Each Monday, the preaching team meets to reflect on Calvary’s weekend services across three campuses. We review the messages given and frequently talk about what was left unsaid. Portions of planned sermons often end up on the cutting room floor. There is never enough time to share all the treasures of study.    

Reflecting on the completion of 1 Thessalonians there was a good deal of content we did not have time to dive into. The Word of God is like that: an unlimited reservoir of faith building truth. Each Sunday there are nuggets we wished we could have spent more time exploring.

One gem stood out this week: “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). Paul explains that God Himself teaches His family about love and how to practice it. God is the teacher; we are the students. He is the model; we are the disciples. This makes perfect sense since God is love, so everyone who has been born of God learns how to love directly from the Source (1 John 4:7).   

Think of this. One of the ministries of God in our lives is to guide us to be more and more loving. He delights that His love would be broadly known in the world, and we are the ones He entrusts to demonstrate it. We love because He first loved us. We learn to love by believing His great love for us.  

The last year has groomed the whole world in new habits of isolation, self-protection, and a reluctance to engage with others. Fear has become a dominating reality. The fear of missing out (FOMO) has been replaced with a fear of entering in. God has given us this unique time in history to be His loving church, engaging with those around us who are lonely or afraid. What the world needs now is love, God’s love.

Let’s reimagine church as the community center for the display of His love. The hub out of which God’s love flows through us to a world lost without Him. It’s time to enter in again and find your groove in the labor of love! There is a role perfectly suited for you somewhere in the regathering plan to “rebuild church”. Is it with kids? Students? Making coffee? Music? Greeting? Giving? Mentoring? We invite you to jump in – and bring someone with you! May God Himself teach us to love like Jesus in our day. 

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”  
John 13:35

Tom Shirk
Senior Pastor