1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,200 Well, good morning. 2 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:02,560 Good morning. 3 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,160 Good morning to our online family. 4 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:05,800 How we doing? 5 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Good, good, good. 6 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:07,760 Well, my name's Jordan. 7 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:09,840 I am the kids pastor here at Heights 8 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:13,280 and I am super stoked to be with you guys this morning. 9 00:00:13,280 --> 00:00:17,520 To our families, our parents that headed over to H4 10 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,320 and you got there and you were ready to check in your kids, 11 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:21,680 I apologize. 12 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:23,360 We're having a family service. 13 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,600 You should have gotten an email, all right? 14 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:28,480 To the kids in the room, welcome. 15 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,600 This is a little bit different, but we're stoked you're in here. 16 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,720 Got some little ones in the front that I recognize. 17 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:35,440 Good to see you guys. 18 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,840 How many more days until Christmas? 19 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,880 Little kids, who, which one of you said, 20 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:45,680 my high schooler's up here, three. 21 00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:49,880 Don't disguise like you're in kids ministry. 22 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:51,040 I'm just kidding. 23 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:52,400 Three more days, right? 24 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:54,000 Yeah, we're getting excited. 25 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,160 We're ramping up for Christmas. 26 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,200 Well, like David said, we are in Advent. 27 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,080 We are wrapping up Advent this morning 28 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:04,040 and Advent is our arrival, right? 29 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,520 We are anticipating and celebrating the arrival of our son, 30 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,160 Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, excuse me. 31 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:14,720 And we've been talking about, we've had a conversation 32 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,760 around this idea that God is happy to be with us 33 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,320 so we can have. 34 00:01:20,320 --> 00:01:23,080 And week one, Pastor John talked about joy 35 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:24,760 so that we can have joy, right? 36 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,360 And joy, we experience joy in those face-to-face interactions. 37 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,120 And then Pastor Todd talked about peace. 38 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,440 And then sometimes we're just missing peace, right? 39 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,720 And then Jesus is the missing piece to our peace. 40 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:44,000 And then hope, last week Pastor John talked about hope 41 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,160 and then it's hope through a person and not an outcome. 42 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:51,920 So this morning, I wanna talk to you guys about love 43 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,560 and the idea that God is love 44 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:59,280 and that God is happy to be with us because God is love. 45 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:02,280 And now I am no love expert, right? 46 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,920 I am not coming to you and I'm gonna share everything 47 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:06,880 that I've done right in love. 48 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:08,520 It's actually just the opposite. 49 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,800 When my wife and I were dating, I jacked it all up, right? 50 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:19,880 I was like 25 years old, I didn't know what I wanted 51 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:22,400 and I thought I knew what I wanted. 52 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:23,960 I wanted to date somebody like myself 53 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:26,520 and I found out that's probably a really bad idea. 54 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:28,520 So those are your dating. 55 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:29,880 Just be patient, right? 56 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,160 Be open to what God has for you. 57 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:36,160 But here's the reality is our relationship, because of me, 58 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:39,440 we ended up dating on and off again, right? 59 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:43,760 And so my father-in-law who is actually here today 60 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,200 came up with this cute little term as we walked in the door 61 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:51,120 and he'd be like, oh, here's on again, off again, right? 62 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,400 So we joke about it now, but man, we have been married 63 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,400 for almost 15 years coming up this March. 64 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,320 Yes, we celebrate that. 65 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:06,240 And man, we have had our ups and downs, 66 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,560 but God has been so good to us and it is more to do 67 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,920 with my wife's patience with me and love towards me 68 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:16,200 than anything and God working in through our relationship. 69 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,200 But we love love, right? 70 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:20,720 We love to celebrate. 71 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:23,000 We love to celebrate with other people 72 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,120 that are excited about their story, to tell their story. 