New year, same commandment

Preacher: Graham Fryer

Verses: John 13:31-35

Beloved, there is a song written by Burt Bacharan that I am sure many of us here this morning know … and the lyrics express a truth that I am sure many people around the world will agree with … even 60 years after it was written. “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It is the only thing that there is just too little of. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No, not just for some, but for everyone. Look, we do not need another mountain. There are oceans and rivers, enough to cross, enough to last, until the end of time. Lord, we do not need another meadow. There are corn fields and wheat fields enough to grow. There are sun beams and moon beams enough to shine. This I know, if you want to know. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It is the only thing that there is just too little of. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. No, not just for some, but for everyone.” Beloved … one thing every human longs for is to love and be loved in return … we search for love in everyone … and when we do not find it there … we search for love in everyTHING … I remember a podcast interview I was a part of, and the topic of love came up … and one of the first questions was, “do you think that there is love outside of religion?” And my answer to this question is of course there is love outside of religion … the bible even affirms it … “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.” You see love is all around us … but unfortunately it is very … very misplaced. So yes … there most certainly is an idea of love outside of religion … but … it is only in Christianity that we have the example of what true love is … and that love was made perfect in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ … which is why we read of Jesus’ new command in John chapter 13 verses 31 to 35 which says: