WEBVTT 00:00:01.170 --> 00:00:03.930 Oh, what a great day of celebration. I'm glad 00:00:03.930 --> 00:00:06.809 you're here to be a part of it. And some of the 00:00:06.809 --> 00:00:08.730 things we're celebrating today include the addition 00:00:08.730 --> 00:00:11.269 of new music staff. And you've met a couple of 00:00:11.269 --> 00:00:13.330 them already. Josh Tompkins on the piano, who 00:00:13.330 --> 00:00:16.670 did the meditation for us. And Rick Matson and 00:00:16.670 --> 00:00:20.030 his wife, who are here today as part of our contemporary 00:00:20.030 --> 00:00:22.829 worship team. In fact, Rick is the director of 00:00:22.829 --> 00:00:25.210 the team. And you've heard some of the rest of 00:00:25.210 --> 00:00:26.969 the team. And next week, they'll be introduced 00:00:26.969 --> 00:00:29.910 to you personally. And today as well, we're happy 00:00:29.910 --> 00:00:33.929 to announce that Karen Anderle has been appointed 00:00:33.929 --> 00:00:36.590 as our Permanent Director of Children's Ministry 00:00:36.590 --> 00:00:38.170 here at the church. She's been doing a great 00:00:38.170 --> 00:00:41.710 job filling in since last fall when Emily Willoughkey 00:00:41.710 --> 00:00:46.289 left. And assisting in the Ministry of Children 00:00:46.289 --> 00:00:49.429 will be Julie Norris, who has also been a part 00:00:49.429 --> 00:00:51.789 of the fill -in team during the last year. So 00:00:51.789 --> 00:00:54.909 we're just delighted with what God is doing in 00:00:54.909 --> 00:00:57.390 bringing our children's ministry team together. 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.899 Let me say a word about next Sunday because it's 00:01:00.899 --> 00:01:03.840 very important for you to notice that the times 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:06.219 are completely changing. You have great opportunities 00:01:06.219 --> 00:01:08.420 to select what service you want to be a part 00:01:08.420 --> 00:01:14.140 of. Adult CE will all be on site next week. In 00:01:14.140 --> 00:01:16.379 the bulletin today you have a listing of the 00:01:16.379 --> 00:01:19.519 hours when the small churches and classes are 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.579 all meeting. There is a welcome class that will 00:01:24.579 --> 00:01:28.359 resume next Sunday at 9 o 'clock. in the 9 o 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:30.719 'clock hour in room 11 and that's for everybody 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:34.099 who is new to the church and wants to find out 00:01:34.099 --> 00:01:36.459 about membership, is interested in pursuing that 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:39.939 direction. We encourage you to step into the 00:01:39.939 --> 00:01:42.459 Welcomers Class for a few weeks and learn about 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:45.659 Grace Church and become a part of our membership. 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:49.739 And then I guess I would be remiss if I didn't 00:01:49.739 --> 00:01:51.739 point out that there's a new class starting next 00:01:51.739 --> 00:01:54.400 week called the Pastors Class. And one reason, 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.180 I happen to be the teacher of it, and one reason 00:01:57.180 --> 00:01:59.359 I'm excited about going to three hours is because 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:01.519 it gives me an opportunity to teach Sunday School, 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:04.819 which I have been able to do for 16 years. And 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:08.580 I love that environment of a smaller group where 00:02:08.580 --> 00:02:10.620 we can have some give and take, and that will 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:15.599 be in the third hour in room 1A downstairs. And 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:18.180 so you adults have some place to choose each 00:02:18.180 --> 00:02:23.539 hour in Adult CE as well as other options. And 00:02:23.539 --> 00:02:25.659 I do want to say thank you to all of you who 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:28.240 have stepped up and are involved in serving this 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.419 fall in a variety of ways in ministries. There 00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:33.400 have been a lot more opportunities because of 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.360 what we're doing starting next week. And many 00:02:36.360 --> 00:02:40.900 of you have eagerly been willing to say, yes, 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:44.340 I'll serve in that area. And yet there is more 00:02:44.340 --> 00:02:46.900 room. There are still some slots that need to 00:02:46.900 --> 00:02:49.659 be filled. And I want to encourage you, each 00:02:49.659 --> 00:02:51.900 one of you, to consider where God wants you to 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.990 serve. where He wants you to give as well as 00:02:54.990 --> 00:02:57.909 to take in ministry. Both are important, aren't 00:02:57.909 --> 00:03:01.870 they? Well, this morning is a blowout musically. 00:03:02.009 --> 00:03:04.849 It always is. We have a great time celebrating 00:03:04.849 --> 00:03:08.469 the Lord and His grace and His goodness and His 00:03:08.469 --> 00:03:11.090 reaching out to all the peoples of the world. 00:03:12.270 --> 00:03:15.090 And it's been a wonderful morning before we... 