What Does It Really Mean to Love Like Jesus? Sharing God’s Love Through Everyday Faithfulness
What does it actually look like to love people the way Jesus loves us? How can we share God’s love when following Him requires sacrifice, when relationships are difficult, or when nobody notices the good we do? In Sharing God’s Love, the second message in the HOPE sermon series at Open Arms Community Church in Bradford, PA, Josh Hatcher explores 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12 and the example of the early Church. Through Paul’s ministry and the everyday faithfulness of believers, we discover that following Jesus costs us something, that every member of the Church has a role to play, and that the love we’ve received from God is meant to be shared with others.
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Following Jesus Costs Something
It’s easy to talk about following Jesus when life is comfortable.
For many Christians in America, practicing our faith doesn’t come with the threat of imprisonment, violence, or death. We can gather for worship, read Scripture, pray together, and share the Gospel without facing the kinds of persecution experienced by the earliest Christians.
But that wasn’t the world Paul and Silas lived in.
Before arriving in Thessalonica, they had been preaching the Gospel in Philippi.
In Acts 16, they met Lydia, a businesswoman who became a believer along with her household. They also delivered a slave girl from an evil spirit, which angered her owners because they lost the income they had been making through her exploitation.
Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten with rods, and thrown into prison.
But instead of giving up, they prayed and sang praises to God.
An earthquake shook the prison, the doors opened, and even the jailer and his household came to faith in Jesus.
Read Scripture: Acts 16:11–40 (NLT)
After everything they endured, Paul and Silas continued their mission.
They traveled to Thessalonica, knowing exactly what preaching the Gospel could cost them.
Read Scripture: Acts 17:1–10 (NLT)
For three Sabbaths, Paul reasoned with people from the Scriptures, explaining that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.
Some believed.
Others became jealous and stirred up a mob. They attacked the home of a believer named Jason, searching for Paul and Silas. When they couldn’t find them, they dragged Jason and other believers before the city authorities.
Their accusation was that these Christians were proclaiming allegiance to another King named Jesus.
The opposition was real.
And yet the Gospel continued spreading.
Later, Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers to encourage them and remind them of how he had lived among them.
Read Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:1–12 (NLT)
Paul reminded them that despite suffering and opposition, God had given him the courage to proclaim the Good News boldly.
He wasn’t trying to manipulate people, gain wealth, or win their approval.
He was seeking to please God.
And he loved the people he was serving.
Why Are We So Afraid?
Christians sometimes spend an enormous amount of energy worrying about what might happen if society becomes less friendly toward Christianity.
We hear warnings about losing religious freedom, cultural opposition, and the possibility of persecution.
Religious liberty is a blessing, and we should be grateful for it.
But why should fear determine how we live?
The early Church was born into a world that often hated, pursued, imprisoned, and killed Christians.
Jesus Himself was executed. He forgave the people who were killing Him, and then He rose from the dead.
Our hope is in Him.
Read Scripture: Philippians 1:21 (NLT)
Paul understood that whether he lived or died, he belonged to Jesus.
That kind of hope changes the way we face opposition.
We don’t need to let fearmongering determine our attitudes toward the world around us.
We can be courageous, faithful, and loving because we know who holds our future.
Don’t let fear keep you from following Jesus.
Ministry Is Costly, but It Is Also a Great Joy
Most of us won’t face the same persecution Paul and Silas experienced.
But following Jesus still costs something.
Sometimes it costs time.
Sometimes it costs money.
Sometimes it means serving when we’re exhausted, loving people through disappointment, or continuing to show up when the work feels overwhelming.
Church ministry can involve long hours, difficult conversations, financial sacrifice, and heartbreaking moments.
Pastors and ministry leaders carry burdens that aren’t always visible to the congregation.
There are sleepless nights spent worrying about people. There are prayers offered through tears. There are financial challenges, difficult decisions, and sacrifices made quietly because the work of ministry matters.
And those sacrifices aren’t limited to pastors.
Throughout the Church, faithful believers give their time, energy, resources, and attention to serve others.
Sometimes ministry hurts.
Sometimes people disappoint us.
Sometimes loving others requires more than we expected.
But serving Jesus and His Church can also be one of the greatest joys of our lives.
Paul understood this.
He reminded the Thessalonians that his ministry among them was motivated by genuine love.
