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Love & Priorities Introduction: Businesses develop Vision & Mission statements. From these they derive specific goals and plans of actions. Christians have fundamental principles, goals, and from these we develop priorities and actions. I) What Ought To Be The First Priority? A) Prior means first or before other things. 1. We could say we should place Jesus first –Others –You (JOY) 2. Other would include your family, local church family, those at work, world, government B) What does it mean to place something first? 1. We could talk about it in the sense of the amount of time we spend, the energy given to some thing. 2. What we do the first thing in the morning? 3. What does it mean to put your self last? We spend a lot of time on ourselves; sleeping, eating, bathing, etc. II) Study of Matthew 22.34-40 A) Who was the person asking the question? A Pharisee, a lawyer 1. Pharisee’s were strict legalist, conservatives, they were the nit-pickers. 2. Divided the Law of Moses in to 613 specific laws, 248 positive and 365 negative. B) Why was Jesus asked this question? 1. To make the Lord look bad, vv. 33-34 2. The man had the right answer and it was a good question, Mark 12.32-34 C) Jesus’ answer 1. Love God (Deut. 6.5); second you must love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19.18) 2. The answer required more than one specific law 3. All of God’s requirements have these fundamental principles attached 4. This involves a proper love of God and self (2 Timothy 3.2) 5.They are connected to each other; 1 John 4.7 (Read the Bible, learn about God, helping oneself, being a better neighbor, husband/wife, child/brother) III) Luke 10.25-28 The Correct Answer A) The man wanted to justify himself, v. 29 1. Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan, vv. 30-36 2. Priorities are gathered by the circumstances we face. The list changes as we have emergencies. 3. Life is not composed of a list. IV) Ephesians A) Who we are – Eph. 1.3,4,7,9, 11; 2.4-5, 11 B) Our relationship to each other 1. Ephesians 4.1 tells us how to "walk" live our lives. 2. We first have to learn how to walk (live) so as not to fall. 3. Ephesians 4.15 our relationship in the church, v. 25 we are members of one another 4. Ephesians 5.22,25 our relationship in the home 5. Ephesians 6.1,4-5ff our relationship as children, parents, workers, master, etc C) What is really important? The top priority 1. Paul is not developing a list or priorities but categories and we are to do all of it. V) God Must Be The Center Of Our Lives A) Use chart with God as the center, we are outside (Family, church, work, world, government) 1. The key is to keep God in the center and everything else is placed around God. a. Our family is centered around God’s word; our work is centered around God, etc. 2. The problem is when something else is in the center of the circle. Then God is secondary to whatever is in the center of our lives. 3. Self is not the center, neither is something else but only God, Matthew 10.27-39 D.T. @ Westside Church of Christ 08.19.07 |