Children’s Sermon

John 13:31-35

Love One Another

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John 13:31-35

Love One Another

Do you like rules? Most of us don’t. We get tired of hearing “don’t do this and don’t do that.” But rules are necessary to teach us how to get along in the world. Rules help us learn polite behavior.

It seems as if most rules are about what we should not do. Your parents ask you to respect certain rules because they want you to learn and grow to be a happy, helpful adult. Let’s list some of the “do not” rules.

• Do not lie.
• Do not hit others.
• Do not say hurtful things to others.
• Do not forget to brush your teeth.
• Do not eat with your mouth open.
• Do not put on dirty clothes.

The list goes on and on, doesn’t it? Adults have lists of rules too. There are many, many things we must think about – things we should not do.

Now Jesus says,“A new commandment I give to you…” (13:34). A commandment is a rule.

The new rule is this –“that you also love one another” (13:34).

This rule is not about what you shouldn’t do, it is about what you should do – love one another.

It is only one rule. That should be easy – right? Wrong! Not everyone is loveable, are they? Sometimes we have to be creative and think of ways to show kindness to someone who is not kind.

The cool thing is that if we keep this one new rule in mind, it makes the other “do not rules” much easier. If we think about what we can do to love others we won’t make the mistake of being mean or hurtful.

Everything works better if we learn to live together in peace and love.“Love one another” (13:34).

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible