Patricia King - Cancel Culture In The Church

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Summary

I wanted to share a few takeaways from this Sunday's message. It was a tough but necessary look at how "cancel culture" has started to creep into our churches. The main point was that while the world uses public shaming to silence people, that’s not the path Jesus showed us. The enemy loves to use our political or prophetic differences to spark disunity, and honestly, we’ve been falling for it.

The preacher made a great point about the difference between worldly "canceling" and biblical accountability. In the world, it's about ostracizing people. But according to Luke 12 and Matthew 18, if there's an issue, we’re supposed to deal with it privately first, aiming for restoration—not destruction.

One thing that really stuck with me was the analogy of an autoimmune disease. When we attack each other over election results or prophetic disagreements, the church is basically attacking its own body, leaving us too weak to do what we’re called to do. True "canceling" should only be a last resort for blatant, unrepentant sin after every effort to help has failed.

In the end, it all comes back to Colossians 3:14—putting on love as the "perfect bond." We need to get back to discerning the body rightly and setting healthy, loving boundaries instead of just cutting people off. I left feeling challenged to repent of my own unloving attitudes and to really focus on that unity Jesus prayed for in John 17..

Valentine's Day Greeting and Bob Jones Story
Wow, what a great day to be born on—right on Valentine’s Day! Just a reminder of God’s love every single year that you celebrate your birthday. I love it!

Robert Docey and I were just sharing a little bit of interaction earlier about Bob Jones, the prophet Bob Jones, who actually passed on February 14, 2014. It was really a great story because he had actually died years or decades previously, and the Lord sent him back; he was resurrected.

The Lord sent him back because he had not learned to love, and so his mission in going back was to learn to love. He testified himself that prior to that encounter, he was not a good husband; he had been really mean to his wife, cranky with a lot of people, and selfish. He testified to those things himself.

But he came back, and he learned to love; he had the fear of the Lord on him. For any of you who knew him, he was definitely a man of great love. He exuded love, and he got taken home on Valentine’s Day, which I think was the Lord’s kiss on him saying, «You passed your love test.» It was just so beautiful.

So, happy Valentine’s Day to all of you! Remembering the Lord’s love today and always, of course. But I know that many of you are planning things with your family and your loved ones, and Jesus, He is the lover of your soul; He’ll always be your Valentine. So He has special things for you today.

Opening Prayer

Father, we just pray today for this message. It is a message of love and unity, calling us into your heart for such a time as this, in the midst of a time when we see so much division and turmoil in the body, so many moments of crisis in relationships.

Lord, we ask that you would fill us today with your heart, with your love, and with your truth, helping us to stand in Jesus' name. Amen.

Cancel Culture in the Church
I want to share a message today about cancel culture in the church. It doesn’t sound like a Valentine’s message, but I will bring it around, okay?

Of course, cancel culture is a term being used a lot right now. In Wikipedia, it is defined as this: cancel culture, also known as calling out, is a modern form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles—either online, on social media, in the real world, or both.

Those who are subject to this ostracism are said to be 'canceled.' Merriam-Webster notes that to cancel, as used in this context, means to stop giving support to that person.

In Dictionary.com, in its pop culture dictionary, it defines cancel culture as withdrawing support for, or canceling, public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.

The notion of cancel culture is a form of boycotting involving an individual, usually a celebrity, who is deemed to have acted or spoken in a questionable or controversial manner. For those at the receiving end of cancel culture, the consequences can lead to loss of reputation and income that can be hard to recover from.

So this is very big right now; you hear it all the time.

Is Canceling Scriptural?
Before we go too deep into this, we need to discover through Scripture if canceling, or being called out, is scriptural. We always want to take everything to the Word.

We’re dealing with so many things right now; there’s just so much happening. Our life has changed in the last year, so everything’s different. Society is different; the way people treat each other is different. Everything is in a change, and that’s why we need to go to the Word and find out what it says because the Word is our manual; it’s our handbook for life.

We will learn through the Word how to walk in any given time of mankind’s history.

