01-Our Purpose 2026: Love God & Love People

In Matthew 22:34–40, we hear a Pharisee test Jesus with the question every human soul must eventually face: "What is the greatest commandment?" Jesus answers by reaching back to Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 — love God with everything you are, and love your neighbor as yourself — and declares that on these two commands the entire Law and Prophets hang.

This message opens our annual Purpose, Mission, and Vision series by tackling the most foundational question of all: Why do we exist? Using the unlikely lens of a chicken restaurant that walks away from a billion dollars a year to honor God, we discover that knowing your purpose shapes every decision you make — and not knowing it quietly erodes your foundation.

Jesus' own purpose is declared in Luke 19:10: "The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." And through the Greatest Commandments, He reveals ours — to love God and love people. These two are inseparable: we cannot love God unless we love those He died for, and we cannot love people unless we love the One who died for them. When we stop comparing ourselves to each other and measure against God's holiness, we realize this love is only possible because He first loved us.

If you've been asking "What is my purpose?" this message redirects the question to the One it should have been aimed at all along: "God, what is Your purpose — and how do I fit into it?"

Key Texts: Matthew 22:34–40; Luke 19:10; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; 1 John 4:19; Romans 3:10; 2 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Peter 1:3; Hebrews 13:8; Exodus 20:3–17

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