73 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,920 When we hear a proposal, we're like, all right, yes, 74 00:03:29,920 --> 00:03:33,040 let me lean in and listen and figure out what happened, right? 75 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,360 We wanna know about love. 76 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,420 Most of us in here love a good love story. 77 00:03:39,420 --> 00:03:42,760 Some of us, the reality is, have been wounded by love. 78 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:47,760 And so, but the reality is you are probably also hopeful 79 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:49,760 for love or to find love again. 80 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,120 Many of you, like my family, have probably been watching 81 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:56,460 Hallmark movies, right? 82 00:03:56,460 --> 00:03:58,440 Yes, trying to squeeze them in, right? 83 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:00,020 Get that last Hallmark movie. 84 00:04:00,020 --> 00:04:02,680 Yesterday I was prepping for my message 85 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:04,800 and the girls were all ready. 86 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:07,040 I walk in and I was like, okay, I gotta spend some time 87 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:11,180 on this, walk in and they're watching a Hallmark movie. 88 00:04:11,180 --> 00:04:13,160 And I was like, you know, I could probably take 89 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,640 a couple minutes, maybe this could fit in for tomorrow. 90 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,520 And so I'm like, I'm gonna see what's happening here 91 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:21,440 because usually I hate to be the spoiler here, 92 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:26,080 but all Hallmark movies pretty much end the same way, right? 93 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:27,880 And so I'm like, all right, we're gonna see, 94 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:29,800 and the tension was this, right? 95 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,360 The guy and the girl, they really couldn't stand each other 96 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,260 but yet they had to work together. 97 00:04:34,260 --> 00:04:37,320 And so later on we were driving to lunch 98 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,040 and I was like, hey girls, how did that movie end? 99 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,840 And they were like, well, it ended in love. 100 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:45,880 They loved each other, right? 101 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,520 And they got together and I was like, oh, see? 102 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:50,840 And my favorite part about watching those movies 103 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:52,200 is to watch my girls, right? 104 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:53,800 We'll be sitting on the couch, 105 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,380 watching this movie or a love story 106 00:04:56,380 --> 00:04:59,800 and it's that moment where the guy and the girl meet up, 107 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:02,260 right, they've been overcoming obstacles 108 00:05:02,260 --> 00:05:05,120 and finally they get together and they're about to confess 109 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,600 or profess their love to each other. 110 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:09,080 And it's that moment where they're staring 111 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:12,160 at each other's eyes and my daughters are like. 112 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:16,640 And I'm like, oh no, I'm in trouble. 113 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,360 I got three girls and they're just like, 114 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:19,880 they're all excited about love. 115 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:21,160 I'm like, whoa, pump the brakes. 116 00:05:21,160 --> 00:05:23,220 We're not ready for that, right? 117 00:05:23,220 --> 00:05:25,160 You love dad and mom, that's about it. 118 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:28,480 But we're designed to love, right? 119 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:32,480 We love love and we love a good love story. 120 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,880 And how awesome is it that every Sunday, 121 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:39,840 every weekend we get to hear the greatest love story 122 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,120 ever told. 123 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,920 And not that we just get to hear about it, 124 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,920 but that we get to, that we are the greatest love story. 125 00:05:49,380 --> 00:05:52,040 So if you have your Bibles this morning or Bible apps, 126 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:57,040 we'll be in 1 John chapter four, starting in verse seven. 127 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:01,680 Let's go ahead and read that. 128 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:06,680 Dear friends, let us love one another. 129 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,560 For love comes from God. 130 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,340 Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 131 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,880 Whoever does not love does not know God, 132 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:18,600 because God is love. 133 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,720 This is how God showed his love among us. 134 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,020 He sent his one and only son into the world 135 00:06:26,020 --> 00:06:28,160 that we might live through him. 136 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:30,480 This is love. 137 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,920 Not that we love God, but that he loved us 138 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:38,480 and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 139 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:42,240 Dear friends, since God so loved us, 140 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,840 we also ought to love one another. 141 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:46,660 Let's pray. 142 00:06:48,940 --> 00:06:50,520 Father, we just thank you for this morning 143 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,140 and thank you for this time that we have 144 00:06:52,140 --> 00:06:54,960 to open up your word and just hear from you. 145 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:56,880 We just ask that you would prepare our hearts 146 00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,880 and our minds that you would just speak to us this morning. 147 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,600 That this idea of love and where it comes from 148 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,600 and how we respond would be of you and from you. 149 00:07:10,060 --> 00:07:11,360 Lord, we thank you for this church. 