Is canceling scriptural? Now, the cancel culture is founded in exposure; it’s actually founded in exposure. They will expose an injustice, for example, and then cancel the injustice.

We see in Luke 12:2-3 where Jesus said, «Everything hidden and covered up will soon be exposed, for the facade is coming down and nothing will be kept secret for long. Whatever you have spoken in private will be public knowledge, and what you have whispered secretly behind closed doors will be broadcast far and wide.»

The word «broadcast» is a big word for us right now, isn’t it? Because of social media, broadcast far and wide for all to hear. We see this within Scripture, but it needs to be put in the right context, used in the right way, in a biblical way, with the heart of God in it.

By the way, we have been praying for over a year now for exposure of injustices that need to be brought to light, and we’re going to continue to pray for that.

But I’m going to give you a little heads up: I know that many are expecting exposure for their area; they feel in their spirit that there needs to be exposure. But it’s going to be all around; it’s not just going to be one side; everything is going to be exposed.

So it’s a really good time to just check our own hearts before the Lord and say, «Lord, expose in me anything that needs to be exposed because I’m going to bring it to you, get it dissolved in your blood, and deal with it face to face with you, Lord.» Because eventually everything’s going to get exposed.

So when we go before the Lord and take care of it privately, then it doesn’t become public.

Positive Aspects of Cancel Culture
Okay, so let’s take a look at examples of cancel culture today. One of the most predominant ones, or where it gained a lot of fuel, was in the Me Too movement.

People like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and R. Kelly were canceled by the public before their sex crime trials. In these cases, there had been threats to individual victims and cover-ups over the years that hindered justice for the individuals and allowed a continuation of the abuse.

The canceling or calling out by many victims over social media and mainstream secular news media is what actually pressured the justice system to bring just verdicts in these cases. The public canceling before the trial kept the case from being swept under the carpet.

So you can see how in these ways, cancel culture is very advantageous in the situations of justice.

Unfortunately, we’ve been seeing canceling in action recently with church and ministry leaders who have operated in ungodly and undisciplined, unrestrained abuses of sexuality, power, and financial stewardship.

After private confrontations have taken place for years previously, those things are right out in the headlines for us to see. There’s been a lot recently that we’ve seen brought out in the headlines, but those situations had been going on for years before, and then it started coming more into the public and being shouted out by victims.

Demonic Exploitation of Canceling
We also need to understand before we go too much further that there is a demonic spirit that is using canceling, or calling out, to cause harm and bring disunity in the body.

Even though there are some great applications of cancel culture—important applications as far as justice go—we need to be very discerning right now because there’s a demonic spirit using canceling to cause harm, and it is running rampant.

We need to look at this; I’ll give you a few current examples.

Number one: a number of believers have had very strong beliefs, believing it comes from the Lord, that Trump is the actual president of the United States following the November 3rd election, the January 6th confirmation, and the inauguration.

They actually have a right to believe that if they want, and I don’t think any of us should condemn anyone for believing what they believe God has spoken to them. I mean, time will tell because there are some aspects of it, some of the prophetic applications, that were saying certain things would happen on a certain date.

For example, those things have come and gone, so we just have to discern that as not being accurate in the Lord. But there are still some believing on a more general level that certain things are going to happen, so they have a right to believe that. We shouldn’t necessarily come against it.

I like cheering on people’s faith, okay? If they have faith, even if I don’t share the same faith, if they believe that God really spoke it to them, I want to cheer that on.

But a number in that group have viciously canceled those who do not believe the same as they do, and you can see this especially on social media. That is where I believe the enemy is getting in, and we need discernment on this because we do not want the enemy to tear the body apart, especially on political issues.

You know, definitely, political issues should not be tearing the body apart.

Division in the Prophetic Movement
In another example, we see in the prophetic movement that there has been a lot addressed, and the Lord needs to clean up the movement; we shouldn’t shun that.

You don’t need three dreams and a vision to prove to you that the prophetic movement needs some help. There has been some error in it; there has been some distortion in even the way prophetic words are being brought—not in love, but in anger.

