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Summit Church
Not Good Pt 4 | All You Need is Love | Jim Ladd
Locations & Times
Summit Church
7200 S Clinton St, Centennial, CO 80112, USA
Sunday 10:00 AM
God desires that our relationships offer Covenant, Not Transactional Consumption and score keeping.
Most of us live in a world made up of transactional relationships.
We give, but we keep score. We help, but we stay guarded. We love, but we protect ourselves — because deep down we’re not sure anyone will really take care of us. And the hardest part of being a servant is when people treat you like one.
We give, but we keep score. We help, but we stay guarded. We love, but we protect ourselves — because deep down we’re not sure anyone will really take care of us. And the hardest part of being a servant is when people treat you like one.
But the gospel announces something different:
God has entered into covenant with us. He has bound Himself to us in Christ, not because we earned it, but because He is faithful.
God has entered into covenant with us. He has bound Himself to us in Christ, not because we earned it, but because He is faithful.
And when you know God holds you like that, it changes how you hold other people. You can stop calculating. You can start loving.
Today I want us to see how the gospel creates a people who love deeply inside the church and loves fearlessly outside it.
As always - marriage is the highest model of this ideal. The two become one flesh - not two boards, nailed and glued together, but two metals melted and hardened into one - impossible to separate ever again.
Two colors of sand, poured into one glass vessel at the wedding, etc.
Two colors of sand, poured into one glass vessel at the wedding, etc.
The Big Idea: True love is covenantal, not transactional.
God's love never fails - ours doesn't have to either. He wants us to offer one another what He has freely given us - love that is too stubborn to quit.
God offers and prescribes love as non-calculating, enduring, and rooted in commitment, not exchange.
God offers and prescribes love as non-calculating, enduring, and rooted in commitment, not exchange.
1 John 4:7-12; 21
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”
John 13:1-18; 34-35
“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’”
““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.””
“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’”
““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.””
Your Relational Strategy
1. Live in God's Love
How being loved by God changes everything
That is why transactional living can end
How Jesus washed their feet and how He calls us to leadership.
God’s Covenant Love Secures Us.
Walking on marbles and banana peels, rather than the solid rock of Christ.
House built on sand vs rock - When people huff and puff, they can blow your house down.
1. Live in God's Love
How being loved by God changes everything
That is why transactional living can end
How Jesus washed their feet and how He calls us to leadership.
God’s Covenant Love Secures Us.
Walking on marbles and banana peels, rather than the solid rock of Christ.
House built on sand vs rock - When people huff and puff, they can blow your house down.
Romans 8:31–39 (what can separate us from the love of God?)
* The gospel isn’t a contract — it’s a covenant
* Christ didn’t love us after we proved worthy
* God’s faithfulness, not our performance, is our security
Transactional relationships grow out of fear.
Covenant love grows out of security.
* The gospel isn’t a contract — it’s a covenant
* Christ didn’t love us after we proved worthy
* God’s faithfulness, not our performance, is our security
Transactional relationships grow out of fear.
Covenant love grows out of security.
We don't need people to secure our future - God already has.
You don’t have to protect yourself with people when God has already secured you in Christ.
You don’t have to protect yourself with people when God has already secured you in Christ.
Philippians 2:1-11
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
2. Live in God's Love With God's People
Covenant Love Creates a Family.
1 John 3:16 - “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
Covenant Love Creates a Family.
1 John 3:16 - “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
The church isn’t just a gathering — it’s a covenant people.
So we:
* bear burdens
* forgive repeatedly
* give without calculating
* stay when it’s costly
This is where the gospel becomes visible.
The world should see relationships here that don’t make sense apart from Christ.
The church is where we stop keeping score because Christ already settled it.
So we:
* bear burdens
* forgive repeatedly
* give without calculating
* stay when it’s costly
This is where the gospel becomes visible.
The world should see relationships here that don’t make sense apart from Christ.
The church is where we stop keeping score because Christ already settled it.
