1. God’s Heart

2. God loves us
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. John 3:16
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ Ephesians 2:4-5
He will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1

3. Our response to God’s love
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this:
‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater
than these.”
Mark 12:29-31

4. Our response to God’s love
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:19-21

5. God’s heart: Justice with love
Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”
Luke 4:17-21

6. God’s heart: Justice with love
Major theme throughout the Bible: A few of the many verses:
Leviticus 25:35-38
Psalm 82:3
Proverbs 22:22-23
Zechariah 7:9
Matthew 19:21
Luke 3:10-11
Luke 11:41
1 John 3:17

7. God’s heart: Justice with love
Statistics
42 verses on ‘preach/preaching’
3 on evangelism
Total: 45
183 verses on ‘poor’ or ‘poorest’
134 on justice
Total: 327

8. God’s heart: Justice with love
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.  To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 
Mark 29:32-34

9. God’s heart: Justice with love
Take a minute now just to think about all the Church and Christian activities that you're involved in.
Allow God to sift through them, considering which are outpourings of love or possibly whether some are merely ‘burnt offerings’.

10. God’s heart: Justice with love
“I can’t stand your religious meetings.   I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects,     your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes,    your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.    When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?    I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it.    That’s what I want. That’s all I want.
Amos 5:21-24

11. God’s heart: Justice with love
Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
James 1:27

12. God’s heart: Justice with love
Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? 
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
James 2: 17,19-20

13. God’s heart: Justice with love
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbour,  be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously —  take God seriously.
Micah 6:8
What are you waiting for? Return to your God! Commit yourself in love, in justice! Wait for your God, and don’t give up on him—ever!
Hosea 12:6

14. It’s serious
‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat’
They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
Matthew 25:41-42, 44-45

15. God’s Heart of love and Justice
God loves us
He has lavished his love on us
Our response to God’s love
Two greatest commandments: Love God and each other
God’s heart: Justice with love
More important than ‘burnt offerings’
It’s serious: He’s serious about this
Where’s he breaking your heart for what breaks his?

16. It’s serious: we need to act
Spend five minutes praying: “Break my heart for what breaks yours”
What injustice has God put on your heart specifically?
What situation do you look at and think “I cannot stand back and watch this happen without doing something”?
Or if he’s already broken your heart for a specific situation:
Spend this time asking God to continue breaking your heart and to come alongside you to guide you

17. It’s serious: we need to act
Commitment to God: write on a post-it note your response and bring it to the front of church
Accountability: share what you wrote with one person, pray and hold them accountable
This week:
Pray about how God wants us to act, research and talk to others with knowledge about the issue
If you are already acting on a specific issue:
Recommit yourself to justice on this issue and allow God to refresh you, give you new strength and understanding
….. so we can properly do justice with love