What does it look like when a church actually loves one another — not just in theory, but in practice? Romans 12 gives us the portrait. Philippians 2 gives us the foundation. Together, they describe a love that is sincere, fervent, self-giving, and turned outward toward others.
The problem is that none of us comes by this love naturally. We are all born with an inward bent — a deep, persistent pull toward our own interests, our own honor, our own comfort. That bent doesn't stay outside when we walk through the church door. It follows us in. And left unchecked, it quietly destroys the love that the body of Christ cannot live without.
In this message, Pastor John Hester works through both passages to show that real love turns outward — and that this is something only God's grace can do within us. The same grace that emptied Christ of His glory and drove Him to a cross is the grace now at work in every genuine believer, bending the self outward toward others.
The world already knows how to love itself. What it has never been able to explain is a church that doesn't.
Texts: Romans 12:9–13 | Philippians 2:1–4
Calvary Baptist Church | Bedford, Virginia
Series: Better Together — Sermon 2
