United Through Love

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First Presbyterian Church of Blackwood                          
21 E. Church Street
Blackwood, NJ 08012                                                                              
Sermon Notes Sunday Service July 5 2026
Sermon Title–United Through Love
Text – John 21:15-18 
Rev. Key Min Lee

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One of Satan’s greatest desires is for people to live in despair.  Why?  Because despair pulls us back into our old selves and keeps us from moving forward in the new life God has given us.  It fills our hearts with complaints, self-condemnation, and feelings of inferiority. Instead of producing life (creation), it creates an environment where spiritual death begins to grow. That is why Satan wants us to remain trapped in despair.
Peter experienced that very kind of despair.  After denying Jesus three times, he forgot the Lord’s promise that He would rise again and returned to his former occupation as a fisherman.  But we must remember who Peter was.  He was a man of faith who stepped out of the boat to walk on the water toward Jesus (Matthew 14:28).  He was also the disciple who boldly confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).  He loved the Lord deeply.  Yet now he found himself unable to escape the swamp of despair.
This reminds us that even a person with great faith can lose sight of God’s calling in a single moment.  That is why none of us can boast about our faith, for our salvation is entirely by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8–9).
When Jesus appeared to Peter, He asked him the same question three times:  “Do you love Me?”
Years ago, I heard a pastor preach on this passage, and he explained Jesus’ three commands this way:   “Feed My lambs.  Tend My sheep.  Feed My sheep.”
He said the first command means to encourage and strengthen those who already follow Christ so they can faithfully finish the race.  The second means to pray for those who will come to believe in Christ and help them grow in their faith.  The third means to show understanding and compassion toward those who oppose you or think differently from you, never giving up on praying that they will return to the Lord.
After hearing that sermon, I wondered why he interpreted it that way .  Then one word came to my mind:  Love.
The Bible tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  At that moment, I realized something important.
When Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” He was reminding him that God’s love never changes.  Even though Peter had denied Jesus three times, pretended not to know Him, and returned to his old life in despair, Jesus came to him personally.  He restored him completely and gave him a new mission—to help bring even one more soul into the kingdom of God.
In essence, Jesus was saying, “Rise from your despair.  Be strengthened, and move forward.  I am with you always.  You are not alone.” (Matthew 28:18–20)
My prayer is that each of us will believe this promise today.  Amen?
What Jesus wanted from Peter was not simply an answer.  He was asking something much deeper:
“Will you love the people you meet the same way I have loved you?  They are My children.”
Please remember this.  The people sitting beside you in this church are God’s beloved children.  God has placed them in your life so that you may experience His love and also share His love with them.
Then Jesus continued, “When you were younger, you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted.  But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”  (John 21:18)
The message is clear.  Until now, we have lived according to our own plans and chosen where we wanted to be.  But now we are called to stand where the Lord wants us to be.  That place is where we love people who are different from us with the love of Christ.
Everyone around us is different.  The people we work with, study with, meet at the grocery store, and even live with are all different from us.  The important question is this:  how we will share God’s love with those who are different from us.
When God’s love is shared, true unity becomes possible.  And through that unity, the Lord builds His church.
The United States is made up of fifty independent states and one federal district, Washington, D.C.  Each state has its own constitution, legislature, governor, court system, and laws.  Yet together they form one nation that has had tremendous influence throughout the world.  In the same way, unity is divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).
If we want to experience genuine unity, we must first learn to love and understand people who are different from us.  That may require changing the way we speak and act.  It may require leaving our past behind and moving forward by faith.  Sometimes we will have to do things we do not enjoy.  Sometimes we will have to accept people and situations that are difficult for us.  But remember this:  when we choose love over ourselves, true unity begins to grow.
Just as Jesus came to Peter after his betrayal, restored him completely, and called him back into fellowship and ministry, He asks each one of us the same question today:  “Do you love Me?”
Only unity that is rooted in the love of Christ can build the Lord’s church.
May we all be united in His love, bring joy to our Lord, and faithfully fulfill His calling.
Amen.