Read Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 2:7–12 (NLT)
He described caring for them with the tenderness of a mother and encouraging them with the concern of a father.
He worked hard so he wouldn’t become a financial burden to them.
And he shared far more than a message.
He shared his life.
That’s what genuine Christian ministry looks like.
It means caring enough about people to become involved in their lives.
It means serving without demanding recognition.
It means helping others grow into the people God has called them to become.
And that responsibility belongs to the whole Church.
Every Member Is a Minister and Missionary
For many years, Open Arms Community Church has embraced a powerful principle:
Every Member Is a Minister and Missionary.
The wording may no longer appear in the same form among the church’s core values, but the calling remains.
Every follower of Jesus has a role to play in the work of God’s Kingdom.
Ministry isn’t reserved for pastors, staff members, or people standing on a platform.
God has given each believer gifts, abilities, resources, and opportunities to serve others.
Read Scripture: 1 Peter 4:8–11 (NLT)
Peter calls believers to love one another deeply, practice hospitality, and use the gifts God has given them to serve each other.
Some are gifted at teaching.
Some are gifted at encouraging.
Some are gifted at helping.
Others serve through generosity, hospitality, administration, prayer, or practical acts of kindness.
Every gift matters.
And every believer has a responsibility to use those gifts faithfully.
At Open Arms, that kind of ministry happens every week.
It happens through people who serve children and youth, care for families, oversee ministries and microchurches, handle administrative responsibilities, and spend long hours doing whatever needs to be done.
Sometimes their children grow up practically living at church, surrounded by the everyday work of ministry.
Those children learn what serving Jesus looks like because they see it lived out in front of them.
And often, they begin serving, too.
The Church becomes a place where faith is modeled, practiced, and passed from one generation to the next.
All of us have a job to do.
The question is whether we’re willing to do it.
Carry Each Other’s Burdens
One of the clearest ways we demonstrate the love of Jesus is by helping people carry the weight of life.
Read Scripture: Galatians 6:2, 9–10 (NLT)
Scripture calls us to share each other’s burdens and not grow tired of doing good.
Sometimes that means meeting a practical need.
Sometimes it means sitting with someone who is hurting.
Sometimes it means listening, praying, encouraging, or helping someone take another step in their walk with Jesus.
And sometimes it means doing work that nobody else even notices.
At Open Arms, Mike Paterniti offers a beautiful example of this kind of faithfulness.
Over the years, he has spent countless hours caring for the church building, sometimes on his hands and knees scrubbing and scraping baseboards.
Who even thinks about baseboards?
Mike does.
But his ministry goes far beyond caring for the building.
He has also spent countless hours sitting with people, listening to their stories, encouraging them, and helping them grow in faith.
Sometimes those conversations continue long after everyone else has gone home.
That’s what it means to carry someone else’s burden.
It means being willing to give your time and attention because another person matters.
It means showing up.
Helping.
Serving.
Giving.
Discipling.
There are people around us carrying burdens that we may never fully understand.
Some are struggling financially.
Some are grieving.
Some are lonely.
Some are trying to rebuild their lives after difficult decisions or painful experiences.
And some simply need someone who will listen.
Whose burden could you help carry this week?
Encourage One Another and Keep Showing Up
Christian community requires more than gathering in the same room once a week.
We’re called to encourage one another, motivate one another toward love and good works, and continue walking together in faith.
Read Scripture: Hebrews 10:24–25 (NLT)
Encouragement can be a powerful ministry.
Sometimes a simple phone call, a cup of coffee, or an unexpected visit arrives at exactly the right moment.
At Open Arms, Dave Arnett has demonstrated this kind of encouragement again and again.
There have been moments when he’s felt prompted to reach out to someone, stop by for a visit, share a cup of coffee, or go for a walk.
He listens.
He encourages.
He prays.
And remarkably often, he shows up when someone needs encouragement most.
That’s what happens when we pay attention to the people God has placed in our lives.
We begin noticing when someone seems discouraged.
We recognize when a friend has been absent.
We take the time to reach out instead of assuming someone else will.
And we make room in our schedules to care for one another.
The Church needs people who will faithfully show up.
People who will listen without rushing.
People who will pray without being asked twice.
People who will encourage someone to keep going when life becomes difficult.
At Open Arms, countless people demonstrate that kind of love every week.
