WELCOME
Good morning First Baptist. We welcome you to worship this morning. Be sure to remember your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the week as you pray for them, and as the Holy Spirit brings their faces to your mind. Be sure to also connect with them in the ways that are possible. And if you have any questions or would like to talk to someone, please don’t hesitate to contact the church through the church telephone and leave a message. (519-733-4144)
Songs
Call to Worship
In a world that often feels divided, we are called to be a beacon of love and compassion. Let us come together, recognizing the image of God in each other, and strive to build relationships characterized by empathy, understanding, and forgiveness. May our worship today inspire us to extend God’s love to those around us, especially those who are hurting or marginalized.
Songs
Prayer
CONFESSION:
Merciful God, we come before You, aware of how often we fall short of Your calling. You have invited us to grow up into salvation, to build our lives on Christ, the living cornerstone, yet too often, we choose other foundations: pride, self-interest, fear, or comfort.
You call us to love one another deeply, but we confess that we’ve held grudges, spoken harshly, or turned away from those in need. You are building us into a spiritual house, yet we have resisted being shaped and joined to others in humility and grace.
Forgive us, Lord. Forgive the ways we’ve isolated ourselves, the ways we’ve chosen division over unity, and the times we’ve forgotten that we belong to You, and to each other. Have mercy on us, reshape us, and draw us again to the living stone—rejected by many, but precious to You. Make us into a people who reflect Your love.
In the silence, we offer our personal confessions to You. (Moment of silent confession)
WORDS OF ASSURANCE
Friends, hear the good news: though we stumble, we are not cast away. In Jesus Christ, the chosen and precious cornerstone, we are made new. We are a people forgiven, called out of darkness into His marvelous light. God is building something beautiful in you and in us together.
In Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Not So Secret Sauce
Mutual Affection/Love
Today's Message: Pastor Dave Page
Scripture Reading: John 15:11-13 - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
John 15:11-13
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
1 Corinthians 13-1-3
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Hey church! We made it. Week six. The final week of our Not So Secret Sauce series. It’s been such a journey walking through 2 Peter 1 with you all, this powerful spiritual recipe for growth and transformation. Peter knew his time was short, and he wanted to leave the early church with a guide not just for survival but for flourishing. Each ingredient builds on the one before it, moving us closer to the heart of God.
Today, we’re talking about the final two ingredients. The capstone of the whole recipe: mutual affection and love.
To get us started, let me take you back to our kitchen, literally. Years ago, Marlee and I signed up for one of those meal kit subscriptions. They’d send a box with pre-measured ingredients and a glossy recipe card, and we’d pretend we were contestants on MasterChef. And it was fun, for a while.
One night, we were making this creamy lemon chicken dish, and I forgot the lemon. Totally skipped it. We plated it up, sat down, took a bite and instantly looked at each other like, “Something is not right.” The chicken was cooked the seasoning was there, but it was missing what brought it to life. Without that one little thing, the dish just fell flat.
That’s how I think of Peter’s final instruction. Without mutual affection and love, everything else in this recipe risks falling flat. We can have all the other ingredients—faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness—but if they aren’t animated by affection and completed by love, we’re missing the flavour of Christ.
Peter doesn’t just say “love” and leave it there. He includes two forms of it. First, he says to add mutual affection – ‘philadelphia’, it’s a noun in Greek. It means brotherly love, the kind of affection that binds siblings, close friends, a church family. It’s relational. It’s warm. It says, “I see you. I care for you. We’re in this together.”
Then Peter says, “And to mutual affection, add love” – ‘agape’. This is divine love. Self-giving. Unconditional. The kind of love that isn’t based on shared history or warm feelings but on choice. On sacrifice.
And here’s what’s beautiful: Peter knew we couldn’t get to agape without first learning how to love our people. Mutual affection is the training ground for agape. It’s where we learn to look beyond ourselves. To care. To listen. To be present.
Today, we want to explore both how mutual affection creates the soil, and how agape love grows up from it like a tree that offers shade to the world.
PART 1: MUTUAL AFFECTION — WHERE LOVE TAKES ROOT
Let’s start with affection.
Think about the best moments in your closest relationships; maybe with a friend, a spouse, a sibling, or someone in your small group. The moments when you felt safe, seen, supported. That’s mutual affection.
It’s not loud. It’s not flashy. It’s the quiet glue that holds community together.
We’ve seen this in our marriage. You’d think love would be all about the big moments—the wedding, the anniversaries, the grand gestures, but so often, it’s the little things that carry us, like when she remembers how I take my coffee. Or when she chooses to laugh at my same three dad jokes. Again.
Affection lives in the ordinary and that’s what makes it sacred. It’s what forms the family-of-God bond that holds the church together.
Mutual affection isn’t just a sweet add-on—it’s essential.
In John 13, Jesus tells his disciples, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” That word is agape, but how does that kind of love become visible? Often, it starts with affection. With shared life. With bearing one another’s burdens. Celebrating each other’s wins. Crying over each other’s losses. Here’s what’s so powerful: mutual affection reminds us that we don’t follow Jesus alone. We’re part of something bigger. A spiritual family.
But Peter doesn’t stop at affection. He calls us to go even further.
PART 2: AGAPE LOVE — WHERE AFFECTION BECOMES SACRIFICE
Point #2 – Real Love Isn’t Cheap
Let’s be honest: affection is beautiful, but sometimes we stop there because it feels safe. We love people who love us back. We’re kind to those who are kind to us. That’s natural but it’s not yet agape.
Agape love costs something.
When Jesus says in John 15, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” he’s not speaking metaphorically. He’s pointing to the cross. To the reality that love gives—even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.
