Love One Another: Presence Over Social Media

May 16, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Infinite God in a Boxed World

Jesus knelt in the dust, washing road grime from cracked feet. The disciples shifted awkwardly – God’s Son performing slave’s work. Yet this shocking act revealed His infinite love: not distant deity, but hands-on servant. He redefined power as poured-out grace. [01:09:39]

Our God overflows every container we build – social norms, religious expectations, even our crisis prayers. He’s not limited by our “reasonable” requests or proper protocols. The Infinite became intimate to show love’s full measure.

When did you last let God surprise you? This week, stop praying safe prayers. What impossible situation needs His infinite resource? “Lord, if You’re really unlimited…”

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to shatter one small box you’ve built around His nature.

Challenge: Write down three “too big” needs – then cross out “too.”

Day 2: Belly-Button to Belly-Button

The early church met daily – breaking bread, praying, selling property to feed widows. Their faith wasn’t streamed; it steamed from shared pots and pooled tears. When persecution scattered them, they carried this DNA: God’s family sticks closer than blood. [01:10:41]

Jesus built His church on presence, not posts. Screens buffer us from messy grace – the kind that washes feet, holds addicts through shakes, celebrates prodigals home. Digital likes can’t bear weight when life collapses.

Who sees your unmasked face? Who hears your midnight fears? This week, choose one relationship to deepen beyond emojis. When did you last let someone need you?

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.”
(Galatians 3:26, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for adopting you – then name three spiritual siblings to cherish.

Challenge: Handwrite a letter to one church member using “Dear family…”

Day 3: Fish Fry on the Beach

Peter smelled charcoal fire before seeing Jesus – the same scent from denial night. Christ didn’t lecture. He grilled fish. Their reconciliation happened through shared meal, not sermon. Resurrection life smells like breakfast on the beach. [01:26:14]

Jesus prioritized presence over productivity. He lingered over meals, walked slowly to healings, slept through storms. Our rush for impact often misses incarnational ministry – God with us, not just God for us.

What relationships have you managed like social media accounts – controlled, curated, convenient? Where is Christ inviting you to build a real fire?

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”
(Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one relationship you’ve kept at arm’s length.

Challenge: Invite someone for face-to-face time this week – no phones allowed.

Day 4: Duck-Face Discipleship

The woman at the well came for water; Jesus asked for a drink. He turned her evasion into revelation through questions, not lectures. True engagement listens past words to thirsts. [01:36:49]

Love asks, then listens. It resists fixing, comparing, or sermonizing. Like Christ with doubting Thomas, it enters others’ locked rooms without demanding they unlock faster.

Whose story have you interrupted with solutions? Who needs you to put down devices and say, “Tell me more”?

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak.”
(James 1:19, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal someone’s unspoken ache today.

Challenge: Practice reflective listening: next conversation, paraphrase their words before responding.

Day 5: Blood-Stained Tablecloths

Early Christians risked death to share meals. Their love turned Empire upside-down – masters serving slaves, Jews embracing Gentiles. They didn’t network; they bled together. [01:39:30]

Radical love terrifies the comfortable. It demands we lay down preferences, privacy, and pride. Yet this cruciform love alone proves resurrection power.

What safe distance have you kept from messy ministry? What costly love is Christ serving you today?

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”
(Acts 2:44-45, NIV)

Prayer: Beg God for courage to love beyond your comfort zone.

Challenge: Meet one practical need this week – groceries, rides, childcare – no strings attached.

Sermon Summary

We gather in a posture of prayer and acknowledge an infinite God who loves us and wants to be with us. We claim our identity as children of the King and recognize that the Holy Spirit leads our growth as a church family toward unity and maturity. Relationships form a foundational part of kingdom work, and we must build them on a posture of sacrificial love modeled by Christ. Technology and social media offer benefits, but they also magnify three relational risks: the dilution of friendship into acquaintances, addiction to instant affirmation, and the temptation to manage friendships on our own terms. These risks leave us with many online “friends” but few deep, personal bonds.

Jesus’ act of washing feet and his command to love one another show that love requires humility, presence, and visible action. Scripture defines love as patient, kind, not self-seeking, quick to trust and slow to keep records of wrongs; love seeks the highest good for another. Practically, we must spur one another toward love and good deeds, keep meeting together, and plan concrete ways to bless one another. Presence matters: being physically with people, sharing honest words in grief, and breaking bread together communicate God’s love more powerfully than messages or likes.

