July 16, 2023 "The Foundation Of All Of This Is Love"

ReNew Ames Messages

Let us love one another. God is love. There's always something about these words that seems foundational to me. Like, there's something about these words that seems to form what ought to be underneath everything we say and do in this place - like DNA level stuff. It gets me thinking about how ReNew started. Just a few people meeting together trying to figure out who God wanted us to be. We eventually came up with our foundational statement - following Jesus to renew lives that renew the world. We connect people Up/Out/In. The thing that is foundational to all three of those ideas is...love. Love one another. It's about community. Relationship. We were made for it. It's in our DNA. Think about the very first thing Jesus did when he started doing his thing in and around Galilee. He formed a community - a family - a group of people - a gathering. Because relationships are essential. God is love - and you can't have love without relationship. Love is self-giving - self-emptying. That's the kind of community we're called to be. Problem is - we're not all that good at it. We make church about so many other things other than love. When groups of people share a common mission and purpose the bonds of love grow stronger. As we, together, give ourselves away to the world our relationships with each other grow stronger. That's how God's economy works. The more you give away - the more you get in return. Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21 http://bible.com/events/49109878