There are all kinds of things that need to be cleaned up, and that’s not a bad thing; that’s a good thing that we’re acknowledging it needs to be cleaned up. Because when we clean it up, when we bring alignment, we’ll have a much stronger prophetic movement.

So we’ve got a couple of cancelings happening. On one side, we’ve got a group in the church canceling the validity of prophetic ministry today. They’re out there on the internet canceling, saying, «I’m never going to have a prophet again in my church. I’m done with prophets.» They’re canceling prophetic ministry, and I don’t believe that’s what God wants for us.

But on the other side, when prophets are trying to make things right and they come in humility, saying, «God spoke to my heart and told me I was in the wrong and, because I prophesied publicly, I need to repent publicly,» they’re getting slammed for repenting and trying to clean up the mess.

We’ve got all this going on, and the devil’s having a heyday, sending a spirit to bring contention and division in the body instead of love and unity. It seems all to be on political or religious views.

Jesus said to be aware of two leavens: the leaven of the Pharisees, which represents a religious structure, and the other one was political—Herod. We need to stay together, church! We need to love each other; we need to not be divided on these issues because there’s probably a little bit of truth in it all.

Listening to One Another
I’ve always said throughout this whole process lately that when everyone’s carrying a little piece of a puzzle—if you’ve ever worked on a jigsaw puzzle, you know that there are tiny little pieces, and they all look different from one another.

Some of them are fairly similar, but different, right? You have to connect the right piece in the right place, or it won’t form the bigger picture.

I believe that’s probably, for the most part—although there are some little chiseled edges we need to take care of and get rid of some of the absolutely wrong stuff—everyone’s carrying something of the truth, and we need to find out how all those pieces go together.

Therefore, we need to listen to one another; we need to open our hearts to one another and not get agitated or quick-tempered. We need to sit back and listen, ask questions, and look at the bigger picture.

That’s how trials work, by the way. In a trial, you listen to the whole case. There’s a reason why you listen to the whole case: the prosecuting attorneys and the defending attorneys come from a different perspective. All the evidence needs to be looked at in coming to a final verdict. We need to do the same; we need to listen to one another.

I want to give an example; it was interesting because I want to hear all the voices. I might not agree with everything everyone says, but I like hearing all the voices.

I think if there is a man or woman of God who is walking close to the Lord, who loves the Word, who is walking in integrity, and being true to their calling, even if they feel a little bit different from me in some ways, I want to listen to what they’re saying.

I think it’s healthy for us to acknowledge that we’re not all liver cells, we’re not all heart cells, and we’re not all finger cells. We are a body that is different from one another with different functions, but each part of the body is really important.

We need to come together; we need to listen to one another.

Personal Experience with Canceling
I posted a video of someone—happened to be a prophet—who had repented before the people because the Lord told him to. He had made a mistake; he had crossed the line with the Lord, and the Lord was holding him to account.

He got up in front of the people and made a public statement, and he did a video on it. I appreciated the explanation he gave and the humility he walked in.

Because, understand, when a person in a high-profile position—meaning they have a lot of influence—makes a mistake, there’s a lot more cleanup to do than in a small area.

So there’s a responsibility that needs to be taken. If the people kick back, which they usually do, that individual will know for sure that if they go and make a public apology, they are going to lose supporters, lose friends, lose followers, and be ridiculed.

Every person’s opinion will go into attack mode or pro mode. Either way, they’re going to get attention they do not want. For the body to think a person would set that up to build their ministry is ridiculous.

This particular person had thousands of people say, «Okay, I’m canceling you. I’m not going to be your partner anymore; I’m not going to be your friend anymore; I’m not going to be your follower anymore.»

Tens of thousands of people dropped off social media because they didn’t like him anymore because he was repenting publicly for what the Lord convicted him of. So there was a lot of canceling going on.

I posted his video because I thought it was so good. I posted it around midnight, and by five o’clock the next morning, I had over 665 negative comments.

The people who were going to cancel me were going to cancel me because I was posting something—this man’s confession and explanation of why he repented.

I thought, «Whoa, this is very interesting.» In fact, there were a couple of comments that were especially intriguing to me because they said, «Patricia, I have followed you for years.»

