08/24/2026
Love isn't a Hallmark card sentiment. It's a weapon!
That's where yesterday's message took us as we wrapped up our "This Means War" series. If we're fighting a real spiritual war, what's the weapon we actually fight with? Not boldness, not our sharpest argument, not standing our ground in a hostile culture. On His last night with the disciples, Jesus picked up a towel and a basin instead, and told us that's the weapon: love.
🔹 Love Enters the Battlefield. Before Jesus ever gave the command to love one another, He showed us what it looks like. Knowing He had all power and authority as God, He got up from the table and washed His disciples' dirty feet (John 13:3-5). Real love doesn't cheer from a distance. It moves toward the mess and gets its hands dirty!
🔹 Love Sacrifices for Victory. Jesus takes it further in John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." That sacrifice shows up in ordinary moments too, like having the courage to actually share your faith instead of staying quiet. Paul reminds us in Romans 10 that people can't call on the name of the Lord unless someone tells them, and that job belongs to all of us.
🔹 Love Wins the War. First Corinthians 13 tells us love never fails, and history backs it up! The early church was persecuted and outnumbered, yet they loved their enemies anyway, and that love eventually conquered the Roman Empire. Empires built on force are gone. A movement built on towels, basins, and laid down lives is still standing two thousand years later.
So here's the challenge: carry one name with you this week, someone you've been loving from a safe distance or someone who's inconvenient or hard to be around. Pick up the towel and show them real love this week, then tell them how your life has been changed by Jesus. Let's be the kind of people Katy can't explain, except to say, "they must belong to Jesus."