Date Posted: 2025-12-04 23:43:56 | Video Duration: 00:19:17
At Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, the spirit of community and love takes center stage, particularly during the Advent season. This week’s sermon weaves together personal anecdotes, profound scripture, and gentle challenges to invite us all to embody a love that transcends family ties and reaches into the heart of our communities.
The sermon opens with a touching story shared by a church member about his granddaughter who skillfully incorporated the word “po” into their Thanksgiving blessing, reflecting the church’s year-long theme of love impacting even the youngest. This simple yet profound act sets the stage for the sermon’s exploration of the Greek concept of “storgē,” a familial love that binds people across time and space.
Drawing from the Apostle Paul’s words in Romans, “Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor,” the speaker emphasizes the power of genuine love (Romans 12:9-10). This call to love authentically and honorably resonates throughout the sermon, urging the congregation to foster relationships that mirror the unconditional love God shows us.
The sermon takes us to a Thanksgiving gathering, where the absence of loved ones, including the speaker’s mother-in-law, Lil, is keenly felt. Yet, amidst the grief, the presence of love is palpable. A poignant moment unfolds when a stranger named Kathy offers a prayer to Jamie and Laura, who are mourning the recent loss of Jamie’s mother. Kathy’s simple act of kindness becomes a testament to the storgē that Paul describes—a love that binds us in our shared humanity, transcending the boundaries of blood and familiarity.
The speaker shares a personal experience at a gas station, where a woman, perhaps unknowingly embodying Kathy’s spirit, offers a bag of snacks and drinks to a man in need. This act of compassion highlights the sermon’s message that storgē—love that requires no reason, only the recognition of shared humanity—can and does exist in everyday encounters.
Throughout the Advent season, the church invites its members to practice this form of love, encouraging them to be someone’s “Kathy” by noticing those who need to be seen and offering the steady, familial love of storgē. The challenge extends to capturing these moments of love with a photograph, serving as a reminder of the love that surrounds us and the love we are called to share.
The sermon concludes with a heartfelt prayer, asking for God’s help to see the love that envelops us and to become vessels of that love, transforming strangers into family. As we journey through Advent, may we embrace this invitation to let love be genuine, to honor others, and to recognize that, indeed, love is all around us.
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