3. Offer God's Love to the World.
Covenant Love Overflows Into Mission.
how this love reaches the world (at great personal cost)
Matthew 5:43–48,
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Covenant Love Overflows Into Mission.
how this love reaches the world (at great personal cost)
Matthew 5:43–48,
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-8a
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love 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 is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love 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 is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
So we:
* are patient
* are kind
* do not boast
* are not proud/arrogant
* do not dishonor others
* are not self-seeking
* are not easily angered
* keep no record of wrongs
* do not delight in evil (suffering of our enemies)
* rejoice with the truth
* protect
* Hope
* Persevere
* Never fail
Covenant security produces fearless witness.
We love the church as family, and we love the world as our mission.
* are patient
* are kind
* do not boast
* are not proud/arrogant
* do not dishonor others
* are not self-seeking
* are not easily angered
* keep no record of wrongs
* do not delight in evil (suffering of our enemies)
* rejoice with the truth
* protect
* Hope
* Persevere
* Never fail
Covenant security produces fearless witness.
We love the church as family, and we love the world as our mission.
Because God has bound Himself to us in covenant, we can love the church with commitment and the world without fear.
Response:
- Live in God's Love
- Live in God's Love with your brothers and sisters
- Offer God's Love to the World at great personal cost.
Response:
- Live in God's Love
- Live in God's Love with your brothers and sisters
- Offer God's Love to the World at great personal cost.
Discussion Guide
All You Need is Love — Covenant, Not Transaction
Icebreaker Questions
1. What’s one relationship in your life that has shaped how you understand love — for better or worse?
2. When you hear the word commitment, in the context of relationships, do you feel comforted or pressured? Why?
3. Have you ever experienced someone loving you in a way that felt undeserved or surprising?
Discussion Questions
1. Most relationships in our world are transactional. Where do you see that most clearly in everyday life?
2. Fear and distrust often drives transactional love. What are we afraid of?
3. In 1 John 4, what stands out to you about how God defines love?
4. Romans 8 says nothing can separate us from God’s love. Where do you personally struggle to believe that?
5. What could change in your relationships if you really believed your future is already secure in Christ?
6. In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet — even Judas’. What does that teach us about covenant love?
7. What would it look like for our church to become a place where people truly stop keeping score?
8. Jesus commands us to love enemies. What makes this command so difficult in real life? Have you ever successfully practiced it? Tell us about it.
9. How does covenant security in God make it possible to love people who may never love us back?
10. Looking at 1 Corinthians 13, which description of love do you most want God to grow in you right now — and why?
Invite each person to finish one of these sentences:
* “This week I want to receive God’s love by…”
* “This week I want to show covenant love in my church by…”
* “This week I want to offer God’s love to someone outside the church by…”
Icebreaker Questions
1. What’s one relationship in your life that has shaped how you understand love — for better or worse?
2. When you hear the word commitment, in the context of relationships, do you feel comforted or pressured? Why?
3. Have you ever experienced someone loving you in a way that felt undeserved or surprising?
Discussion Questions
1. Most relationships in our world are transactional. Where do you see that most clearly in everyday life?
2. Fear and distrust often drives transactional love. What are we afraid of?
3. In 1 John 4, what stands out to you about how God defines love?
4. Romans 8 says nothing can separate us from God’s love. Where do you personally struggle to believe that?
5. What could change in your relationships if you really believed your future is already secure in Christ?
6. In John 13, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet — even Judas’. What does that teach us about covenant love?
7. What would it look like for our church to become a place where people truly stop keeping score?
8. Jesus commands us to love enemies. What makes this command so difficult in real life? Have you ever successfully practiced it? Tell us about it.
9. How does covenant security in God make it possible to love people who may never love us back?
10. Looking at 1 Corinthians 13, which description of love do you most want God to grow in you right now — and why?
Invite each person to finish one of these sentences:
* “This week I want to receive God’s love by…”
* “This week I want to show covenant love in my church by…”
* “This week I want to offer God’s love to someone outside the church by…”