May 10, 2026
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC
I wonder how many of us who saw this sermon title have this song playing on an endless loop in our heads right now.
“What the world needs now. Is love sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”
It’s such a simple melody that even I can sing it!
It’s a song that was written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach and was sung by (DeeAhn) Dionne Warwick back in 1965. And what is so amazing about this song is that they didn’t think it would be well received, but it made it all the way up to #7 on the record chart that year.
And the reason they didn’t think the song was going to be a hit is because it was written during the Vietnam War era which was dividing our country at the time. The lyrics could easily be heard as anti-war and unpatriotic.
The popularity of this song just goes to show how much the world is longing for their to be more love despite our many disagreements and differences. Love is a universal language. This song came to my mind as I was reading over our appointed scripture readings for today because they both are appealing to our universal desire for their to be more love in our world.
In our Gospel reading, Jesus is preparing his disciples for when he would be leaving them. Of course they don’t fully understand that Jesus is referring to when he will be dying on a cross and then rising to new life. So, Jesus is offering this long farewell discourse to them, to not only instruct them but to also comfort them.
Jesus uses the word, “love” several times in our Gospel reading for today. He says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.”
And then a couple verses later, he tells them, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”
Jesus isn’t just telling the disciples to follow all of his teachings and commandments. He is using this time to remind them why it’s important to follow all of his teachings and commandments. These commandments help us to remember that the whole point of being a disciple of Jesus is to know that we are loved by God, that we are to love God, and that we are to love others with God’s love.
Another way to put it is that we are each called to have a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith. We grow in having a Loving Faith by loving God and others with our hearts through Sunday worship and through our fellowship together.
We grow in having a Learning Faith by learning more about God and our faith with our minds by reading our bibles and books about the bible. Quick little note here – when you read a book about the bible, make sure that it is based on well respected bible scholars and authors.
And we also grow in having a Living Faith in the way that we live out our faith by serving others with our hands through service and outreach and living out our membership vows in offering to God our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness.
All of this is what helps us to be disciples of Jesus. We are called to be growing in what it means to have a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith.
Jesus is encouraging his disciples to keep loving, keep learning, and keep living out their faith even after he will be leaving them. And notice that Jesus also tells them that they will not be alone even after he leaves them. He will be sending them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit who will continue to help them to grow in being the loving people that he has called them to be.
We are never done growing in our faith. I think this is what Jesus is trying to get across to the disciples. It is a lifelong journey in becoming more and more like Jesus.
This reminds me of the old joke of the three pastors who met for lunch one day. The one pastor goes off about his problem with bats at his church. “I’ve tried everything to get rid of them, they just won’t leave.”
The second pastor added, “We have a similar problem at our church. We’ve tried cats, sprays, noise, light. They just won’t go away.”
The third pastor says, “Well, this is what worked at our church. I baptized them and confirmed them, and I haven’t seen them since!”
This old joke reminds us in a cynical kind of way that our faith doesn’t end when we are baptized or become members of a church. That’s only the beginning of our walk with Jesus.
As much as I loved my 3rd grade Sunday School teacher, I can’t imagine what my faith would be like if my faith stayed at a 3rd grade level. And actually, it would have been a disservice to my 3rd grade Sunday School teacher if I felt that what I learned in the 3rd grade was all I needed for the rest of my life.
I also needed other mentors, and pastors, and friends, and family members to continue to guide me in my faith through my youth and college years, and into my adult years. I needed more spiritual faith formation groups to help shape me and encourage me along the way.
I needed bible studies that would challenge my theological assumptions. I needed to hear other Christian voices who I didn’t know even existed who helped me see the scriptures through other lenses of faith rather than simply through my limited perspectives and experiences as important as they are.
The Holy Spirit is who will help us to continue to discover, explore, ask questions, and rethink our faith throughout our lifetime. We are never done growing in what it means to have a Loving Faith, a Learning Faith, and a Living Faith.
It’s this willingness to be a lifelong learner that helps us to love Jesus more and more every single day. And the more that we love Jesus, the more that we will also share God’s love with those around us.
On this Mother’s Day, I think of my mom who passed away in 2012. I definitely get a lot of my faith from her. She set the example in our household in what it means to have a loving faith, a learning faith, and a living faith.
My mom started out as a beautician and she and my aunt had their own beauty shop. My mom was our barber at home as well. My favorite memory was when my mom would have me sit in a chair, put the barber cape on me, and cut my hair.
I think my mom and I had the best mother/son conversations during those haircuts. We would talk about family and friends, about school, and about our faith. I could talk to mom about anything during those times sitting in that chair while trying to be completely still for 30 minutes.
This memory of my mom reminds me that when we take time for each other and listen, really listen to each other and share our struggles, our joys, our hopes, our dreams, our questions, and our doubts is one of the most loving things we can do for each other. It’s how we can grow in having a more loving faith.
Christian singer, Amy Grant has shared how her faith in Christ has grown and matured over the years.
Whenever she approaches the bible and how to understand it and apply it in her life, she uses this little prayer as a guide, “Jesus - you just narrowed it down to two things: love God & love each other.”
And this brings us back to what I said earlier in the sermon. The whole point of being a disciple of Jesus is to know that we are loved by God, that we are to love God, and that we are to love others with God’s love. And that’s a good thing because…
“What the world needs now more than ever is love sweet love.”
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