In a world that defines love in various ways, how is the Church called to love? In this standalone sermon we looked at 1 Corinthians 13 and the call for the body of Christ to demonstrate the perfect kind of love. This love that the Church is called to demonstrate requires a priority; love must be the main motivation of every action, every word and every thought in our ministry. Love also requires humility for it to be genuine, for it is the act of laying down one’s own pride that enables us to put the needs of other’s first. Along with this, love requires an expectancy; a hopeful expectation in Christ that sees us through the rough patches of our relationships. Finally, for love to be sincere it must demonstrate a maturity—a growth only cultivated in the truth. Christ gives His church a new commandment: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Only with the love of Christ can the Church remain united, and functional for the purposes of God in this world.
