Focus On Mission
28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”Mark 12:28 – 31
Two things to focus on
Focus #1 Loving God
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. John 14:23-24
Spiritual maturity is not about what you know about God, it’s about how much you love God.
15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Ephesians 3:16-20
Focus # 2 Loving others
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 1 John 4:11
B – Begin with prayer – 5×5 – 5 people you are praying for over the next 5 weeks
L – Listen – Really hear people
E – Eat – sharing a meal breaks down barriers, we all have a friend who is selling something
S – Serve – when you don’t know what to do serve, I am awkward serving helps me
S – Share – share the greatest story ever told
Live in focus – Next Steps
- Love the one who knows you best – God
- Live to bless others – be a friend