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:17.819 Dismissed from this part of GraceFest, we want 00:03:17.819 --> 00:03:19.939 to look into God's Word, and I invite you to 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:22.340 open your Bible with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:25.840 13, as we study our way through the book of 1 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:32.960 Corinthians. This last week, the world was shocked 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:36.580 and saddened by the death of Diana, Princess 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:42.780 of Wales, and then later by Mother Teresa. All 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:46.280 of us have been focused on the good deeds of 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:51.819 their lives, and how they touched those who were 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:58.840 poor, needy, hurting, and ill among us. I could 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.139 not have asked for any set of circumstances, 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:03.719 and of course wouldn't have asked for those circumstances, 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:06.680 but there could not be a set of circumstances 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:10.800 that would so affect our minds, that would prepare 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:16.329 us for what 1 Corinthians chapter 13 talks about. 00:04:17.470 --> 00:04:22.370 You see the Corinthians were a badly divided 00:04:22.370 --> 00:04:26.110 church for a lot of reasons and one reason was 00:04:26.110 --> 00:04:29.490 their abuse of spiritual gifts. The very gifts 00:04:29.490 --> 00:04:32.970 that God had given for the church to be brought 00:04:32.970 --> 00:04:37.810 together and unified and built up were being 00:04:37.810 --> 00:04:43.009 mishandled and abused and misused. by these Christians. 00:04:44.009 --> 00:04:46.269 And the result was that their church was being 00:04:46.269 --> 00:04:50.029 destroyed. Paul, as he enters into this part 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:52.550 of the book, is going to address this problem. 00:04:53.410 --> 00:04:56.449 He reminds them that we're all a body of Christ 00:04:56.449 --> 00:04:59.470 and we all are members individually of that body 00:04:59.470 --> 00:05:03.089 and gifted to serve in a certain way. And he 00:05:03.089 --> 00:05:06.129 says to us as a body that we ought to eagerly 00:05:06.129 --> 00:05:09.850 exalt and seek out and pursue the greater gifts. 00:05:10.509 --> 00:05:15.649 But he says, beyond the gifts, I want to direct 00:05:15.649 --> 00:05:20.970 you in a way that will keep the church together. 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:25.389 He says, I want to talk to you about a direction 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:31.569 of life that far exceeds the spiritual gifts 00:05:31.569 --> 00:05:35.329 that you may think you have. And of course, that 00:05:35.329 --> 00:05:41.160 is the way of love. is the heart of a Christian's 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:44.939 life and service for Jesus Christ. I'm saying 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:51.100 it is right at the core of it. Love is the heart 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:55.540 of your life and your service for Jesus Christ. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:58.060 There is nothing that is more vital than love. 00:06:00.420 --> 00:06:04.439 We learn to walk in the way of agape, the Greek 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:08.399 word for love here. We learn to walk in the way 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:14.480 of agape when we observe the life and the service 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:19.759 of our Lord Jesus Christ. This kind of love is 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:24.600 the self -sacrificing generosity that deliberately, 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:31.560 intentionally seeks the benefit of others. And 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:33.660 I want to present to you this morning the idea 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:38.699 that this love is the most powerful energy that 00:06:38.699 --> 00:06:42.899 our world can know. I believe that love is the 00:06:42.899 --> 00:06:48.699 power of heaven. Love is what moved the Father 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:53.879 to send the Son to be the Savior of the world 00:06:53.879 --> 00:07:00.959 through His sacrificial cross death. Love is 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:05.240 the most significant life -changing power in 00:07:05.240 --> 00:07:09.639 existence. And so this morning I want to urge 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:16.920 you and myself to earnestly pursue love as your 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:23.360 life motivation. That is not natural. It is supernatural. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.920 But if you and I who declare ourselves to be 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.819 followers of Jesus Christ will only learn to 00:07:30.819 --> 00:07:36.120 tap into this God -derived energy we will touch 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:40.839 the lives of literally everyone around us. And 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:45.639 here's why. First, because of the preeminence 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:50.199 of love. Verses one through three. Paul says 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:55.720 that love is more important than our gifts. Notice 00:07:55.720 --> 00:07:59.139 verse one. If I speak with the tongues of men 00:07:59.139 --> 00:08:04.949 and of angels, but do not have love, I have become 00:08:04.949 --> 00:08:11.649 a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Now a cymbal 00:08:11.649 --> 00:08:16.370 has a place in an