Engagement requires discipline: putting devices aside, asking intentional questions, practicing reflective listening, resisting the urge to fix immediately, and choosing love over the need to be right. Loving action may look messy, but risking vulnerability leads to deeper healing and genuine community. The earliest followers demonstrated radical generosity and mutual care, and that witness drew others to Christ. Communion reminds us that God became with us in Jesus, who died and rose so that anyone who calls on his name may be saved. We urge those who long for meaning to seek a relationship with Christ now, and we commit to building a church culture where the world recognizes us by the way we love one another.

Key Takeaways

1. Choose presence over digital shortcuts Being physically present transforms relationships more than any text or post. Presence signals that someone matters enough for our time, attention, and vulnerability. When we turn screens off and sit with another, we create space for grief, confession, laughter, and the holy work of mutual healing. Presence models God’s incarnation: God with us. [88:18]
2. Recognize social media's magnifying power Technology does not create our relational flaws; it amplifies them. The ease of curated posts and instant feedback can trade longed-for intimacy for short-lived affirmation and deferred loneliness. Naming this dynamic lets us resist superficial substitutes and intentionally cultivate fewer, deeper friendships. Awareness becomes the first step toward stewarding our hearts. [73:13]
3. Love seeks the highest good True love pursues what benefits the other more than self-interest. This commitment reorients conversations, decisions, and even church structures toward generosity, patience, and restoration. Practicing this love means planning noble deeds for others and making sacrificial choices that reflect Christ’s heart. Love, thus lived, becomes our strongest testimony. [83:03]
4. Engage to listen, not fix Deep listening receives the other without immediate correction or advice; it makes space for processing and dignity. Reflective listening, asking clarifying questions, and resisting competitive or corrective impulses cultivate trust and healing. Choosing to be present with empathy often matters far more than offering quick solutions. Such listening becomes a spiritual discipline that reveals God’s love. [95:57]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[69:09] - House of Prayer and God's Infiniteness
[70:41] - Children of the King
[71:17] - Holy Spirit Leading Our Growth
[72:25] - Relationships as a Foundation
[73:13] - Social Media's Impact
[74:32] - Evolving Meaning of Friendship
[75:39] - Addiction to Instant Affirmation
[77:07] - Controlling Friendships Online
[78:14] - Jesus' Example and New Command
[83:03] - Defining Love: Highest Good
[88:18] - Practice Presence and Be Present
[95:57] - Engage: Listen, Ask, Reflect
[101:35] - Communion and Invitation to Christ
[104:43] - Communion: Do Life Together

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 13:34-35 (ESV)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Observation Questions

What specific actions did Jesus use to demonstrate love before giving the command in John 13:34?
According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, what are three qualities of love that directly contrast with self-seeking behavior?
How does the sermon describe the difference between “deferred loneliness” and genuine intimacy? [01:16:25]
What practical example did Jesus model to show that love requires humility and presence? [01:18:35]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think Jesus chose foot washing (John 13) as the act to illustrate His command to love, rather than a verbal instruction alone?
How might the “addiction to instant affirmation” described in the sermon [01:15:39] hinder our ability to practice the patience and kindness outlined in 1 Corinthians 13?
The sermon states, “Love is always seeking the highest good for another.” How does this definition challenge common cultural ideas about love (e.g., romantic feelings, transactional relationships)?

Application Questions

Reflect on your last three social media interactions. How could you replace one “like” or comment with a face-to-face conversation or phone call to deepen connection? [01:28:18]
Identify one relationship where you tend to “manage” interactions on your own terms (e.g., delayed replies, curated sharing). What step could you take this week to risk vulnerability in that relationship?
Plan a concrete act of love for someone this week that aligns with 1 Corinthians 13:7 (“bears all things, hopes all things”). How will you ensure it seeks their highest good rather than your comfort?
When was the last time you practiced reflective listening (repeating back what someone said to confirm understanding)? Try it in a conversation this week—what did you learn about the person? [01:36:49]
How could you intentionally “spur someone toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24) in your small group or family? Name a specific encouragement or action you’ll initiate.

Sermon Clips

35s

#LoveWithAction

“Don't just like the post, like who they are. Get involved in their lives. See, one of the greatest weapons the first century followers of Jesus had is because they were so persecuted. They loved each other with this radical unifying love. And if anyone had a need, do you know what what what they would do? They would take their own possessions, they'd sell it, they'd take the money, and they'd use it to meet the need of that person in their community. In fact, the scripture says they were so generous and so loving that there was no needy people among them. They got involved in each other's lives.”