I remember one season when a friend of mine was walking through an incredibly painful loss. It wasn’t convenient to show up for him. I didn’t always have the right words. But what I learned was this: sometimes love isn’t about fixing anything, it’s about refusing to leave. And that’s exactly what Jesus did for us.
Point #3 – Agape Love Is a Choice, Not a Feeling
Jesus didn’t die for us because we earned it. He didn’t say, “Once they get their act together, then I’ll love them.” Romans 5:8 says: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Love chose us first, and what makes agape so transformative is that it’s not dependent on reciprocity. It doesn’t demand a response. It gives freely. We’ve learned this deeply in marriage too. Some days, love looks like romance. Other days, it looks like making dinner even when you’re dead tired, or choosing to forgive even when it’d feel better to hold a grudge.
Agape love doesn’t give up when things get hard. It presses in.
AFFECTION + LOVE = POWERFUL WITNESS
Point #4 – When We Live This Way, the World Takes Notice
A few years ago, I read a story about a tennis match at the French Open. Nicolas Mahut had just lost in a crushing upset. He was emotionally wrecked. Sitting alone on the court, devastated. And then his young son ran up to him and just hugged him. Wrapped his little arms around his dad in front of the world. The whole stadium melted.
Why? Because love showed up. Simple, raw, and unguarded.
When we love like that, not just inside the church, but in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces, it breaks through the noise.
When people ask, “Why are you like this?” we get to say, “Because Jesus was like this with me.”
And that’s the goal. Not to impress people with our spirituality, but to reflect Christ through our love.
As we wrap up not just today’s message, but this whole Not So Secret Sauce series, let’s zoom out and look at what Peter’s been telling us all along.
This list in 2 Peter 1 isn’t just a set of disconnected virtues. It’s not a checklist of spiritual behaviors. It’s a pathway. A journey. And the destination of that journey, the end goal, is love.
Think about it:
- We start with faith—because that’s where all life in Christ begins. Faith in Jesus gives us the foundation.
- Then we add goodness—choosing to reflect God’s character in our decisions.
- Knowledge helps us grow in wisdom and discernment—we stop living by impulse and start living with insight.
- Then we need self-control, because knowing what’s right isn’t enough—we have to actually do it, even when it’s hard.
- From there, we build perseverance—the ability to keep going when we’re tired, when we’re tested, when we want to quit.
- Godliness helps us walk with reverence and integrity, becoming more like Jesus, not just in belief, but in our lifestyle.
- And all of that leads to mutual affection—that family-level connection with other believers. Real community. Real relationships.
But it doesn’t stop there. Peter says we top it all off with love – agape love. The kind of love that moves us beyond comfort, beyond convenience, beyond ourselves. It’s the highest goal and the clearest sign of spiritual maturity.
So, if you’ve been wondering, “Where is this all going?” – it’s going toward love. Every step of this list is a step away from self and a step toward others. It’s a deep transformation, where Jesus shapes us from the inside out.
And now, as we end this series, we want to leave you with two simple but powerful application points. Because spiritual growth isn’t just about hearing, it’s about doing.
Application Point #1 – Practice Love Where It’s Hardest
Think about one relationship or one setting in your life where love doesn’t come easily. Maybe it’s a strained family relationship. A coworker who pushes your buttons. A neighbor who drives you nuts. Don’t wait until you feel like loving them, practice it this week. Write a note. Send a text. Choose grace in a conversation. Forgive. Serve. Show up.
Agape love isn’t about ease, it’s about obedience.
Application Point #2 – Start Where You Are
This whole recipe can feel overwhelming. So maybe the best place for you to start is the next ingredient in the list, not the last one.
Are you stuck on self-control? Are you struggling to persevere? Are you needing to pursue godliness more intentionally? Don’t rush to the top, just take the next faithful step and as you grow in these qualities, love will begin to flow more naturally. Because as you become more like Jesus, you’ll begin to love like Jesus.
Friends, our prayer is that this series has stirred something in you, a hunger to grow, to be changed, to live with deeper purpose. Not just for your own sake, but for the people around you because when we live this way, the world gets to see what Jesus is like, and that is the most powerful witness we can offer.
Let’s be people who don’t just talk about love but actually live it. Every day. In small ways. In costly ways. In real ways.
That’s the Not So Secret Sauce. And it’s the way of Jesus.
Prayer
Let’s pray together.
God, thank You for Your Word today. Thank You for reminding us that we belong to something bigger than ourselves, that You’re building us into something strong and lasting, with Jesus as the cornerstone. We’re grateful that You’re not just building a structure, but a community, a family, rooted in love.
We confess, Lord, that love isn’t always easy. Sometimes we pull away from each other, we judge, we hold grudges, or we just get busy and forget to care well. But You call us to something better: to real, honest, mutual affection. Help us to love one another, not just in words, but in how we show up for each other, how we speak, how we serve, how we forgive.
Thank You for choosing us, even when we feel unworthy or unseen and thank You for choosing others too, the ones sitting beside us, behind us, and all those who are part of this spiritual house You’re building. Teach us to see each other the way You see us: loved, valued, and deeply connected through Christ.
Jesus, You’re the foundation of it all. When things feel shaky, when relationships get hard or life feels uncertain, remind us that we’re anchored in You. You hold us together. So build us up, God; not just as individuals, but as a community. Make this church a place where love is real, where people are known and welcomed, and where Your presence is unmistakable.
We love You, Lord, and we want to follow You more closely. Keep shaping us, keep growing us, and keep binding us together in Your love.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Song
Benediction
As you go, remember this: You are part of something bigger, God is building you, shaping you, and connecting you to others through Jesus, our solid foundation.
So go out in love. Show up for one another. Let your life reflect the grace you’ve received, and may the peace of Christ hold you, the love of God fill you, and the Spirit walk with you every step of the way.
Amen.