When Love Gets Difficult

09.06.2025
Michelle Leichty
Sermons

Over the past six years, we have been focusing on living a life of love: loving Jesus, loving His people, and pouring out His love on the world.

As we have sought to follow God's lead in fulfilling this calling, we now sense God is calling us to take a next step. And that is a step into riskier, costlier, more sacrificial love:

• with one another.

• with our neighbors.

• with the people God places in our lives from the world around us.

• with the people in our community and in our world who look different than us, who come from different backgrounds than us, and who face different struggles than we do.

One way to define the New Testament love God calls us to is: Love is seeking God's best for you . . . even when it costs me. Sacrifice is at the heart of what love looks like.

 

Romans chapter 12 explores this deeper and costlier dimension of love, which is the focus of our fall preaching series. When we turn there, this is what we will encounter: a difficult call. It's a call to love people when they are in difficult circumstances. It's a call to love people when we are in difficult circumstances. And it's a call to people who are difficult for us to love.

 

First, we need context. The first two sermons elaborate on the mercies of God that Paul references in Romans 12:1 by looking at Romans 5 and 8. Then we'll approach chapter 12 thematically because Paul leaps all over as various bits of insight and advice come to mind. We'll be gathering his thoughts together into messages that explore his four main themes:

In view of God's mercy

August 31         Brought into God's Love, Romans 5:1-11 

 

September 7    Held in God's Love, Romans 8:28-39

 

Invitation to love in costly ways

September 14   Living in Response to God's Love, Romans 12:1-2

 

Relating to our brothers and sisters when they can be difficult

September 21   Recognizing Our Gifts, Romans 12:3-8

 

September 28   Putting Each Other First, Romans 12:3,16

 

October 5           Loving Each Other, Romans 12:9-10, 13, 15

 

October 12         Living in Unity with Each Other, Romans 12:16-18

 

Relating to God when our circumstances can be difficult

October 19         Loving God When Life is Hard, Romans 12:11-12

 

Relating to outsiders when our differences can be difficult    

October 26         Loving the Stranger, Romans 12:13b

 

Engage Locally Missions Celebration

November 2       How Faith and Works Fit Together 

 

Relating to enemies when they make our lives difficult

November 9       Seeing to Do What is Right, Romans 12:9, 17

 

November 16     Forgiving the One Who Does Wrong, Romans 12:14,17-21

 

November 23     Thanksgiving Celebration

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Sermon Discussion - Held in God's Love

When Love Gets Difficult

Sermon Discussion - Brought Into God's Love