150 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:15,000 We thank you for just the way that you have loved us 151 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,020 and shown your love towards us. 152 00:07:18,420 --> 00:07:21,200 We love you, we thank you in Jesus' name, amen. 153 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:24,000 All right, well, just to give you guys 154 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:25,500 a little bit of context, 155 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:29,680 John wrote this letter and this is also known 156 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,640 to be the same John that wrote the Gospel of John 157 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:34,560 or Revelation. 158 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,220 And John is one of the last apostles known to be alive. 159 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:41,420 The rest of them died being martyred. 160 00:07:41,420 --> 00:07:43,440 And he's kind of older in his age, right? 161 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,640 But he's still wanting to communicate the goodness 162 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,840 of the Gospel to these people and making sure 163 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,360 that the Gospel is being preached and accurate. 164 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,640 And so he's writing these letters to these churches 165 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,240 in the Asia Minor area hoping that they would be read 166 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,440 in these churches because what's happening 167 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:03,960 is there's people that are coming in 168 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,560 and they're preaching a different Gospel. 169 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:10,280 They're preaching false, their teaching is false. 170 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,320 And so he's trying to correct them and remind them 171 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:17,360 of who their love should be towards 172 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:18,960 and how to love one another. 173 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,440 So their love was more for knowledge rather than God 174 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:23,840 and for each other. 175 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,360 And so we're gonna pick back up and I'm gonna go 176 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,320 verse by verse through seven through 11. 177 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:34,320 So 1 John 4, starting in verse seven. 178 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,440 Dear friends, let us love one another 179 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:39,440 for love comes from God. 180 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:43,760 Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 181 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,480 And so right off the bat, John is reminding them, right? 182 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,040 That we need to love one another 183 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:50,400 but also where love comes from. 184 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,020 It wasn't this just idea that they came up with 185 00:08:53,020 --> 00:08:54,960 but it originated with God. 186 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,120 He's created God, he's the genesis of God. 187 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:00,420 It comes from him. 188 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:05,560 His very being is God, is of love, excuse me. 189 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:10,560 And so in 1 John 17, 24 says this. 190 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,320 Father, I want those you have given to me 191 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,480 to be with me where I am 192 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,040 and to see my glory and the glory you have given me 193 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,400 because you love me before the creation of the world. 194 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:25,400 And so we see that God loved Jesus 195 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:27,960 even before creation began. 196 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,560 Love was present between them. 197 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:30,900 The father was loving the son 198 00:09:30,900 --> 00:09:33,680 and the son was loving the father and the spirit. 199 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,440 And the second part of verse seven says, 200 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,120 everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 201 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,880 This isn't to say that everybody who loves 202 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,960 or who has been born is going to become a Christian. 203 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,560 That's not what John's trying to communicate. 204 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:55,800 What he's trying, there's plenty of people 205 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:59,120 that we know of that are loving people in this world. 206 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,480 And that doesn't mean they know God or love God. 207 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,160 They do good things and they love 208 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,120 but they don't know God or love God. 209 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:09,840 What John is trying to communicate 210 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,160 is that we need to be born again. 211 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,400 And we see this in John 3, 3 212 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,320 where he's talking to Nicodemus 213 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:18,520 who was a religious leader at that time. 214 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,480 And he's like, Jesus is explaining to them 215 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:23,480 that they need to be reborn again. 216 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:25,840 And Nicodemus is confused. 217 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:26,760 He's like, wait, what? 218 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:31,000 I need to like go back into my mother's womb 219 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:34,240 and be born a second time? 220 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:35,880 Like that sounds weird, right? 221 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,000 That sounds even weird coming out of my mouth. 