orchestra or in a band, but 00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:18.790 suppose this morning that all of our music program 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:23.110 were just the cymbal going back and forth. It 00:08:23.110 --> 00:08:26.389 wouldn't take us too long to tire of that. We 00:08:26.389 --> 00:08:31.379 love it in its place. But nobody wants to hear 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:37.779 a noisy gong, a loud cymbal all the time. Paul 00:08:37.779 --> 00:08:40.279 is saying to these people who were emphasizing 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:44.500 tongues really above everything else, if I speak 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:47.840 with tongues, whether it be with men's language 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.559 or the language of angels, probably meaning here 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:55.759 with eloquence, he says, and I don't have love, 00:08:56.100 --> 00:09:00.429 I'm just like a gong. a symbol going back and 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:02.549 forth that's meaningless and it's irritating. 00:09:04.570 --> 00:09:08.549 And if I have the gift of prophecy, that is if 00:09:08.549 --> 00:09:14.070 I can proclaim God's truth, and if I know all 00:09:14.070 --> 00:09:18.429 mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all 00:09:18.429 --> 00:09:22.809 faith, so as to remove mountains, anybody here 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:25.490 with that kind of faith? that you've ever said 00:09:25.490 --> 00:09:28.330 to a mountain, you move over there. We need a 00:09:28.330 --> 00:09:31.649 mountain in that part of the scene. Of course 00:09:31.649 --> 00:09:35.309 not. But he says, even if you had that kind of 00:09:35.309 --> 00:09:39.870 faith, if you have not love, he says, I'm nothing. 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:44.490 Love is more important than the gifts. Whether 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:47.789 they be tongues or prophecy or knowledge or faith, 00:09:48.309 --> 00:09:55.259 without love, we are zeroes. And he says, secondly, 00:09:55.480 --> 00:09:58.980 that love is preeminent above benevolence. Verse 00:09:58.980 --> 00:10:04.519 3. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:08.919 but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 00:10:10.820 --> 00:10:12.639 Is he talking here about the gift of giving? 00:10:13.220 --> 00:10:16.759 Perhaps. But benevolence in general. He says, 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:22.419 if I give away everything that I own, If I take 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:24.720 the course, for example, of a Mother Teresa, 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.480 who I learned for the first time in the last 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.919 couple of days was born into wealth. If I take 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:36.779 her course of life and take a vow of poverty 00:10:36.779 --> 00:10:42.500 and give it all up and never have anything, but 00:10:42.500 --> 00:10:50.190 I don't have love, it's meaningless. Love is 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:52.750 more important than benevolence. Thirdly, he 00:10:52.750 --> 00:10:56.289 says love is more important than sacrifice. He 00:10:56.289 --> 00:11:00.629 says if I deliver my body to be burned, but do 00:11:00.629 --> 00:11:02.710 not have love, it profits me nothing. He says 00:11:02.710 --> 00:11:07.330 if I take the route of a martyr, if I actually 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:10.990 lay down my life for the name of Jesus Christ, 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:14.870 but do not do it with the energy of love for 00:11:14.870 --> 00:11:21.179 others. And he says I've wasted my life. Without 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:25.419 love, I convey nothing. Without love, I am nothing. 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:31.820 Without love, I gain nothing. That's why Paul 00:11:31.820 --> 00:11:39.519 says, pursue love as the energy and the motivation 00:11:39.519 --> 00:11:44.620 of your life, because it's preeminent above everything 00:11:44.620 --> 00:11:49.840 else. There's a second reason that I believe 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:52.259 he points to here for us to pursue love, and 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:54.419 that is because of the portrait of love in verses 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:59.299 4 through 7. You see, agape love is not merely 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:03.100 a sentiment. It's not an emotional feeling that 00:12:03.100 --> 00:12:09.360 we get. Agape love is the kind of love that actively 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:14.000 seeks the welfare of another, even when that 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:18.429 person, and I might say especially, When that 00:12:18.429 --> 00:12:21.830 object of our love is totally undeserving of 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:28.629 it, someone has said that these verses are a 00:12:28.629 --> 00:12:36.090 non -narrative biography of Christ. Ladies and 00:12:36.090 --> 00:12:38.509 gentlemen, what we see in verses 4 through 7 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:43.990 is the very essence of the deity that we worship. