Go! And… Be A Community That Loves Jesus And Welcomes Everyone Series

Go! And… Be a Community that Loves Jesus and Welcomes Everyone

(A Christ-Exalting Vision for the Church)

Introduction – A Vision of Welcome and Love

Imagine walking into a place where you feel instantly at home—not because you know everyone, but because everyone seems to know Jesus. A place where people look beyond your past, your background, your appearance, and instead see the potential of Christ’s love transforming your life.

That is the picture of the Church Jesus calls us to be: a community that loves Him passionately and welcomes everyone intentionally.

Our world is hungry for this kind of authentic love. Some people carry scars of rejection from their families, workplaces, or even from religious places that were meant to welcome them. But the Gospel is clear: the Church is not a museum for saints—it is a hospital for sinners.

Today, we will explore what it means to be “A Community that Loves Jesus Where Everyone is Welcomed,” and why this matters for our mission in the 21st century.

John 13:34–35 (NLT): “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

This is the heart of the message: Love is not optional for the follower of Christ; it is the evidence of our discipleship. The phrase “just as I have loved you” (Greek: kathos egapesa humas) carries the idea of the same manner, the same measure, the same sacrificial depth. We are called to love as Christ loved—selflessly, sacrificially, and without prejudice.

These words were spoken during the Last Supper, hours before Jesus was betrayed. The disciples had been arguing over who would be greatest in the kingdom. Jesus silenced their pride by washing their feet and then saying, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

This was revolutionary. Love was not new in Judaism—Leviticus 19:18 commanded, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” But now, the measure had changed: “as I have loved you.” That means a love willing to die for the unworthy.

Point 1 – A Community Centred on Christ’s Love

Romans 5:8 (NLT): “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

The foundation of our welcome is not our niceness—it is Christ’s love demonstrated at the cross. The Greek word agape speaks of a love that chooses to act for the good of the other, even at great cost.

Think of the lighthouse on a stormy night. It does not wait for the ships to be in calm waters; it shines in the storm. The church is to be that lighthouse, shining Christ’s love when the world is at its darkest.

Max Lucado: “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”

That is the heart of welcome—we welcome people as they are, but we also point them to the One who changes everything. Our love is a bridge, not a destination.

To love like this, we must daily remember the cross. Before we judge someone’s story, we remember ours: we were loved while we were still sinners.

Point 2 – A Community Where Everyone is Welcomed

James 2:1–4 (NLT): "My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favour some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewellery, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor’—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?”

James warns us against partiality (prosopolepsia – “receiving the face”). The early church struggled with welcoming those who were different—so do we today: rich vs poor, locals vs immigrants, those with a clean past vs those with a messy one.

There is a story of a church that turned away a homeless man at the door on Sunday morning, only to discover later he had been sent by God to test their hearts. They passed the service, but failed the Saviour.

Tim Keller: “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

That should shape how we welcome others. If Christ has accepted me in my sin, how dare I build barriers for someone else?

In thr 21st-century, this might mean going out of our way to invite the lonely, the foreigner, the outcast. It means our welcome team is not just on the door—it’s every believer.