41s

#EmmanuelLove

“There's something special, something powerful when we come together with other believers and seek God in prayer. There's power and presence. Think about it this way. God didn't shout his love from heaven. He showed his love on earth. He stripped himself of all heavenly glory and became one of us, Jesus. In fact, his name is Emmanuel, god with us. He lived with us. He loved those that most others rejected. He poured his heart into those that the religious community said they're not worthy. He ate with, dined with, fellowship with, tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes.”

35s

#BePresentPray

“Love people. Really love them. Be present in their lives. We can send a text and we can say, I'm thinking of you, but I I don't get that. If we're thinking of them, why don't we just say I'm praying for you and pray for them? We're not into just positive thinking. We're into the power of prayer here. We can make a phone call. That's great. Phone calls are good too. We can talk. And even when it comes to being present at church here, we can watch online. We can watch it later. And there's nothing wrong with these things at all, but there is something powerful about being present with people.”

40s

#RedefineFriendship

“But if if we are consumed with it, it can actually hurt our relationships and rob us from that which god values most. And we need to manage how we use social media. So I wanna raise three issues that I think technology magnifies in our relationships. It doesn't cause, it magnifies it. The first one is the term friend is evolving. For example, a friend, it used to mean somebody that you did life with. Now a friend can now, a friend can be somebody that you've never met in person, that simply follows you on Facebook or another platform.”

39s

#DeferredLoneliness

“In fact, sociologists now have phrased what they call deferred loneliness. Makes sense, doesn't it? We feel lonely, so we post something. We say something. We get immediate feedback, and it meets this short term need, but we're deferring a longing for intimacy, and we're deferring that into the future. And the loneliness we feel that we we we are deferring it for another time. We're living for likes, but longing for love. We're hooked on this instant gratification, and it's changing the way we do relationships.”

41s

#KnownByLove

“And the skeptical world, looked on, and they're like, I'm not sure if I really believe that Jesus rose from the dead. I'm not sure that I really believe what they believe, but my goodness, I really want what they've got. I want that love that they've got. And Jesus said it this way, they will know that you are my disciples by the way you love one another. The reason why I preach this with such passion is because I know that God loves people more than anything. And I can sense and taste a a taste of what it will look like when we are true lovers of people.”

41s

#GodIsInfinite

“Sometimes we put our god in a little box, and our our view of who he is is just really little, but he is infinite, infinite in love, infinite in resource. Sometimes we hold out our hand, but there's so much more to our god than than his infiniteness. He is absolutely infinites and infinite. And, lord, I just pray this morning that you will open our eyes to truly how big you are, how magnificent you are, how wonderful you are, and just begin to to let us see how good you are, how much you really love us and wanna be with us.”

34s

#LoveIsPatientKind

“It's it's so true. Our perspective of God is very important. But what he what is God thinking when he's thinking about you? He actually he loves you. He loves you. He loves you. And here's some descriptions of what love looks like. One Corinthians thirteen four to eight, love is patient. We could say, god is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self seeking. It's not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.”

32s

#SeekTheBestForOthers

“Many of you probably heard me say it. I pinched it from somewhere else. Love is always seeking the highest good for another. Love is always seeking the highest good for another. If I'm saying, Samuel, I love you. And I'm sitting there going, oh, I wonder how much money he's gonna give me. I wonder if you're gonna take me there. You know? If if my attitude towards him is not his very best, well, then I can't say that I'm actually loving him. And in our relationships, I believe love is the aim.”

41s

#ShowUpAndListen

“You can write it down if you want, but it's not that difficult. I I don't know what to say or how to comfort you, but I'm here for you. And sometimes that's just enough. Just being there, honestly, it's it's enough. But sometimes people around you don't know what you're going through. They don't know what's going on because you haven't told them. So it's important, yes, to put yourself in the right place, but it's also to share a really good to share appropriately with people around you because I know there's people sitting all around us here now that have got stuff going on in their lives.”

42s

#FindLifeInCommunity

“And this was about, like, quarter to eight in the morning. And I walked across the car park, and I don't know if you know that when the band's practicing here in the morning, it's on the speakers outside as well. And I'm I'm listening to the worship music as I approach, and it's like I lifted. I walk in the door and there's people here already, and the first person I saw was pastor Luke, and I lifted again. By the time we meet for our prayer at 08:00, this is like fifteen minutes, I was ready to go. Simply, I'd put myself in the right place. I started to be around people that were just leaking life, and and I was really lifted.”