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:54.759 God is love. And love is patient. Love is kind 00:12:54.759 --> 00:12:58.379 and is not jealous. It does not brag and is not 00:12:58.379 --> 00:13:02.080 arrogant. It does not act unbecomingly. It does 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:05.620 not seek its own. It is not provoked. It does 00:13:05.620 --> 00:13:09.299 not take into account a wrong suffered. It does 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:11.980 not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:16.460 with the truth. bears all things, believes all 00:13:16.460 --> 00:13:20.899 things, hopes all things, endures all things. 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:27.340 Here we have a portrait of our Lord. There are 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:32.559 15 qualities to love. 8 negative, 7 positive. 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.220 And as Paul throws them up on the canvas for 00:13:37.220 --> 00:13:41.480 us, when he's finished, we have a picture of 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:46.960 Jesus. You can actually read this text this way. 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:54.100 Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind. Jesus is not 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:59.600 jealous. And you get the essence of what he's 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:05.419 saying. What does it mean to be patient? Well, 00:14:05.419 --> 00:14:09.840 it means to hold back one's reaction. The passion 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:15.350 that one might feel. Love endures injuries and 00:14:15.350 --> 00:14:18.409 slights without losing interest in the welfare 00:14:18.409 --> 00:14:22.830 of the one who's done the hurting. Love is calm 00:14:22.830 --> 00:14:27.149 under the provocation of evil. It is patient. 00:14:28.309 --> 00:14:32.230 Love is kind. This word is found only here in 00:14:32.230 --> 00:14:36.769 the New Testament. It means that love extends 00:14:36.769 --> 00:14:41.870 goodness to others. Someone has written these 00:14:41.870 --> 00:14:44.990 words, I shall pass through this world but once. 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:49.549 Any good thing therefore that I can do, or any 00:14:49.549 --> 00:14:52.870 goodness that I can show to any human being, 00:14:54.110 --> 00:15:00.529 let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect 00:15:00.529 --> 00:15:10.830 it, for I shall not pass this way again. Love 00:15:10.830 --> 00:15:15.590 is lavishly kind and it is not jealous. To be 00:15:15.590 --> 00:15:21.009 jealous means to be envious and to dislike what 00:15:21.009 --> 00:15:23.470 somebody else is able to gain which we would 00:15:23.470 --> 00:15:27.330 like to have. It means that if another person 00:15:27.330 --> 00:15:29.970 is given the advantage or is given a position 00:15:29.970 --> 00:15:36.549 or has a possession and we desire it for ourselves 00:15:36.549 --> 00:15:41.279 and we dislike them because they have it. It 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:43.559 means that if we do that, we are not controlled 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:47.039 by love because love is not jealous. The word 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:52.639 comes from the idea of boiling. If we are boiling 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:57.620 inside because someone else got what we wanted, 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:02.460 that's the point. Love is not that way. Love 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:06.759 does not brag. It does not show off. It is not 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:10.370 self -centered. Love does not blow its own trumpet. 00:16:11.490 --> 00:16:13.190 And by the way, if we had time this morning, 00:16:13.210 --> 00:16:15.309 we could go down through all the problems of 00:16:15.309 --> 00:16:18.970 the Corinthians, and you would find that how 00:16:18.970 --> 00:16:22.009 Paul describes love fits almost every single 00:16:22.009 --> 00:16:26.769 problem they had. Love does not brag, he says. 00:16:26.809 --> 00:16:29.830 Love is not arrogant. The Greek word here is 00:16:29.830 --> 00:16:34.269 the word for bellows. If any of you went to the 00:16:34.269 --> 00:16:36.009 Heritage Square at the State Fair, you might 00:16:36.009 --> 00:16:38.620 have stopped by the blacksmith shop. which I 00:16:38.620 --> 00:16:41.059 try to do every year for a few minutes just to 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:47.580 watch as this artisan uses bellows to pump up 00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:50.740 that charcoal fire and to get it so hot it's 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:53.299 able to heat the metal and then he can pound 00:16:53.299 --> 00:17:00.259 it. The word for hot air is this idea of arrogant. 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:06.259 Paul says love is not a windbag. Love is not 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:09.799 puffed up with hot air. Love does not have an 00:17:09.799 --> 00:17:14.880 exaggerated sense of self -importance. He says 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:20.460 love does not act unbecomingly. That is, love 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:25.759 does not act in bad taste. What he says here 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.460 is not that there's something necessarily evil, 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:31.140 but it's something that's rude. Love doesn't 00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:35.079 do that. Love is not ill -mannered. Love is not 00:17:35.079 --> 00:17:41.140 crass. One who is controlled by love has integrity 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:45.720 and propriety about it. He says love does not 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.920 seek its own. Rather, it seeks the advantage 00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:55.140 of the other and denies itself. Love is not provoked. 