One of them said over 12 years, and the other one over 20 years. These are two that I remember. They said, «You have been such a blessing in my life, and you have been a real spiritual mentor to me. You have really helped me grow.»

But, because you put up this video, I’m canceling you. That’s it; I’m finished with you.» That was only two of them. There were others too.

I’m thinking, «Am I reading this correctly? Is this really happening? You would cancel relationship, cancel honor, and cancel connection because of something you disagree with?»

Is there not an opportunity for us to come together and communicate our hearts, to listen to one another freely? Or is it that we would be so given to our dogma that we would cancel everyone who’s different?

I want to give a warning from the Lord on this: I think we’re going to be pretty shocked in the future to see what actually gets exposed. Christians, we better find ourselves in the Lord, not inside a political party. Find yourself in the Lord, not in a political agenda.

Canceling Children and Calling In
We see these kinds of things going on, and it’s like the devil’s having a heyday. Another example is our children in the schoolyard; our children are being canceled for their faith.

They’ll talk about Jesus being Lord, and they’ll freely share, «Jesus is my savior,» but they’ll be canceled by other children for believing in Jesus.

They’re not even free at a very young age to declare who they are and what they believe, and they’re learning how to keep their mouths shut and be afraid of other people’s opinions because they don’t want to be canceled.

They don’t want to be canceled and rejected and thrown out. Church, we’ve got a job to do because our job is to help people know how accepted and loved they are, and how cared for they are. That is where the church should be.

If we can’t do it ourselves as adults, how are we ever going to protect our children, who are being a target of the enemy in this hour? We need to take a good look at this.

Now, there needs to be a calling in, which is another phrase that’s being used now—calling in before calling out. The definition of calling in is this: speaking to an individual privately about their perceived harmful or problematic actions or opinions.

There we go! Instead of blasting it all over social media and making judgments against people, we go to them privately and say, «You know, I’m very concerned about your beliefs, your issues, your sin, or whatever.» We go to them.

That’s out of Matthew 18:15–17, where it says, «Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.»

«But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church; but if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.»

Biblical Boundaries and Separation
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Paul wrote, «I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.»

«Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters. Since then, you would need to go out of the world.»

«But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner.»

And in another portion of Scripture, it says, «Those who cause division—not even to eat with such a person! For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But to those who are outside, God judges. Therefore, put away from yourselves the evil person.»

So there is a canceling; there is a cancel culture, so to speak, that is backed up by the Word when evil is hurting people—but it’s just not, «I’m deciding you’re out of here.»

It is through a process where you go to that person, you work it through, you confront them with their sin, offer help, offer support, and then if they don’t listen, you take more with you.

If that doesn’t happen, then it goes before the church, and eventually, if there’s no safety for the church, then they do have to go out for a season until they can come back in with the right spirit. That’s just what the Scripture says.

There might be times when we have to establish boundaries even in our personal life. You might have to establish some boundaries in your personal life; God did, you know, in the garden when Adam and Eve transgressed.

He had to put them out. He put them out, and then He built a wall or a boundary so that they couldn’t get back in, okay? For that season, until Christ came to redeem us, they had to have a boundary so that they couldn’t get back in because of their behavior.

Sometimes you might have to put a little boundary around yourself temporarily—not because you want to be mean or angry or hateful, but just because it would be safer for that.

Personal Boundary Example
So, I had an incident recently; someone that I’d known for over 15 years—I love this person; they’re amazing—and I’ve worked with them in the past; they’re awesome.

But they started sending me political texts, just one after another, every day. There were numerous texts coming in.

For the most part, I actually believe the same as they do—except for one little thing, I believe the same. But when I challenged it, they got upset, and I just kept getting more and more of these things.

So I finally asked them, «Hey, can we just keep the conversation on another subject here because this is getting a little bit overboard?»

So then it continued, and these strong things made me feel like my boundaries weren’t being heard. A post went out from this person on my public page, posting against me and warning me from the Lord that if I didn’t believe the same as what they believed on this certain thing, that God was judging me and I was in a dangerous position.

