Building a Culture of Love

Mercy Road Church Northwest

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Building a Culture of Love

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

September 17, 2023 • Luke Edgerton • 1 Corinthians 13

Give

Love.

Love is the distinguishing characteristic of the Church. Love is also very difficult to model in a world marked by conflict, disagreement and hostility.

But what is love? The Bible says God is love. (1 John 4:16) The Bible also says that love is laying down one’s life for their friends. (John 15:13)

Sacrificing my interests for the interests of others is not exactly easy. Let's be honest. Self-preservation comes naturally. Which means self-sacrifice will come supernaturally.

Paul takes time to call on the believers in Corinth not just to tolerate one another, but to love one another - deeply.

1 Corinthians 13 has been hijacked by wedding ceremonies for generations. And although it is a great verse for a wedding, it has very little to do with weddings or even marriage for that matter. The Christians in Corinth were risking losing their witness because they couldn’t seem to get along -disagreeing and bickering about so many things.

Paul offers the simple, all-powerful solution of self-sacrificing love. Jesus embodied it. God invites us into it. It has the power to mature a believer, mature a church, and change a city.

Building a Culture of Giving

October 22, 2023 • Luke Edgerton • 2 Corinthians 9:6–7

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Building a Culture of Submission

October 15, 2023 • Nick Wise • 1 Corinthians 8:9—9:23

Freedom can be defined as - “liberty and autonomy in the sense of giving oneself one's own laws.” Essentially - freedom means self-authority. But what if that isn’t the best way to live? What if we aren’t the best authority for ourselves? What if the restraints that God put in place are actually for our benefit? In this message, we continue our look into 1 Corinthians and how to build a Kingdom Culture. What we need to remember is that in the Kingdom of God, we are not the King or Queen. God is.

Building a Culture of Synergy

October 8, 2023 • Mady Wise • 1 Corinthians 12:12—13:3

You may have heard the term “the church body” or “the body of believers,” but what does that even mean? And why is it so important? In this message we continue our journey through 1 Corinthians as we take a look at what it means to be a body of believers ~ in other words, what it means to be a collective of Christ followers all working toward the same goal. Though we are different parts, different people, we are all one body, we are one blood, we are one mission.