A Love That Looks Like the Father
Month 4: The Teacher (Part 1) · Family Worship
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 5:44-48
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons 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. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Memory Verse
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”— Matthew 5:16 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 22-24
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 111 of 365 — David prepares to build the temple and organizes the Levites for worship.)The Heart of It
Today we slow down and worship together. Let's gather up everything Jesus taught us this week on the mountain. He filled God's Word full. He called us to be light. He looked into our angry hearts. He asked for plain honesty. And then He stretched us furthest of all. He said, love your enemies. Now He brings it to a stunning close. "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." That word "perfect" means complete, whole, and grown-up. It is a love that doesn't stop at the easy people. It reaches all the way out, the way the Father's love does. Jesus asks, "If you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" Anyone can love their own little circle. But the family of God is called to a wider, fuller love.
This is family-worship day, so let it land on all of us together. We can't make this kind of love by trying harder. It is the very heart of the Father. His Spirit grows it in us as we stay close to Jesus (). So today we don't just talk about love that looks like the Father. We ask Him for it. We sing. We pray. We name the people who are hard to love. And we invite the Holy Spirit to make us more like our heavenly Dad. The blessed life Jesus described back in the Beatitudes is coming true in us, little by little. Not because we are impressive, but because the Father is. His life is growing in His children.
Around the Table
God loves everybody, even people who don't love Him back. And He wants to help our family love big, just like He does!
Let's do it: Sing a worship song you know. Then go around and have each person name one person they will love and pray for this week.
"Be perfect like your Father" means we grow up into His kind of love. It is a complete love that reaches out, not just a love for the people who love us.
Let's talk: What's one way our whole family could show "Father-sized" love to someone outside our home this week?
"Perfect" here means grown-up and whole. It is a love as wide as the Father's, and He blesses friend and foe alike. We grow into it by staying close to Christ.
Let's go deeper: How does staying close to Jesus actually change what we are able to do? How is that different from just deciding to try harder?
💬 Conversation Starter
What if our family had a "love challenge" this week? One bold act of kindness to someone who could never pay us back. What would we do?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
"Be perfect" sounds crushing at first. But it isn't a test we pass alone. It's a goal we grow toward in God's strength. Jesus calls us higher, and He gives us the power to climb. That mix of a high standard and real grace is the signature of the true gospel ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Don't let "be perfect" become a whip in your home. The word (Greek teleios) means complete or mature, pointing toward a goal. It describes the direction a child of God is heading. It is not flawless performance demanded on pain of rejection. This matters pastorally. Your kids will fail this week, and so will you, and the answer is never despair or pretending. The answer is abiding (). It means staying connected to Jesus so His sap of grace keeps flowing into the branches. As you lead family worship, model dependence over self-effort. Confess where you fall short of this Father-love. Thank God for His patience. Ask the Spirit together to grow you. A father who runs to grace teaches his children to do the same. That, more than any lecture, forms disciples.
Draws on: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, You love everyone, even those who turn away. Grow Your big love in our family by Your Spirit. Keep us close to Jesus, so we can love like You do. Thank You for being so patient with us. In Jesus' name, amen."
The Father's love reaches everyone. And as I stay close to Jesus, that same love grows in me.