Loving - God is calling you!

As I reflect upon the Love Connection sermon series, I have been amazed by how many of you have shared feedback about how the messages have resonated deeply for you. Love has struck a chord and I have no doubt that the Spirit is speaking to us individually and as a church family.

In my reflection, I have noted my own feelings around preaching this series; I have to admit, it has been challenging. God gave me the idea for this series months ago, including the Scriptures that would be foundational for each message. At the outset, I was thinking about how exciting this series would be, because who doesn’t love talking about love? But as the series progressed, I realized that love is not a superficial, sentimental, sugary sweet way of life. Not real love, at least. Rather love--as God calls us to love--is a profound, sacramental, gritty call on our lives that requires us to live communally and counter-culturally in a world that touts love as romantic, inconsequential, and easy. But as I shared in the sermon I Got You Covered, “Love is no trifling matter” and these sermons don’t always feel good to hear.

For me, this series has been like holding up a mirror. Mirrors are reflective surfaces that allow us to see ourselves. They show us what we look like, including our flaws. And my, how my unloving traits have been on full display when the truth of love is held up before me. And while uncomfortable, this is not a bad thing. For this mirror image allows me to seek God’s transformation in the areas where my love falls short. In the same way, it is my hope that this sermon series has also served as a mirror for you, showing you the places and spaces In your life where God Is calling you to be more loving, particularly within the body of Christ.

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Donna Olivia Owusu-Ansah