35s

#LoveByDesign

“They come up with ideas how to be generous, and by their generosity, they stand. I love the thought of getting together. Maybe Samuel and I are getting together, and we we we we come together and we go, hey. How can we how can we love on Josiah today? How can we do our very best to show him that we really really love him? It kinda could be the sneaky snig sniggering thing. How can we bless him? How can we bless him? I I love the thought that's given here in the Bible. We plan, we scheme, we think about how we're gonna love one another. Wouldn't it be amazing to get together and do that?”

37s

#SpiritLedGrowth

“Just just get it into you, and I say that strategically as well because the messages that are that are spoken here at Harmony are not just some random pick that oh, what should we talk about this week? Oh, let's that one. It's it's not. The holy spirit is leading and drawing us through a a pattern of growth, a pattern of moving us into where he is taking us as a church and as individuals. So they're not just random things. You see, we when we as part of this church, we are ushering in the kingdom of God as Christ is building his church.”

38s

#EngageToHeal

“So I would the the structure of the church at that stage was that at the beginning, we'd sing a song and then there was a thirty second meet and greet. I would come after the meet and greet because I didn't wanna talk with anybody. It's just where I was at. And then the at the end of the service, there was one last song after the preach. So after the preach, I'd bail. I just didn't want to talk with anybody, but I knew I needed to be in the right place, and I put myself here. And after a while, I got asked to do something. I got asked to play keys on the stage, and and just starting to engage with people again was actually part of my healing.”

29s

#GodThinksOfYou

“It's a picture of who God is. It's a picture of how God looks at us when he says he loves us. I love this little this little thing and and follow me. I'm only gonna say it once. What do you think God thinks when God thinks about you? Because what you think God thinks when God thinks about you determines what you think when you think about God. Is that true? Say it again, Samuel. I'm not gonna say it again, Samuel. You should have been listening.”

37s

#JustBeThere

“And when I've made the effort to actually go and see people in their moment of grief, you're sitting there in their lounge just after one of their loved ones has passed away, and this thought can actually stop people from going when you ask the question, what do I say? What do I say? It can stop us sending a text. It can stop us making a phone call. It can stop us going when we think, what do I say? You know, a number of times, the answer for me is, I have no idea. I don't have any great words of wisdom, so I'll simply say this.”

37s

#PracticePresence

“If some of us need to rediscover the power of practicing presence and being together with other people, it's actually really good for us. I remember it was a couple of months back. I woke up in the morning. I wasn't sick. I was just feeling really flat. I don't know what was happening. And I thought, oh, gonna go to church. This is a Sunday morning. And I thought, oh, yeah. I could go there. I'm not doing anything super important. I could call in sick and say I'm not bothering. But I didn't. I felt the holy spirit say, just just go, Andrew. Just go. And I came.”

32s

#DoLifeTogether

“And my prayer is that you don't walk out the door without sharing that somebody because we wanna do life together, and we want to to pray with you. We wanna love on you. We want you to know that you are very much loved. I applaud people for putting themselves in the right place even when they're struggling. In the process for me of leaving the police, I got into a place where I was I was quite depressed, not majorly, but a little bit anyway, and I still knew I needed to go to church.”

70s

#FindFreedomInChrist

“I've messed up too many times, but there is a real freedom that comes with knowing Jesus. As we come into communion, I think it's really important that we know who Jesus is in our life. And the beauty is that God came and became one of us in the person of his son Jesus, who was without sin, without sin completely, And he became sin for us on the cross. He died and he rose again so that anyone anyone who calls on his name would be saved. Every sin in your life would be washed away, and you would be brand new. Maybe you're sitting here, you're searching and longing for something. Let me tell you what it is. You're searching and longing for a relationship with God through Christ. Nothing else will satisfy. Many of you, that's why you're here today and and you sense that. You know there's more.”

44s

#FaceToFaceConnection

“God is a relational God, and he created us to love us and to love one another. And we can love each other from a distance with technology, but we can love us love each other so much more face to face. So I don't know what this means for you, but I I want you to really think about it. It might mean that you ask somebody to lunch today or next week or during the week, and you sit across from that person and just let the conversation go. And you just listen and you pray and you laugh and you tell stories and you love on them. It might mean you do something crazy. See, in our society today, we you've made it if you lived in a walled community, in a gated community. You've made it.”

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Love One Another: Presence Over Social Media

Devotional

Day 1: Infinite God in a Boxed World

Day 2: Belly-Button to Belly-Button

Day 3: Fish Fry on the Beach

Day 4: Duck-Face Discipleship

Day 5: Blood-Stained Tablecloths

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Love One Another: Presence Over Social Media

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