Then they texted me the same thing.

So now I got to a point where I thought, «Okay, I love you, and I’ll forgive you, but I need to put a little boundary around this right now.»

I contacted them and said, «I hate to do this, but I need to block you for now.» I said, «I’m getting hurt by these attacks, and I need to put a boundary around myself right now from this.»

Okay? So that’s not going to be long-term. At least I’m not believing it’s going to be long-term, but right now, until things settle down—this is just such heated speech, heated arguments, and such pressure and control through it—that I thought, «No, I need to step back from this.»

If you feel you have to step back in that way from a relationship—knowing you still love the person, and you can forgive them, there’s no hatred in your heart or anything like that—but you know that you need to be in a little bit of a safe place right now, then that’s okay!

God needs us to understand that. That’s okay.

The same as what we just read in 1 Corinthians, where Paul says that if people are in blatant sin and not repenting, you actually are going to have to put a boundary around that. You are going to have to put a boundary, or it’s going to influence you; it’s going to affect you.

So in those cases of personal boundaries, we need to love everyone but put the boundaries up so that everyone’s safe, and you put them up in love.

Discerning the Body in Communion
In 1 Corinthians 11, I wanted to highlight this today because I think there’s some really good insights in verses 18 and 23-30.

Paul writes, «When you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you, and in part, I believe it.» He’s saying, «I hear that these divisions exist.»

You can tell he didn’t like the divisions, but in part, he actually believed it. He goes on to say that divisions have an aspect of fruit at the end of it because it will prove what the truth is at the end of the process.

He explains that in the next verse, but I just wanted to highlight here that the context of what we’re about to read is in the context of division and betrayal.

He says, «For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread.»

Now, he says here, and again it’s in the context of betrayal and division, that he received from the Lord because he wasn’t at the Last Supper. He was actually persecuting the church; he was not on the same page with Jesus at that time.

But after he got born again, the Lord Himself revealed to him and showed him everything that happened at the Last Supper. Paul received it by revelation.

So he said, «I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread. And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’»

In the same way, He took the cup also after supper, saying, «This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.»

«Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.»

Now remember, this is in the context of division and betrayal. He’s saying if you take this in an unworthy manner, you are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But a man must examine himself, and in so doing, he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. «For he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge or discern the body rightly.»

We judge ourselves; we eat and drink judgment on ourselves if we do not judge or discern the body rightly.

Therefore, we’re to look for Jesus in each other; we’re to listen for Jesus in our conversations. We are to protect one another; we are to watch over one another; we are to fight for each other—not against each other—because of some political view or something.

Consequences of Division
This is a very serious moment for the body, and I just, you know, I know I’m speaking to the choir here because you guys are also loving, you walk in love and unity.

You really care about each other, and I have not heard tensions in this body. I have not actually heard them, okay?

So I know I’m speaking to the choir, but I feel that we have to declare this in order for us to come into a right position in the Lord.

He said, «For this reason, for the reason of division and betrayal and not judging the body correctly, many among you are weak and sick and a number die.»

So what happens when the corporate body—I want you to hear this—the corporate body goes into a place of attacking each other. It is like an autoimmune system breakdown.

That’s what happens in the natural body when the autoimmune system is compromised: the cells fight against each other, and even healthy cells are taken out.

What happens when we give ourselves as the body of Christ into bitter anger, hatred, division, and judgment, canceling each other? All of that is coming in and starts affecting really good cells.

That’s what happens in autoimmune disorders: good cells are taken out. Good people can die; good people can get weak; good people can be sick because of what’s happening in the body.

We need to heal the body; we don’t need more brokenness; we need healing. We don’t need more hate; we need more love. We don’t need to cancel; we need to accept—when the Lord says to cancel, it’s different when it’s blatant sin.

But we can’t cancel each other out because of a political decision.

The devil wants us to do that. He wants us divided so that we will kill each other. If we kill each other, he doesn’t have to kill us.

Jesus said, «The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I came that you might have life and have it abundantly.»