222 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:39,880 But he's not talking about that. 223 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,360 He's talking about our heart, our spiritual condition. 224 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:48,000 He says that now you need to receive the good news, right? 225 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,400 The gospel. 226 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,320 And that when you do that, your Holy Spirit 227 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:52,720 is now lives and dwells in you 228 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:54,240 and it's gonna give you new desires 229 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,760 and a new heart and a new mind. 230 00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:59,760 And so he's reminding that you're gonna be washed with water 231 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:03,200 and my spirit is going to live and dwell inside of you. 232 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,200 And so that's what he's talking about in John 3, 3. 233 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:08,200 And that's what it says. 234 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:09,600 Very truly I tell you, 235 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:11,880 no one can see the kingdom of God 236 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,120 unless they are born again. 237 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,920 Anyone not born again does not know God. 238 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,920 Verse eight, whoever does not love 239 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:26,520 does not know God because God is love. 240 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,280 It's impossible to say that you know God 241 00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,200 but don't love because God is love. 242 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:36,520 God's very nature is love. 243 00:11:36,520 --> 00:11:41,520 He is so closely linked to love that he is love. 244 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,840 He embodies everything that love is. 245 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,880 Now John's not saying that God is love, 246 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:49,200 that is all he is. 247 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,560 We know that God has many attributes 248 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:53,480 and many characteristics. 249 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:56,200 We know that his love is holy, 250 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:57,360 that it is set apart, 251 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,560 that it is like a love that we have never seen before. 252 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:02,920 His love is pure. 253 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:05,320 It is not self-seeking. 254 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:06,960 It is not self-seeking. 255 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,360 It isn't sinful. 256 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,760 It is a love that we've never known. 257 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:19,240 Verse nine, this is how God showed his love among us. 258 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:22,920 He sent his one and only son into the world 259 00:12:22,920 --> 00:12:24,720 that we might live through him. 260 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,200 And I was looking at the first part 261 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:31,400 where it said that this is how God showed his love 262 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,480 and I started thinking through that. 263 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,840 I'm like, all right. 264 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,080 So I know that we love somebody, right? 265 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,080 We wanna show them that we love them. 266 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,360 I don't just wanna tell you, but I wanna show them. 267 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,840 And when we were dating, my wife and I were dating, 268 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,320 I was trying to think of a time 269 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,120 when she first felt loved by me. 270 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:55,560 So I started to think through, 271 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:58,280 like we would share stories with our girls 272 00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:00,800 or share stories with our girls just the other night. 273 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,240 So cute, like we were sharing 274 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,880 because we're talking about love and we're all around the table 275 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,440 and they're just like leaning in, like just trying to eat. 276 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,040 And they're so like enthralled with it. 277 00:13:10,040 --> 00:13:11,440 It just cracks me up. 278 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,640 But right, we share these stories and they wanna know. 279 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,160 And my wife shares this story often. 280 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:19,320 And so I'm like, I think that's the moment. 281 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:20,760 But I'm like, I better ask her though, 282 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,520 because maybe what I'm thinking 283 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:27,280 of how she felt like I first loved her was not. 284 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:29,240 And so I went to her and I was like, hey, babe. 285 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,960 I'm like, so when was the first time that you knew 286 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:35,360 or that I showed you and you're like, 287 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:36,480 I think he loves me. 288 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:39,500 And I was like, because here's what I thought. 289 00:13:39,500 --> 00:13:41,840 I thought it was that time where, 290 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:43,240 we were texting back and forth 291 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,160 and your family was going to dinner 292 00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:46,780 and my family was going to dinner. 293 00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:49,440 And it just so happened that we were ending up 294 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,040 in the same parking lot, but different restaurants. 