Storge: Discovering Family Love and True Belonging

Motivate Church opens with an urgent call to move beyond surface-level faith into a community shaped by storge — family love and belonging. Attendees are invited to practical next steps: giving sacrificially (not transactionally), registering for baptisms, and using new sermon notes to deepen discipleship. The sermon defines storge as the kind of love where performance and perfection aren’t prerequisites; it is given, not earned, modeled in Paul’s letters where apostles mothered and fathered the church. That familial language reframes church community as a place where slaves, masters, Jews, Gentiles, rich and poor break bread together because of Christ, not social similarity.

Loneliness in a hyperconnected age is highlighted: many have thousands of online contacts and no one to call at 2 a.m. Storge answers that ache by offering a sanctuary where people can exhale, be messy, and still belong. Scripture anchors the teaching: Romans 12 calls for genuine affection; 1 Thessalonians uses parental imagery to show love offered freely; Romans 8 declares adoption into God’s family rather than a spirit of slavery to performance. Jesus’ indignation in Mark 10 over excluding children illustrates a kingdom upside-down ethic — the overlooked belong.

Practically, storge is cultivated through intentional proximity: inviting a coworker to lunch, learning the name of the anxious person at church, reconnecting safely with estranged family, and serving across generational lines. A three-circle exercise helps assess relationships (inner, middle, outer) and locate opportunities to expand belonging. Specific audience challenges—parents, young adults, empty nesters—turn theology into Monday-morning action: make home a place of exhale, risk being known, and offer time and experience to the isolated. The invitation culminates in an open call to receive God’s adoption by faith, emphasizing that entrance to this family is by grace, not achievement. The assembly is urged to stop hoarding affection, move from transactional religion to generous community, and to both receive and extend storge so the county and beyond might experience true belonging.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Belonging is deeper than connection Social media likes and casual contacts are not substitutes for soul-level belonging. Storge is the environment where a person can show up unedited and still be received, where answers to “How are you?” move beyond “Good” into honest care. Cultivating that takes intentional presence, not algorithms or performative rituals. [24:17]
• 2. Family love is given, not earned Biblical family language refuses meritocratic love; devotion is poured out like a nursing mother feeding a baby, not a reward for performance. This disarms perfectionism and reorients identity from achievement to adoption, freeing people to fail without forfeiting belonging. Living this out requires consistent, non-contingent action rather than conditional approval. [27:04]
• 3. Move from transactional to generous Giving and community participation must shift from “I attend, therefore I give” to sacrificial partnership that trusts God’s purposes. Generosity expands ministry capacity and signals faith in future fruit, releasing work from metrics and into kingdom risk. This posture creates overflow for rescue, baptism, and relief, not merely maintenance. [13:35]
• 4. Church adopts the overlooked and hurting Jesus interrupts exclusionary hierarchies by embracing children, the sick, and outsiders; the church is called to mirror that reversal. Belonging is extended first to those who are pushed to the margins, not reserved for the socially valuable. Practically, that means seeking the person who sits alone and making space at the table. [37:45]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:53] - Announcements & Baptism Signups
• [13:35] - From Transactional Giving To Generosity
• [16:04] - New: Motivate Sermon Notes
• [18:41] - Series Introduction: The Month Of Love
• [20:22] - Romans 12: Genuine Affection Explained
• [26:26] - 1 Thessalonians: Parental Language Of Love
• [32:06] - Romans 8: Adoption, Not Slavery
• [37:45] - Mark 10: Jesus Welcomes The Overlooked
• [41:05] - Three Circles Exercise Explained
• [42:30] - Inner, Middle, Outer Circle Defined
• [46:05] - Practical Challenges For Families & Ages
• [55:02] - Invitation: Receive God’s Adoption
• [56:48] - Closing Blessing and Next Steps

Here is a Bible study guide based on the sermon:

Bible Reading

Romans 12:9-10 (ESV)
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, 11-12 (ESV)
"But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children, so affectionate were we toward you, because we were eager to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become dear to us... and you know, as well as we know, how we treated each of you like a father treats his own children, urging and encouraging you and pleading with you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory."

Romans 8:15-17 (ESV)
"For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall again into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified with him."

Mark 10:13-16 (ESV)
"And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant, and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.' And he took them up in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them."

Observation questions

1. The sermon highlights the concept of "storge" love, which is described as family love or the love of belonging. How does the passage in Romans 12:9-10 describe the nature of genuine love within a community? [20:22]
2. Paul uses parental imagery in 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 and 2:11-12 to describe his relationship with the believers. What specific actions and attitudes does he highlight in his "mothering" and "fathering" of the church? [26:26]
3. Romans 8:15 speaks of receiving the "Spirit of adoption as sons" and crying "Abba! Father!". What does this adoption signify in contrast to a "spirit of slavery"? [32:06]
4. In Mark 10:13-16, Jesus expresses indignation when the disciples try to keep children away. What does Jesus' reaction reveal about the kingdom of God and those who belong to it? [38:49]

Interpretation questions

1. The sermon contrasts "connection" with "belonging," suggesting that connection is surface-level while belonging is soul-level. [24:17] How do the biblical passages, particularly the descriptions of family love and adoption, illustrate this difference between mere connection and deep belonging?
2. The sermon emphasizes that family love, or storge, is "given, not earned." [28:28] How do the examples of Paul's ministry in 1 Thessalonians and the concept of adoption in Romans 8 support the idea that love is a gift rather than a reward for performance?
3. Jesus' anger in Mark 10:13-16 towards the disciples for hindering children suggests a reversal of typical societal values. [38:49] How does this passage challenge the idea of hierarchies or "clicks" within a community, and what does it mean for the church to embrace the "overlooked"?
4. The sermon mentions that many people have experienced conditional or absent family love growing up. [30:12] How does the concept of God's adoption in Romans 8 offer a corrective and healing perspective for those who have not experienced unconditional love within their earthly families? [32:06]

Application questions

1. The sermon calls us to move from transactional giving to generosity. [13:35] Considering the idea of storge as a love that is given freely, how can our financial giving and participation in the church community reflect this generous, family-like love rather than a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" mentality?
2. The sermon highlights that storge is a love where you don't have to perform to be accepted and can show up messy and still be welcome. [25:26] In what specific ways can you intentionally create an environment in your home or within your small group where others feel safe to be their authentic selves, mistakes and all?
3. The sermon challenges us to move from surface-level connection to soul-level belonging. [24:17] Think about the people in your "middle circle" or "outer circle" (as described in the three circles exercise). What is one practical, intentional step you can take this week to invite someone to go deeper in relationship with you?
4. The sermon uses the example of Jesus welcoming children, who were often overlooked in that society. [37:45] Who are the "overlooked" or "marginalized" people in your life or community, and how can you actively make space for them at your "table" this week?
5. The sermon encourages us to receive God's adoption by faith, recognizing that we belong to His family by grace, not achievement. [55:02] How can you practically remind yourself daily that you are God's adopted child, and how might this truth change how you approach your imperfections and failures?
6. The sermon challenges parents to consider if their home is a place where their children can exhale, or if they are walking on eggshells. [46:05] What is one specific action you can take this week to ensure your children know your love is not dependent on their performance?
7. For young adults, the sermon asks if you are waiting for a perfect community or investing in a real one. [46:54] What is one tangible way you can invest in a real community this week, perhaps by joining a dream team or taking a risk to be known?