So we need to look at our own hearts as this cell right here and say, «Am I a healthy cell? Am I bringing health to the body? Am I bringing love to the body?»

«Am I bringing true care and concern, not out of hatred, not out of animosity or man’s anger, but out of true love for the body? I’m going to do whatever I can to help you grow because that’s my heart.»

We have to ask ourselves that question. Anything that is not of love, we need to repent from that. That’s how we cleanse the body from those elements that hurt each other.

Love as the Greatest
In 1 Corinthians 13, it says that love is the greatest. Love is the greatest of all. There’s faith, hope, and love, but love is the greatest.

And it says if we don’t have love, in 1 Corinthians 13, we are nothing; we have nothing; a prophet is nothing.

So it doesn’t matter—you might be politically correct, but you could be so wrong if you don’t have love.

It is a commandment to love in Colossians 3:12–15, which says, «So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.»

«Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.» Now this is the Valentine’s message part; I told you I’d do it!

Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Isn’t that beautiful?

That is the instruction of the Word of God that we would be a body, a family. We’re going to have differences, and we’re going to blow it from time to time.

But in Shiloh, we want everyone to feel safe, to be heard, to be respected, to be loved, and that we’ll work out our issues. We’ll work out the problems; we will process them through until we come into a place of peace.

That’s what God wants for us. He wants us as a body to have that. It’s like living heaven on earth, isn’t it? When you have that kind of safety!

Unity as Witness to the World
John 17:22–23, Jesus said, «The glory you have given me, I have given to them; we don’t have to hope for this glory; it’s already been given.»

That they may be one just as we are one, «I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me.»

The world right now is mocking the church; you know why? Because we’re being ridiculous to each other! Don’t think that they’re not watching this.

How many of you have heard comments even from your own family members who don’t know the Lord yet? You know about how ridiculous the church is being right now; it’s not helping our witness.

But Jesus said it’s the unity that we have, the love that we have, the bond of love that is seen by the world that will win people to Jesus.

We need to hear what the Lord is saying because a house divided against itself will fall. We need to beware of wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. There’s a wolf spirit that is running rampant right now.

A wolf spirit, in the natural, will divide and conquer. A wolf travels in a pack, by the way, just so you’re aware of that.

But they’ll go in and pull out sheep out of the flock one by one. They’ll just divide off the flock, and eventually they can just go in and take what’s left over. We can’t let that happen! We can’t let that happen, especially over a political decision.

We are headed for very challenging days; I’m prophesying there are challenging days ahead of us—very challenging. And we need to be strong, and we need to have our eyes on Jesus.

We need to have our eyes on the kingdom and advancing the kingdom. We need to get into prayer and cry out because the kingdom of God works from the inside out.

When a life is transformed in that moment of encounter with the Lord, everything changes for them. If we can get enough people saved en masse, we are going to see things change outwardly.

But we are headed for some very challenging situations; we have to be together. If we are divided, we will lose our strength; we will go into captivity.

Just read your Bible; it’s happened over and over and over again. Study church history; you will see it! When a group is divided, they are conquered; they are weakened.

We cannot divide, and especially over ridiculous things in this hour. If you have a belief about some political perspective, go for it, but don’t cancel people out because they don’t believe the same.

Respect them and love them. Honor the differences of conviction; we should honor each other for our convictions, even when we don’t agree—as long as it’s not sin. If it’s sin, that’s different.

The Blessing of Unity
Psalm 133:1-3 says, «A Song of Ascents of David: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!» Oh yeah, come on!

That is awesome; let’s just rejoice in that. It is good, and it is pleasant! And that’s one thing I love about this house: we have enjoyed great camaraderie between us all. We’ve just enjoyed it.

We are in love; we are in unity. Our core pastoral team is amazing and so committed to dwelling together in unity, to building each other up, to loving each other well.

«It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes as a high priest»—speaking of Jesus.

«It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing: life forever.» Isn’t that awesome?

That’s where the commanded blessing is—not in canceling each other out; it’s in bringing each other together and loving each other well, carrying each other in hard times, and carrying each other through difficult situations.

