This is the third message in our “Throughline” series. Last week, Pastor Kevin introduced what he thinks is the throughline of God, the core character of God. It comes from 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Everything about God stems, begins, and is rooted in love. How we understand that love is Jesus Christ, the full and complete revelation of God and who God is. The self-sacrificing, other oriented cross-like love seen in the cross. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 to be imitators of God. We can’t see God, but Jesus says that if we see then we see God. We are to imitate Jesus. Everything about us is to stem from and begin with love. God’s love is to be our throughline and every action, word, and thought we have is supposed to branch off the throughline of love.

In this message, Pastor speaks about how prayer is one of the things that is supposed to branch off the throughline of love. He spoke on the importance of prayer, emphasizing that prayer should be both solitary and communal. He shared personal struggles with maintaining a consistent prayer life and used the analogy of playing solitaire to illustrate how prayer can sometimes become an isolating activity. Kevin argued that prayer becomes more meaningful when shared with others, citing biblical examples of Jesus and Paul praying in community. He outlined three guidelines for communal prayer: gathering in the name of Jesus, focusing on Jesus rather than problems, and recognizing the power of collective prayer. Kevin emphasized that prayer with others can provide perspective, challenge individual prayers, and help maintain focus on Christ’s presence. He concluded that living and praying with others in a self-sacrificial, other-oriented way brings richer blessings and a deeper experience of faith.