Some serve behind the scenes. Some lead ministries. Some care for children, support families, prepare meals, provide transportation, pray with others, or simply make sure nobody feels forgotten.
Their faithfulness deserves gratitude.
And their example reminds us that the Church is strongest when everyone takes responsibility for loving and serving one another.
Give From a Heart That Seeks to Bless, Not Impress
Generosity is another powerful expression of God’s love.
But not all giving shows up on a church financial report.
There are countless acts of generosity that happen quietly, directly between people.
Someone buys candy for Trunk or Treat.
Another family purchases gifts for Operation Christmas Child.
Someone provides school supplies for children.
A church member learns that a neighbor needs groceries and quietly takes care of it.
Someone discovers that a family needs clothing and makes a trip to the store.
Another person slips money into a birthday card to bless someone who is struggling.
These acts of generosity may never appear in a church budget.
But they matter.
They are people taking care of people.
You could almost call it “Ghost Giving” — or maybe even “Holy Ghost Giving.”
Quiet acts of generosity inspired by love, happening throughout the community without fanfare or public recognition.
Jesus spoke directly about the motives behind our giving.
Read Scripture: Matthew 6:1–4 (NLT)
Jesus warned against performing good deeds simply to gain attention and admiration.
He described people who made a public spectacle of their generosity because they wanted others to praise them.
Their reward was the recognition they received.
But Jesus called His followers to something better.
Give because you love people.
Give because someone has a need.
Give because God has blessed you and you have an opportunity to bless someone else.
This doesn’t mean every act of generosity must be completely anonymous or that it’s wrong to receive a record of your charitable giving.
The issue is the motive of the heart.
Are we giving because we want people to be impressed?
Or are we giving because we genuinely want to help?
The goal is to bless, not impress.
When generosity flows from love, it becomes a beautiful expression of the Gospel.
And it reminds us that everything we have ultimately belongs to God.
Our Love for One Another Is Our Name Tag
Jesus gave His disciples a powerful commandment.
Read Scripture: John 13:34–35 (NLT)
Jesus told His followers to love one another the way He had loved them.
And He explained that their love for one another would demonstrate to the world that they belonged to Him.
Think about that.
Jesus didn’t say people would recognize His disciples primarily by their religious vocabulary, their church attendance, or how loudly they defended their beliefs.
He said they would be recognized by their love.
The way we love each other is our name tag.
It’s as though we’re walking around wearing a badge that says:
HELLO, MY NAME IS: FOLLOWER OF JESUS.
People should be able to recognize who we belong to because of the way we love.
And Jesus gave us the example.
He loved His disciples by teaching them.
He spent time with them.
He cared for their needs.
He healed people.
He patiently guided them through their failures and misunderstandings.
And ultimately, He gave His life for them.
That’s the kind of love we’re called to demonstrate.
It requires patience.
It requires sacrifice.
It requires forgiveness.
And it requires us to care deeply about the people around us.
Loving People Who Are Difficult to Love
Jesus didn’t limit His command to the people we naturally enjoy being around.
He also commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves.
And when someone asked Him to explain who counted as a neighbor, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan.
Read Scripture: Luke 10:25–37 (NLT)
The story challenges our tendency to reserve compassion for people who are familiar, agreeable, or easy to love.
Sometimes our neighbors are the people we disagree with most.
Sometimes they’re the people we find difficult to understand.
Sometimes they’re people we wouldn’t naturally choose to spend time with.
But Jesus calls us to love them.
That doesn’t mean we must agree with everything someone believes or does.
It means we’re called to treat people with dignity, compassion, generosity, and genuine care.
The bottom line is that we need to LOVE people.
Our love should extend beyond the walls of the church building and into the neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and communities where God has placed us.
That’s how the world begins to see the love of Jesus.
Everything We Have Belongs to God
One of the most important truths we can embrace as followers of Jesus is that our lives belong to Him.
Our time.
Our abilities.
Our resources.
Our relationships.
Our opportunities.
Everything we have has been entrusted to us by God.
A helpful picture of this comes from The Lord of the Rings.
In the story, the great city of Minas Tirith belongs to the rightful King of Gondor.
But for generations, the king has been absent.
During that time, the city is entrusted to the Stewards of Gondor.
The stewards are responsible for caring for the kingdom until the rightful king returns.
But the stewards are not the kings.
They are caretakers of something that belongs to someone else.
The same principle applies to our lives.
