Love in Context | Pastor Mac Hammond | August 28, 2022

Recap:
Two words that are often misunderstood within a Christian context are holiness and love. What is love? What should it look like? What is holiness, and how do we strive toward holiness without moving into a works mindset? These are some of the questions that Pastor Mac will address in his upcoming sermon series, Love in Context. This weekend, he started by talking about the power of loving others through following peace as well as what holiness looks like.

Dive Deeper:
We are called to love people, but we cannot love everyone the same way. We must learn to love each other within the context of the relationship. For example, you cannot love people who disagree with you in the same way you can love people who agree with you—but you can still love both unconditionally.

One way we can love people well is through following peace. Peace means harmony and concord with all men. For some relationships, this is possible because you agree on basic decisions in life. On the other hand, maintaining peace with those you disagree with will take work. You will not find peace if you constantly debate and argue topics on which you disagree, but you can promote peace through focusing on what you do agree on. (If it’s a relationship with a Christian, focus on God’s Word!)

Now as you pursue peace, remember that people are not the problem. People who hate you or act wrongly toward you are being used by the enemy to be disruptive. They may not realize it, but they are part of a spiritual war going on, and they may be serving the enemy without realizing how dangerous their actions are. What you can do when someone is working to hurt you is to pray for them. Pray for your enemies. Make faith-filled declarations over the situations that you are facing and take authority in prayer that will tear down the enemy’s strongholds. Pray that the other person will come to know and understand God’s love for them. Build a stronghold for God. Pursue peace, and ultimately, you’ll reflect God’s unconditional love for that person directly back to them.

Read About It:
Hebrews 12:14–15 KJV
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Ephesians 6:11–12 KJV
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

James 1:19 KJV
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

Discussion Questions:
1. What is one practical way you can follow peace with your family today?
2. How can you follow peace at work?
3. What does peace look like in the political realm?
4. How can you move toward holiness today?

Rewatch or catch up on the full sermon with the link below!

Watch Now

These sermon notes are from the opening minutes of this weekend’s message. If you would like to hear the entire message, click on the link above.

Share
Share
Share

Recent Sermon Notes

Dr. James Tan | Power and Fire, Part 3

Jul 1, 2025

Dr. James Tan was our special guest speaker. He spoke about the supernatural power people receive when they experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Entitled, “Power and Fire,” Dr. James taught all three weekend services on the basic fundamental truths concerning a believer’s encounter with Holy Ghost power! He stressed how important it is for all believers to have their own personal encounters with God the Holy Ghost for themselves. “You can’t live off someone else’s testimony,” he said. “You have to get your own experiences about encountering the power of the Holy Spirit for yourself.”

GRACE UNVEILED, #37: Tongues: The Fire Is Still Burning | Jim Hammond

Jun 22, 2025

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you don’t know how to pray or what to pray… where you don’t have the words to express to God what you need from Him? It’s a place in which all born again believers have found themselves. This is the subject matter Pastor Jim taught us in his 37th installment of his ongoing series on the book of Romans—“Grace Unveiled.” It is the Holy Spirit that makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered in articulate language. About tongues, Pastor Jim said, “I do this for myself. You should pray in tongues for yourself. It’s a mistake not to!”

When Grace Sprinted | Jim Hammond

Jun 15, 2025

When Jesus walked the earth, one of His missions was to reveal the Father God’s love for us. And one of the ways He did that was through the telling of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. When teaching on this parable, most preachers focus all their attention on the Prodigal Son, and how he repented. However, the whole point of this parable is to reveal the Father’s love. Pastor Jim said, “This may be one of the most-preached messages in history. And I know you think you know what this parable is all about… Well, we shall see.”

GRACE UNVEILED | Creation on the Edge of Its Seat (Leaning Forward) | Jim Hammond

Jun 10, 2025

Pastor Jim taught the 36th installment of his ongoing series on the book of Romans, entitled “Grace Unveiled.” Due to the rich treasures that are contained in Romans chapter 8, Pastor Jim is determined to reveal every one of its gems, leaving no truth uncovered! Did you know, there are three “groans” in this chapter? In this message, we looked at the groan that all creation gives right before the end of the dispensation of grace. Folks, that’s right now!

GRACE UNVEILED | Creation on the Edge of Its Seat (Leaning Forward) | Jim Hammond

Jun 1, 2025

Pastor Jim taught his next installment in his teaching series on the book of Romans entitled, “Grace Unveiled.” Many scholars believe the book of Romans is the “peak” of the New Testament. In fact, multiple commentators and Greek scholars refer to Romans as “the definitive statement of Christian expression.” In this 35th teaching, Pastor Jim said, “The book of Romans can be better understood when you read it as if the Apostle Paul wrote a letter to a number of little house churches in Rome.” He then went on to explain what he meant by that.