295 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,600 And I was like, oh, I'm gonna make this little foil rose. 296 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:57,640 And I went and put it on her car. 297 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,840 And I was like, this is so, she's gonna love it. 298 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:01,680 Right? 299 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:04,600 She's like, no. 300 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:08,360 That was not when I felt love. 301 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:09,600 She's like, I had butterflies. 302 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,260 Like, oh, he's so cute. 303 00:14:12,260 --> 00:14:13,880 Right? 304 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:17,240 And I was like, see, I told you guys, I'm gonna love this. 305 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:20,240 But that wasn't love, right? 306 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:21,740 That wasn't me showing love. 307 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,440 And I was like, okay, so what was it? 308 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:27,480 And she was like, well, remember that time 309 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:28,960 when we had our college retreat 310 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:31,960 and we went up to the mountain 311 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:36,520 and we were both leaders in our college ministry. 312 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:41,360 And this was the second time that I had broken up with her. 313 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,840 And her friends were very much like, 314 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,520 you just need to not talk to that guy. 315 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:48,560 Give him the cold shoulder. 316 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,360 Don't give him the time of day, right? 317 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:51,600 Don't even speak to him. 318 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,320 And I was kind of hurt by that, rightfully so. 319 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,080 And I'm like, I gotta just talk to her, right? 320 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,680 Like, I don't like this tension, right? 321 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:04,360 Especially when we're serving in ministry together. 322 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,480 And so I was like, I'm gonna go talk to her. 323 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,480 So I mustered up the strength and the courage 324 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,160 to go and talk to her and let her know 325 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:12,840 just kind of how I felt. 326 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:17,840 And so I was like, had tears in my eyes, I guess. 327 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:20,600 I don't know if she tells a story like that, but. 328 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:25,600 But I was real and I was honest. 329 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,520 And I was honest and there was humility 330 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:30,160 and there was vulnerability. 331 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:34,760 And all those emotions were real. 332 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:37,080 And the way that I felt about her. 333 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,080 Because even though I broke up with her two times, 334 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:41,360 I really liked her. 335 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:43,760 And that's why I was hurt. 336 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:50,000 But there's a weightiness when we showed love, right? 337 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,000 It means something and God sending Jesus meant something. 338 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:00,840 There is a weightiness. 339 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:02,640 The second part of verse nine, it says, 340 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:06,720 he sent his one and only son into the world 341 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,280 that we might live through him. 342 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,680 God initiates his love. 343 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,280 Usually when the person that has offended, right? 344 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,640 Needs to go and make it right. 345 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:20,640 But God says, no, no, no. 346 00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:23,160 I love you so much so that I'm gonna send 347 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,920 my one and only son into the world. 348 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:32,400 To be with you, to love you, to show you what love is, 349 00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,920 but also to die with you, to be the perfect sacrifice. 350 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,440 In Matthew 1, 23, it says, 351 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,560 the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. 352 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,560 They will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. 353 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,680 God wanted to be with us so much that he sends his son. 354 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,840 Christmas is a time to celebrate 355 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,120 how God showed his love to us. 356 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,520 In John 3, 16, for God so loved the world 357 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,680 that he gave his only son that whoever loves him 358 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:09,200 or believes in him, excuse me, 359 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:13,320 shall not perish but have eternal life. 360 00:17:13,320 --> 00:17:17,960 God is happy to be with us so we celebrate Christmas. 361 00:17:19,320 --> 00:17:23,960 Verse 10, this is love, not that we love God, 362 00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:27,360 but that he loved us and sent his son 363 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:30,200 as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 364 00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:33,960 We didn't love God first. 365 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,040 Simply by his grace and his love towards us, right? 366 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:41,480 We were in rebellion, so the Bible says 367 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,480 that our hearts were set against him. 368 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,120 In Romans 5, 8, it says, 369 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:51,040 but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. 