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NewChurch Live

The Love that Finds Us

·56 min·5 clips
Jesus washes his disciples' feet on the night before his crucifixion, defying expectations of vengeance.
The episode begins with Pastor Chuck Blair welcoming the audience and introducing the Easter series, framing life as blessed, broken, and shared. He poses the central question: 'How does love find us?' and critiques the common view of God's love as merely nostalgic, referencing C.S. Lewis's idea of its fierceness. Blair discusses the challenge of finding God not only in mountaintop experiences but in the valleys of daily life, quoting Carl Jung: 'Modern man can't see God because he doesn't look low enough.' He invites the audience to share names of people who truly loved them, which he later reads aloud. The theological foundation is laid with passages from John 3 and Swedenborgian theology, emphasizing that God's love is universal and specific, and that loving and giving are inseparable. Blair delves into the purpose of God's love, listing creation, joy, celebration, service, connection, and healing. The narrative shifts to the Easter story, focusing on Palm Sunday and the Last Supper. He describes Jesus's actions on the night before his crucifixion, highlighting the washing of the disciples' feet as a counterintuitive act of love and humility. A video clip from 'The Chosen' is referenced to dramatize this moment, showing Peter's initial resistance and Jesus's insistence on trust. Blair reflects on faith as a map rather than a golden ticket, urging listeners to let love in through practical acts. He reads audience responses about loved ones, such as a dad's unconditional love after adoption, to illustrate love's impact. The episode concludes with a prayer, the Our Father, and a final song, reinforcing the message to allow God's love to find and transform us.

As heard by us

An Easter sermon considers what love demands when anger and vengeance are close at hand.

Easter is framed as a meditation on life as blessed, broken, and shared. The episode opens with the question of how love reaches people, then moves toward a more demanding idea: receiving God's love without letting it become only a memory or seasonal comfort.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when you need Easter to ask what love does with anger, vengeance, and dusty feet.

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