We’re not the King. We’re the stewards.
God has entrusted us with our lives and everything in them.
We’re responsible for how we use what He’s given us.
That includes how we spend our time, how we care for others, how we use our resources, and how we respond to the opportunities He places before us.
And one day, the King will return.
So what are we supposed to do with everything He’s entrusted to us?
What are we supposed to do with the love He’s poured into our lives?
We’re supposed to SHARE IT.
We Love Because God Loved Us First
The foundation of Christian love is found in a simple statement from the apostle John.
Read Scripture: 1 John 4:19 (NLT)
We love because God loved us first.
Everything begins with His love.
Before we ever knew how to love Him, He loved us.
Before we understood grace, He extended grace toward us.
Before we knew how to serve others, Jesus demonstrated the greatest act of service by giving His life for us.
And now He calls us to share that same love with the world.
That calling belongs to every follower of Jesus.
You don’t need a title.
You don’t need to be on church staff.
You don’t need a platform, a microphone, or a ministry budget.
You simply need to be willing to use what God has entrusted to you.
Look around.
Who needs encouragement?
Who needs help carrying a burden?
Who needs a meal, a ride, a prayer, or a listening ear?
Who needs someone to show up?
Who needs to experience the love of Jesus through you?
The opportunities are all around us.
And when we respond with genuine love, we become living testimonies of the Gospel.
A Prayer of Surrender: John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
The call to love and serve others begins with surrendering ourselves to God.
John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer has helped generations of Christians express that commitment.
It reminds us that our lives belong to God, that His will matters more than our comfort, and that everything we have is available for His purposes.
As you reflect on the message of Sharing God’s Love, consider making this prayer your own.
Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
I am no longer my own but yours.
Your will, not mine, be done in all things, wherever you may place me, in all that I do and in all that I may endure; when there is work for me and when there is none; when I am troubled and when I am at peace.
Your will be done when I am valued and when I am disregarded; when I find fulfilment and when it is lacking; when I have all things, and when I have nothing.
I willingly offer all I have and am to serve you, as and where you choose.
Glorious and blessèd God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours.
May it be so for ever.
Let this covenant now made on earth be fulfilled in heaven.
Amen.
Living Out God’s Love This Week
Take some time to reflect on these questions:
- Am I willing to follow Jesus even when it costs me something?
- What gifts, abilities, or resources has God entrusted to me that I could use to serve others?
- Is there someone whose burden I could help carry?
- Who needs encouragement, prayer, or practical help this week?
- Am I giving to bless people, or am I seeking recognition?
- Can people recognize that I belong to Jesus by the way I love others?
Choose one practical way to share God’s love this week.
It doesn’t need to be something extraordinary.
Make the phone call.
Buy the groceries.
Sit with someone who’s hurting.
Encourage someone who’s discouraged.
Serve without expecting recognition.
Show up when someone needs you.
The same love that Jesus has poured into our lives is meant to flow through us into the lives of others.
We love because He loved us first.
Experience God’s Love at Open Arms Community Church in Bradford, PA
Are you looking for a church in Bradford, Pennsylvania, where people genuinely care about one another and where you can grow in your relationship with Jesus?
At Open Arms Community Church, we believe every person matters, every follower of Jesus has a role to play, and we’re called to love and serve our neighbors.
Whether you’re exploring Christianity, returning to church after time away, or searching for a community where you can belong and serve, you’re invited to join us.
Sunday Worship: 10:00 AM
Location: 71 Congress Street, Bradford, PA 16701
Plan Your Visit to Open Arms Community Church
Help Us Share God’s Love Through Generosity
Every act of generosity creates an opportunity to serve others and share the hope of Jesus Christ.
Your gifts help Open Arms Community Church support ministries, disciple believers, care for families, and serve people throughout Bradford and our surrounding communities.
When we give from a heart that seeks to bless, we participate in the work God is doing through His Church.
Give to Open Arms Community Church
Warm Hearts, Open Arms: Help Keep Our Church Warm and Welcoming
Sharing God’s love also means caring for the places where people gather to worship, grow, and find community.
Our Warm Hearts, Open Arms campaign is raising $30,000 to replace our failing boiler and help keep our building a warm and welcoming place for worship, children’s ministry, microchurch gatherings, and community outreach.
Your generosity helps us continue opening our doors and serving our neighbors in Bradford, PA.
