Be the Church | Week 3: Love People (Matthew 22:39)

What if the heartbeat of every Christian was the simple, desperate prayer Desmond Doss whispered on Hacksaw Ridge: "Lord, just one more"?

In this third installment of our four-week Be the Church series, Pastor Evan opens Matthew 22:39 to confront what may be the easiest command to agree with and the hardest to actually live out: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

This is the second peg of our church's mission (love God, love people, make disciples), and Jesus will not let us reduce it to Sunday friendliness or sentimental affection. He calls us to a sacrificial, gospel-fueled love that flows from the cross, refuses to leave the wounded on the ridge top, and breaks every circle we have drawn around our hearts.

In this message, Pastor Evan walks through five movements:

1. Love of neighbor flows from the love we have already been given (Ephesians 2:13)
2. Our neighbor is anyone God places in front of us (Leviticus 19:18, 34)
3. Love has a body. It is action, not sentiment.
4. Love drifts in predictable ways, and we name 10 of them in the American church.
5. The love of Christ breaks every circle (Ephesians 2:14)

You will hear the stories of Desmond Doss and John Newton, the slave trader turned pastor whose memory near the end held only two truths: that he was a great sinner and Christ a great Savior. You will be challenged to identify where your own love has cooled, and you will be pointed back to a Savior who loved you when you were far off, when you were a stranger, when you had nothing to offer.

Whether you have never trusted Christ or you are a believer whose circle has grown small, the invitation is the same. Come back to the cross. Let Him warm you up again. Then walk into your neighborhood, your kitchen table, and your cubicle praying the prayer that changes everything: "Lord, one more."

Scripture: Matthew 22:39-40 Series: Be the Church (Week 3 of 4) Bethel Baptist Church | Topeka, KS

Bethel Baptist Church is a gospel-centered church in Topeka, Kansas, committed to helping people love God, love people, and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Join us for biblical preaching, Christ-centered worship, authentic community, and opportunities for the whole family to grow in faith.

Plan Your Visit: www.betheltopeka.org/visit
Give and Support the Ministry: www.betheltopeka.org/give
Website: www.betheltopeka.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethelTopeka
Instagram: @BethelTopeka
TikTok: @BethelTopekaKS

If you are looking for a church in Topeka, KS, we would love to welcome you to Bethel Baptist Church.

Thanks for listening to this sermon from Bethel Baptist Church. If the message encouraged you, we would love to meet you in person this Sunday. You can find service times, directions, and more information at www.betheltopeka.org. And if you would like to support the ministry of Bethel, you can give securely online at www.betheltopeka.org/give. God bless, and we hope to see you soon.

#BetheChurch #LoveYourNeighbor #Matthew22 #Sermon #BethelBaptist #LoveGodLovePeople #GospelCentered

Thanks for listening to this sermon from Bethel Baptist Church. If the message encouraged you, we would love to meet you in person this Sunday. You can find service times, directions, and more information at www.betheltopeka.org. And if you would like to support the ministry of Bethel, you can give securely online at www.betheltopeka.org/give. God bless, and we hope to see you soon.

What is the one thing your whole life hinges on? When a lawyer stepped forward in the temple and asked Jesus to name the greatest commandment out of all 613 in the Torah, Jesus didn't hesitate. His answer reorders the axis of the entire universe, and it still presses on us today.
In week two of our "Be the Church" series, we walk through Matthew 22:34-40 and examine what it really means to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This isn't just a theology lecture. It's a call to look honestly at whether our Monday through Saturday lives actually match the answer we would give on a Sunday morning.

In this message, we explore four movements:

We love God because He first loved us. The gospel always comes before the command.
We love God with every part of us, including our finances, our "meod."
We love God by loving our neighbor, especially the stranger at the table.
We love God by recovering the mission He has given His church.

Along the way we unpack the Shema, the difference between friendliness and hospitality, why greeters cannot replace gathering, and why a church that forgets its mission becomes a club that happens to own church equipment.

Key Scriptures: Matthew 22:34-40, Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 1 John 4:19-20, Romans 5:5-8, Leviticus 19:18, John 3:16

Bethel Baptist Church is a gospel-centered church in Topeka, Kansas, committed to helping people love God, love people, and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Join us for biblical preaching, Christ-centered worship, authentic community, and opportunities for the whole family to grow in faith.

Plan Your Visit: www.betheltopeka.org/visit
Give and Support the Ministry: www.betheltopeka.org/give
Website: www.betheltopeka.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethelTopeka
Instagram: @BethelTopeka
TikTok: @BethelTopekaKS

If you are looking for a church in Topeka, KS, we would love to welcome you to Bethel Baptist Church.

Thanks for listening to this sermon from Bethel Baptist Church. If the message encouraged you, we would love to meet you in person this Sunday. You can find service times, directions, and more information at www.betheltopeka.org. And if you would like to support the ministry of Bethel, you can give securely online at www.betheltopeka.org/give. God bless, and we hope to see you soon.

What does it take to keep a rowing crew from falling apart? Just one rower pulling out of rhythm can slow the whole boat. The church is no different.

In this opening message of our new four-week series, "Be the Church," Pastor Evan Bialk preaches from 1 Peter 3:8 and calls Bethel Baptist Church to the foundation that every other mission rests on: unity. Not uniformity, not the absence of disagreement, but a shared orientation around one Lord, one gospel, and one mission.

Drawing from the Apostle Peter's words to a scattered, suffering church, this message unpacks four qualities that define a unified people of God:
A Common Call — Unity is not optional. "All of you" means all of you, with no exceptions and no opt-outs.
A Common Mind — Being of one mind does not mean thinking alike on everything. It means facing the same direction together, pulling toward the same finish line.
A Common Heart — Sympathy, brotherly love, and tenderness are not nice extras. They are the hallmarks of a people who have entered into one another's lives and chosen to stay.
A Common Posture — Humility is the soil in which everything else grows. Christianity did not find humility as a virtue — it invented it, by looking at the cross.

This is a timely and honest message for any church walking through a season of change, and an invitation to anyone who has quietly checked out to come back to the table.

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8
Series: Be the Church (Week 1 of 4)
Preacher: Pastor Evan Bialk

Bethel Baptist Church is a gospel-centered church in Topeka, Kansas, committed to helping people love God, love people, and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Join us for biblical preaching, Christ-centered worship, authentic community, and opportunities for the whole family to grow in faith.

Plan Your Visit: www.betheltopeka.org/visit
Give and Support the Ministry: www.betheltopeka.org/give
Website: www.betheltopeka.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethelTopeka
Instagram: @BethelTopeka
TikTok: @BethelTopekaKS

If you are looking for a church in Topeka, KS, we would love to welcome you to Bethel Baptist Church.

Thanks for listening to this sermon from Bethel Baptist Church. If the message encouraged you, we would love to meet you in person this Sunday. You can find service times, directions, and more information at www.betheltopeka.org. And if you would like to support the ministry of Bethel, you can give securely online at www.betheltopeka.org/give. God bless, and we hope to see you soon.