If the person wants to be carried—that’s another sermon! You will reap what you sow; you will reap what you sow.

So sow love seeds. Sow truth seeds. Speak the truth in love! But understand that we are not to cancel each other; we’re not to bash each other for having, you know, a different opinion on something.

By the way, a lot of the cancel culture is through social media, and that’s why a lot of people are opting out of social media. They’re so disgusted with it, and I understand that.

But I’m saying don’t cancel social media; take it—let your light shine in it—but don’t bash each other in it.

Be the spirit of God—His love, His truth, and His goodness—binding the church together with one voice that exalts Jesus Christ and His love. Amen.

Closing Prayer

So, Father, I just pray right now that you would examine our own hearts. Help us, Holy Spirit, come and reveal to us any way that we have had bad attitudes or even desires just to cancel—“Oh, that person doesn’t believe the way I do; I’m just going to cancel them.»

Lord, I just ask that you would convict us of that and that we would come back to you and that we would love—love well.

On this Valentine’s Day, we receive your love, love that will bring healing. In areas where we have to put a boundary up for now, Lord, that we do so in love and in truth, because it is the best thing for all to do, and it will work things out better by doing that at the end of the day.

I thank you, Lord, for speaking to each one of us and cleansing our hearts from areas where we have erred before you, where we have not loved well. We want to be big lovers in this day; we want to love you well, we want to love each other well, we want to love the world well. We want to love! Wow, Lord God!

So, Lord, give us listening ears to hear each other’s hearts, and keep us from canceling each other. Thank you, Jesus.

Communion Focus on Love
I want to receive communion right now, so if we could have the ushers give out the communion elements.

What I want to focus on in this communion is Jesus’ love. It says God is love; He is love—meaning His blood is love blood. Every cell of His body is love; every part of Him.

And He said to judge yourself. He said before you take communion, judge yourself. That’s what we’ve just done; we’ve asked the Holy Spirit to convict us.

We need to get rid of any hard feelings or any unforgiveness, any bitter judgments we’ve made. We need to lay that down before we partake of communion this morning.

We’re going to look at Jesus; He said, «Remember me every time you do this.» We remember Him, and who is He? Perfect love!

Jesus is perfect love, and He gave Himself on the cross for those who hated Him. He gave His life for those who despised Him.

And He’s saying, «Will you be like me? Will you remember me on this Valentine’s Day as a God of love, as a Savior of love, as a deliverer of love, as a healer of love?» Amen.

So, Father, we come before you right now with these elements—these beautiful elements that represent you—and we ask your blessing on the elements, Lord, because they’re symbols; they remind us.

We take the bread, Lord God, as we remember through holding this unleavened bread close to our heart that your life was unleavened; you had no sin in you.

You had nothing that was outside of love in your heart; you were perfect and you were pure.

And that’s what we want, Lord God; we want to be like you. So we’re going to partake of you right now, by faith; we partake of your love nature.

So receive the element now and remember the body of Jesus, being a body that loved.

And you’re the same yesterday, today, and forever, Jesus. You loved when you lived on the earth and set an example for us, but you love as much today, and your love is available to us, Lord God.

And Lord, we take what represents your blood, and we ask, Lord God, that you would bless us as we remember your love blood.

Every little drop of blood that flowed through your being when you lived on this earth, Lord Jesus, it was love blood. It’s love DNA in that blood, and that love blood is in us when we accepted you as our Savior.

And Lord, it’s a covenant love blood. So fill us today afresh with your nature by letting your blood bring life to every part of our being-body, soul, and spirit. We partake of your blood. Oh, thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jesus!

Lord, we’re going to take this cancellation, and we’re going to cancel out anything in our life that doesn’t represent you.

We’re going to use cancellation in such a great way, Lord God, that we’ll say, «Yes, we’re of a canceled culture; we cancel everything in our life that is not like Jesus.»

We cancel everything that is not of love, and we just grow bigger and bigger in your love through everything that we’re facing now because we’re canceling out everything that is not of love.

Thank you, Jesus, for filling us afresh this day and always. We dedicate ourselves to you afresh. Amen.