Loving Obedience | Pastor Nathan Wall
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What does it really mean to obey God — and why does obedience feel so hard, even when we know it's right?
In this message, we unpack the simple (but not always easy) call to obedience found in 1 John 2 and John 14:15. Using a shopping cart, a Father's Day prank, and a run-in with a Walmart employee, we explore how genuine obedience isn't about rule-following — it's the natural overflow of loving God.
We'll look at:
- Why "if you love me, keep my commands" (John 14:15) is the foundation for obedience
- How 1 John 2:3-11 breaks down what it looks like to truly know Christ
- The difference between obeying out of obligation vs. obeying out of love
- Why loving God and loving others (Luke 10:27) simplifies everything
- What it means to "remain" or "abide" in Him — and why disconnecting from Him leads to damage
- The Parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus' challenge: "Go and do likewise"
This year's Chi Alpha theme is GO — a call to think about others more than ourselves. Just like a shopping cart isn't designed to sit still, we aren't designed to stay stationary in our faith. We're called to GO love God, GO love others, and GO help others know and love God.
Obedience isn't how we earn our identity in Christ — it's evidence of the identity we already have.