Jesus Said, "Love One Another." But... How Are We To Do That?

JESUS SAID: “LOVE ONE ANOTHER” – BUT… HOW DO WE DO THAT?

OPENING TEXT: Jesus said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35).

DRAMATIZED BIBLE STORY: The Good Samaritan

“One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: "Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?" Jesus replied, "What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?" The man answered, "'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "Right!" Jesus told him. "Do this and you will live!" The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25-29, NLT).

“30 Jesus replied with an illustration: "A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31 "By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33 "Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. 34 Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' 36 "Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. 37 The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same.” (Luke 10:30-37, NLT).

QUESTION: We know we’re supposed to love one another – but – how do we do that?

THE BIG IDEA: Jesus told us to love one another. We can do this in many different ways, through quality time, words of affirmation, giving of gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES: (From a book by Gary Chapman).

• WORDS OF AFFIRMATION

• QUALITY TIME

• RECEIVING GIFTS

• ACTS OF SERVICE

• PHYSICAL TOUCH

• Loving others is so important! Love is a primary emotional need for all people.

• QUOTE: “Inside every child is an ‘emotional tank’ waiting to be filled with love. When a child really feels loved, he will develop normally but when the love tank is empty, the child will misbehave.” (Gary Chapman). This applies to adults, too!

• When your love tank is full, you are emotionally satisfied.

1. WORDS OF AFFIRMATION:

• From the Life of Jesus: “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:17, NKJV).

• From the Word: “Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Eph. 4:29, NLT).

• “One way to express love emotionally is to use words that build up.” (Chapman).

• Affirmation is a positive declaration. But we have a tendency to focus on the negative.

• A word of affirmation means saying the assumed and unspoken about someone.

• EXAMPLE: This is my love language. Thank you notes, e-mails, etc.

2. QUALITY TIME:

• From the Life of Jesus: “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.” (Matt. 9:10, NKJV).

• From the Word: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other…” (Hebrews 10:25, NLT).

• “By quality time, I mean giving someone your undivided attention.” (Chapman).

• “Love is spelled T-I-M-E.” This has its challenges in today’s busy society.

• Spending time together in a common pursuit to experience togetherness.

• This is not watching TV together, being on the computer or your iPhone!

• EXAMPLE: This is my daughter Hannah’s love language – date nights.

3. RECEIVING GIFTS:

• From the Life of Jesus: “How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 7:11b). Jesus also fed the hungry multitudes.