370 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,360 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 371 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:58,120 That is a loving God to go, hey, 372 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:03,120 I'm going to send my most loved possession, 373 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:08,880 my Jesus, who I love, who I have spent eternity with, right? 374 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,480 My son, I'm going to send him to you 375 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:13,840 when your backs are towards me. 376 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:18,360 Greatest love, act of love. 377 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:24,520 And then it says that he sent his son 378 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,200 as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 379 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,400 The atoning sacrifice means that Jesus paid it all, 380 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:32,920 that he satisfied the wrath of God, 381 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:35,040 that he was the payment that was needed 382 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:39,640 to reconcile us back to God. 383 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:42,360 And he steps in. 384 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:48,480 And so I know sometimes we think, man, right? 385 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,400 We think, I just jacked it up. 386 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,240 Maybe where you could come here this morning 387 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:53,880 and there's shame and there's guilt, 388 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:57,880 I don't feel closely, I don't feel like God loves me, right? 389 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,800 I feel like he's distant because of what I've done, 390 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:03,360 so there's shame. 391 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,840 And I just need you to know that God is happy 392 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:09,040 to be with you, even in your sin. 393 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:10,880 Huh, what? 394 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:11,720 Yeah. 395 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:18,920 Romans 8.38, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, 396 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:22,040 neither angels nor demons, 397 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,320 neither the present nor the future nor any powers, 398 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:31,320 neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation 399 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,400 will be able to separate us from the love of God 400 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,800 that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 401 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:42,240 Jesus paid it all so we will never be separated 402 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:43,840 from the love of God. 403 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:50,160 Verse 11, dear friends, since God so loved us, 404 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,560 we also ought to love one another. 405 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:57,600 And I'm gonna be honest with you guys, 406 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:02,600 so this is kind of the so what, right? 407 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,000 This is the response to the gospel. 408 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,280 Basically, John just got done laying out the gospel. 409 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,320 He is loved, the way that he loved us 410 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,840 in sending Jesus the perfect payment for our sins, right? 411 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,840 That he wanted to be with us, 412 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,840 that he wanted to reconcile us to God 413 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:22,280 through Jesus Christ. 414 00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:27,240 And it's kind of like the gospel is the love of God. 415 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,240 The gospel is how do we respond to that? 416 00:20:33,920 --> 00:20:36,160 And so John is saying, hey, so what? 417 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,560 So since God loves you, love one another. 418 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,400 Based on everything that we just talked about, 419 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,280 how are we loving one another? 420 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,880 And so for me, as I'm going through all this 421 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,480 and as I'm getting ready to teach this, 422 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,640 I'm thinking about it when I wake up in the morning, 423 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:57,640 thinking about it when I go to bed at night, 424 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,240 and this love one another piece is the only thing 425 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:01,960 that keeps sticking out to me, right? 426 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,520 I'm like, I know the gospel. 427 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,240 I've known the gospel for a while now. 428 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:07,800 I can come to church. 429 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,520 I can say that I love God. 430 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:16,280 But that piece right there, you gotta love one another. 431 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,120 And so when you start teaching 432 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,760 and you're meditating on this and you're going through it, 433 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,080 I wake up in the morning and I'm like, all right, 434 00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:24,400 how am I loving my wife? 435 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:26,680 How am I loving my kids? 436 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,920 How am I loving my family? 437 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:30,600 How am I loving my community? 438 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,200 So things like, right, we're so fixated 439 00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,760 on what we gotta do and the mission that we got. 440 00:21:38,760 --> 00:21:41,040 When we start to go, all right, 441 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:42,480 this is what I need to do. 442 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,600 This is my response to the gospel. 