think about how patient God has been with me.
[00:35:23] Like, I can't imagine how annoying I am to God. You know, Like, I'm not joking. Like, I can't. I know how annoyed I can get with other people. But then when I think about my relationship with God, how many times I've failed, how many times I've strayed, how many times all of that stuff over the course of my life. And yet he still loves me, he still helps me, he still hears my. Like, that's a level of patience that makes me think different. You with me on this, and this is what Paul is saying. He's saying, you think about God, think about Christ, think about the gospel, and then think about that person.
[00:36:06] Think about that person first. Think about the gospel first, and then you'll know the way to go.
[00:36:14] So let's ask God to help us do that right now.
[00:36:17] Father, we pray for your help in this.
[00:36:21] We know that it matters to you how we treat each other, Lord, even though we forget how incredibly important it is.
[00:36:36] And we justify and we excuse and we do all those things. Lord, we just pray for your grace now that we could just see and think about the gospel clearly in our own lives.
[00:36:49] And maybe, Lord, there's people we've been moving away from that you want us to move towards.
[00:36:55] Maybe there's people that we've not had the patience with that you want us to pray. You'd help us.
[00:37:03] Maybe, Lord, we just. We need to get a little thicker skin so we can serve you and others better. Help us.
[00:37:11] Maybe, Father, just a little too much ego has been at the center and you're asking for something different. Help us in all of these ways so that Christ will be glorified, so your name will be lifted up. So people will say they must be followers of Jesus because of how they love one another.
[00:37:35] Bless us with all this. In Jesus good name we pray. Amen.
