prepared by Rev David Jebb – 23rd February 2025
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Theme: ‘Love your enemies’
Revd David Jebb – Superintendent Minister
OPENING PRAYER
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HYMN: JESU, JESU, FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE STF (249)
© North Ghanian song adapted by Tom Colvin (1925 -2000)
PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND THANKSGIVING
Joining our hearts and minds in prayer, let us call on the name of the Lord, saying O God of grace, bless us with peace.
We pray for the church . . . Circuit, District and Connexion…and beyond…. Give us the Spirit of freedom in the Lord to proclaim with boldness the gift of faith we have in Christ. O God of grace, bless us with peace.
We pray for the world . . . Let your love for justice and peace be known in all the nations of the world. Establish your holy realm in every place. O God of grace, bless us with peace.
We pray for our church community . . . Enable us to see the face of Christ in the faces of our neighbours, honouring your image in all people. O God of grace, bless us with peace.
We pray for loved ones . . . Cast out all the powers of evil that disrupt the lives of those we love; bring them wholeness and healing. (add names here………) O God of grace, bless us with peace.
Mighty God, strengthen your people so that we may live in the world as those you have chosen and called; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father…… (traditional version)
Luke 6:27-38
Love your enemies
6:27″But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you;
6:28bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you.
6:29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
6:30Give to everyone who ask of you, and if anyone takes away what is yours, do not ask for it back again.
6:31Do to others as you would have them do to you.
6:32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
6:33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
6:34If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive payment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
6:35Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
6:36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
6:37″Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven;
6:38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
SERMON: LOVE BEYOND BOUNDARIES…
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:27-28)
We live in a world that often measures love by what is comfortable and familiar. We find it easy to love those who love us back, to extend kindness to those who show us kindness in return. But Jesus calls us to something far greater—something that stretches the very limits of our human nature. To love our enemies. To do good to those who hate us. To bless and pray for those who mistreat us.
A Love Beyond Boundaries. This is not just an idealistic suggestion—it is a command, a radical invitation to live in a way that defies human instinct. Throughout Scripture, we see love not as a fleeting emotion, but as an active choice rooted in the character of God;
“God is love.” (1 John 4:8)
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18)
“Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
Love, in its truest form, is not conditional. It is not reserved for those who deserve it. It is given freely, just as God freely loves us.
But Jesus takes this even further. He asks us to extend love to those who do not love us back. To those who speak ill of us. To those who seek to harm us. It is easy to dismiss this command as impractical, yet Jesus Himself embodied it in every step of His journey.
Consider His final moments on the cross. Betrayed, beaten, humiliated—yet He did not retaliate. Instead, He uttered words of grace: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
This kind of love is not about weakness. It is about strength—the strength to trust in God’s justice rather than our own desire for retribution.
Throughout history, there have been those who took this teaching to heart and changed the world through their radical love. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader in South Africa’s fight against apartheid, refused to let hatred dictate his response to injustice.
He once said, “Forgiveness is not for the weak. It is the ultimate form of strength.” He knew that loving one’s enemy did not mean ignoring wrongdoing but confronting it with both truth and grace. His choice to love, rather than hate, helped bring reconciliation to a divided nation.
So how do we, in our daily lives, live out this radical love?
Choose grace over retaliation. When someone wrongs us, our first instinct is often to strike back. But what if we paused? What if we responded with grace instead?
Pray for those who hurt us. It may seem impossible, but prayer has the power to soften our hearts and change our perspective.
See others through God’s eyes. Every person—friend or enemy—is made in the image of God. When we remember this, it becomes harder to hold on to hate.
Take small steps. Love does not always mean grand gestures. Sometimes, it starts with a simple act of kindness toward someone who may not deserve it.
Jesus’ command to love our enemies is not just about the other person—it is about us. It frees us from the chains of resentment. It heals wounds. It allows us to reflect the very heart of God.
Desmond Tutu once said, “God’s dream is that we will realize we are family, made for togetherness, goodness, and compassion.”
This is the love that changes hearts. This is the love that transforms communities. This is the love that brings the Kingdom of God closer to earth.
And in the end, love wins. To God be the glory. Amen.
PRAYERS OF REFLECTION:
Our Heavenly Father,be with us in our weakness and help us to raise our hearts and minds to you in trust. Give us loving hearts like yours so that we too may spread your love in the circles in which we move. Make our hearts gentle and humble so that we may have compassion for those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. Open our eyes to the goodness and beauty in all your people and in all your creation. Bless us with hearts that are always ready to forgive. Amen.
HYMN: WHAT SHALL I DO MY GOD TO LOVE (STF 436)
1. What shall I do, my God to love,
my loving God to praise?
The length, and breadth, and height to prove
And depth of sovereign grace?
2. Your sovereign grace to all extends,
immense and unconfined;
from age to age it never ends;
enfolds all mankind.
3. Throughout the world its breadth is known,
wide as infinity,
so wide it never passed by one;
or it had passed by me.
4. Come quickly, gracious Lord, and take
possession of Thine own;
my longing heart vouchsafe to make
your everlasting throne. © Charles Wesley ( 1707 – 1788)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we may experience the effects of the salvation which is pledged to us by these mysteries. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
BLESSING
May the love of Jesus Christ bring us wholeness,
the grace of God the Father grant us peace,
the breath of Holy Spirit instil passion
and the unity between them give us strength for this and every day. Amen
