Go. Love. Together.
I recently finished up an independent study under an experienced church planter about how to launch multiple churches. It was phenomenal!
One of the books assigned to the class was The Great Collaboration by David Ferguson and Patrick O'Connell. These authors are passionate about planting churches all over the world. They are passionate about the Gospel and uniting with other followers of Jesus to do exactly what Jesus said about making disciples of all nations.
One observation they made that has jumped off the page that I can't wait to share with you is a connection between three things Jesus said that are spread throughout the gospels.
This weekend spend some time reading Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 12:28-34, and John 17:20-26.
Go. Love. Together.
Mattew 28 is the famous Great Commission where Jesus tells His followers to go into all the world with the good news of the Gospel and to teach them to follow Jesus' commands. Throughout church history, there have been seasons when the Church did a great job teaching about Jesus but forgot to love. Love is tangible; it is an action. Love is hands-on and practical. In Mark 12:28-34 Jesus emphasizes the necessity of loving God and loving others. This fulfills the law of God. Simply telling others about Jesus is not enough if we don't love. In John 17:20-26 Jesus prays for the church of the future, that is you and I today, He prays that we would be united with each other in the same way that Jesus is united with His Father. Jesus commands His church to go and preach the good news (Matt 28), to love God and love others (Mark 12), and to do all of this together (John 17).
I can't wait to jump into these passages of Scripture with you all this weekend as we seek to hear Jesus and take His Word seriously!
Pastor Nathan