443 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:47,000 We begin to open up, 444 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,040 and this isn't me patting myself on the back. 445 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,880 This is God saying, hey, wake up. 446 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,480 I have so much more for you and what you wanna do. 447 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,080 So I hop in my truck and I go to Home Depot 448 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,880 because men, you need stuff at Home Depot, right? 449 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,040 All right, and I say, I had to get stuff for the house. 450 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:07,080 And I'm like, I'm on a mission. 451 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:08,440 I gotta get in, get out. 452 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:11,720 It's busy, it's Christmas time 453 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:13,760 and people are everywhere, right? 454 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,640 Sure enough, I jump out of my truck 455 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,680 and there's an older gentleman by himself 456 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,400 stacking block, and I just feel this, 457 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:26,440 you're gonna love this guy. 458 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:27,280 I was like, oh. 459 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,240 I'm like, hey man, how you doing? 460 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,880 You need help with your block, right? 461 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,860 And so we're just here stacking block at Home Depot. 462 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:38,700 It took about 10 minutes, right? 463 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,920 Thank goodness he didn't need the whole stack. 464 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:44,240 I don't know if I have time for that, right? 465 00:22:44,240 --> 00:22:45,760 I didn't know how many you needed. 466 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:46,840 How many do you need? 467 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:47,840 All right, let's go. 468 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:51,040 We just have the opportunity to lean into those 469 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,040 when we start to think about. 470 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,500 In John 13, 35, by this, everyone will know 471 00:22:59,500 --> 00:23:03,360 that you are my disciples if you love one another. 472 00:23:03,360 --> 00:23:07,400 Could you guys imagine, just imagine sitting in the room 473 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:09,960 with the disciples and Jesus during this moment, 474 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,960 and just to kind of give the rundown of Chapter 13 475 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:19,880 and John 13, there's Passover, 476 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:24,200 and Jesus is washing their feet, the disciples' feet, 477 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:26,880 and then he tells them, they're probably sitting around, 478 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,220 and he's like, oh, by the way, yes, 479 00:23:29,220 --> 00:23:32,000 one of you in here is going to betray me. 480 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,280 I'm like, whoa, this got intense, right? 481 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,160 And he's like, and then he tells them about 482 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:40,840 the new commandment I give to you that you love God 483 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,180 and that you love one another. 484 00:23:43,180 --> 00:23:46,400 Oh, and by the way, the world is gonna know 485 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,160 that you are my disciples by the way you love one another. 486 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:52,000 I'm like, whoa, hold up. 487 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,200 Like, this got really intense really quick. 488 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,460 First of all, somebody's gonna betray Jesus. 489 00:23:58,460 --> 00:24:01,040 I'd be walls up, right? 490 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,400 But then think about who's sitting in the room. 491 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,760 You have Matthew, who's a tax collector, 492 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,640 which is probably the worst job within the Jewish community. 493 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:16,640 You have Peter, who's so strong-willed, impulsive, 494 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,040 just kind of flies off the handle, 495 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,080 doesn't says whatever he wants. 496 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,260 Thomas, who's a skeptic. 497 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,640 Simon, the zealot, who was an assassin. 498 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,440 They had an assassin in their group. 499 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,800 I know what some of you were thinking. 500 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,560 This sounds very much like my Christmas family party. 501 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,800 Yeah, yeah. 502 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:50,680 But here's the reality is God doesn't give us 503 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:56,760 people in our circle that are easy to love sometimes. 504 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,200 He says, hey, I just need you to love them. 505 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:01,400 And the way that you love them, 506 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,800 the world will know that you are my disciples. 507 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,220 God is happy to be with us, 508 00:25:07,220 --> 00:25:10,120 so we should be happy to be with one another. 509 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:15,240 I love that quote by Bob Goff. 510 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:17,740 He wrote a book called Love Does. 511 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,160 And it says, the kind of love that God created 512 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,680 and demonstrated is a costly one 513 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,840 because it involves sacrifice and presence. 514 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,120 It's a love that operates more like sign language 515 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:31,960 than being spoken out, right? 516 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:34,720 So we have the opportunity, right, 517 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,680 to love the people in our circle. 518 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,680 We're getting ready to ramp up 519 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,440 for our family Christmas parties, right? 520 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:44,000 No matter who's in that circle, 521 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,040 we can love them wherever they're at. 522 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,520 And sometimes it's us, right, 523 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,380 leaning in and saying, okay, I'm gonna love. 524 00:25:56,380 --> 00:26:00,080 But sometimes it's God using somebody else 525 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,160 to show us his love. 526 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,800 And as I was prepping for this message, 527 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,840 it was Tuesday, we do message prep on Tuesday 528 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,600 in our offices, and I just felt like, 529 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:14,600 just overwhelmed, right? 530 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,040 And I felt just the pressure and anxiety. 531 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:19,560 And I was texting my wife and I'm like, 532 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,200 hey babe, I'm like, can you just pray for me? 533 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,800 I'm like, I'm just feeling like anxious about this. 534 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,200 And so I send that to her, 535 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,040 and probably five minutes later, 536 00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,640 I get a text message from a buddy of mine 537 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:38,480 back in California who was a church planner with us, 538 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:41,840 and we planted him, he's still the pastor of that church. 539 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:44,040 And he texts me out of the blue, 540 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,440 and he's like, hey man, he goes, 541 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,680 this is your guy, right, Bob Goff? 542 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,280 And it was a podcast by him 543 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:54,340 with an interview with Kerry Newhoff. 544 00:26:54,340 --> 00:26:57,800 And I was like, oh yeah, that's my guy, I love that guy. 545 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:01,840 And I was like, do you have just a couple minutes to chat? 546 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,040 And he did, we chatted for 20 minutes, 547 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,440 and I was sharing with him that I'm teaching this Sunday, 548 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,960 and that I'm teaching on love, 549 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,880 and he's like, oh man, you're perfect for that. 550 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:13,560 And I was like, me? 551 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:14,960 Really? 552 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:15,960 He's like, oh yeah. 553 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:19,860 He just took the time to point out 554 00:27:19,860 --> 00:27:21,580 evidence of the grace, right? 555 00:27:21,580 --> 00:27:25,120 That was an evidence of grace moment to just encourage me, 556 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,480 and to love me, and God just using him 557 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,200 and his obedience to that. 558 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:32,840 And it was just such a sweet moment, 559 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,200 and I just felt like just the weight lifted off, right? 560 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,280 We just have that opportunity to be that, right? 561 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:40,800 Maybe we're going into Christmas, 562 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,880 and the most loving thing that we can do 563 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,520 is provide joy for somebody in those face-to-face moments. 564 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,300 Maybe the most loving thing we can do 565 00:27:51,300 --> 00:27:55,960 is give peace and point somebody to that missing piece 566 00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:01,560 that they're missing, which is Jesus. 567 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,040 Maybe we can love somebody by giving them hope 568 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:10,600 in what seems like a hopeless situation. 569 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,920 We are the greatest love story ever told, 570 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,480 and God is asking us to join him in that love story 571 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,600 as we love one another. 572 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:27,600 Let's pray. 573 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:30,720 Father, we just thank you for this morning. 574 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,360 We just thank you for your goodness and your kindness to us 575 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:37,480 that we did not deserve. 576 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:45,240 But it was your act of love that stepped in to our world 577 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,540 and loved us in spite of us. 578 00:28:49,540 --> 00:28:52,140 Father, thank you that we can respond 579 00:28:52,140 --> 00:28:53,740 in a way that's appropriate. 580 00:28:54,740 --> 00:28:59,740 Father, that you want to live and dwell in us and among us. 581 00:29:00,740 --> 00:29:05,740 Father, that you use people to be able to communicate 582 00:29:05,740 --> 00:29:07,940 your love and how you loved. 583 00:29:07,940 --> 00:29:10,460 I just pray, Lord, that we would be obedient to that, 584 00:29:10,460 --> 00:29:13,820 that we would learn how to do that. 585 00:29:15,060 --> 00:29:17,500 Father, as we prepare to go with family, 586 00:29:17,500 --> 00:29:20,900 or friends, and maybe there's somebody that we just, 587 00:29:20,900 --> 00:29:23,300 and it's just hard to live life with. 588 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:26,900 Father, we just pray right now that you would give us grace, 589 00:29:27,900 --> 00:29:30,300 the same grace that we have been given, 590 00:29:30,300 --> 00:29:31,900 and we would love with the same love 591 00:29:31,900 --> 00:29:33,100 that we have been given. 592 00:29:35,100 --> 00:29:36,300 Father, thank you for your goodness. 593 00:29:36,300 --> 00:29:39,300 Thank you that you call us out of darkness and into light. 594 00:29:41,900 --> 00:29:44,300 Maybe celebrate this Christmas 595 00:29:44,300 --> 00:29:47,700 because you are happy to be with us. 596 00:29:47,700 --> 00:30:13,500 In Jesus' name, amen.