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.230 The word provoked here It literally means to 00:18:00.230 --> 00:18:05.049 sharpen along the side of. Love does not go along 00:18:05.049 --> 00:18:08.470 the side of somebody and grate against them. 00:18:09.589 --> 00:18:15.210 To bring them to a point of exacerbation or irritation. 00:18:17.769 --> 00:18:21.970 Love does not allow sharp disagreement as happened 00:18:21.970 --> 00:18:25.970 between, for example, Barnabas and Paul in Acts 00:18:25.970 --> 00:18:33.200 15 39. Our word here, the English word is paroxysm, 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:37.140 which means a spasm. Literally what he is saying 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:38.859 here, if we were to put it in our vernacular 00:18:38.859 --> 00:18:44.759 today, love does not get spazzed out. He says 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:48.839 love does not take into account a wrong. A bookkeeping 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:54.380 term. Love does not keep books on people. It 00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:57.299 doesn't have a ledger that it pulls out and marks 00:18:57.299 --> 00:19:01.299 things off. and says that's one against you. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:05.240 It does not take into account on the ledger. 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:10.779 It does not nurse a real or imaginary fault or 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:14.839 injury in someone else. Love does not rejoice 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:18.420 in unrighteousness. Here Paul seems to be reaching 00:19:18.420 --> 00:19:21.940 toward those who were so broad -minded in the 00:19:21.940 --> 00:19:25.039 church that they were unwilling to confront sin 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:29.680 in their midst. And he says love does not rejoice 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.200 in unrighteousness, but it rejoices with the 00:19:32.200 --> 00:19:36.579 truth. That is when truth prevails. He says love 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:43.019 bears all things. That is, it builds a roof over 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:47.599 others. It protects others from injustice and 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:52.900 hurt. Love believes all things. This does not 00:19:52.900 --> 00:19:57.210 mean that love is gullible. but that love trusts. 00:19:59.910 --> 00:20:03.849 Love does not make us suspicious of everyone 00:20:03.849 --> 00:20:07.589 and everything. Rather love causes us to expect 00:20:07.589 --> 00:20:12.490 the best of others. Someone has said far better 00:20:12.490 --> 00:20:15.569 to be deceived in a doubtful case and suffer 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:19.990 hurt than as a skeptic to hurt another who would 00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:22.930 have been believed or should have been believed. 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:29.759 Love hopes all things. It does not despair, rather 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:33.619 it's optimistic. Love is realism that is anchored 00:20:33.619 --> 00:20:37.380 in the promises of God. It accounts things for 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:40.400 how they really are, but at the same time it 00:20:40.400 --> 00:20:46.220 never loses sight of the hope of what God can 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:51.549 do. And then he says, love endures all things. 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:55.490 That is, love is able to stay under pressure. 00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:01.269 It is persistent against all the odds that may 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:06.609 come against it. Now folks, what a striking portrait 00:21:06.609 --> 00:21:13.369 these phrases and words paint for us. Jesus the 00:21:13.369 --> 00:21:22.569 Lord is love incarnate. Jesus, the Lord is love 00:21:22.569 --> 00:21:26.349 incarnate. And the question I want to ask you 00:21:26.349 --> 00:21:30.150 and me, just before we go out to continue our 00:21:30.150 --> 00:21:33.309 day of celebrating God's goodness and God's grace, 00:21:34.170 --> 00:21:40.970 is this. How much do you look like Jesus? As 00:21:40.970 --> 00:21:43.670 you throw your own picture up against what Paul 00:21:43.670 --> 00:21:48.809 is painting here, how much do you? look like 00:21:48.809 --> 00:21:58.789 Jesus? And a second question is this, will you 00:21:58.789 --> 00:22:06.190 allow Jesus to love others through you? I've 00:22:06.190 --> 00:22:13.049 been deeply troubled the last few days. And I'm 00:22:13.049 --> 00:22:15.029 still troubled this morning by this thought. 00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:26.960 As I look at the lives of Diana and Mother Teresa, 00:22:29.619 --> 00:22:32.819 both of whom had a theology that I cannot identify 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:39.400 with, I nonetheless see in how they chose to 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:52.440 live more love than I see in my own life. That 00:22:52.440 --> 00:23:05.819 bothers me. Because I'm a child of God. His love 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:09.460 has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit 00:23:09.460 --> 00:23:16.980 who lives in me. But I have never gone to an 00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:24.299 AIDS house and touched and ministered to a young 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:29.700 man dying of AIDS. I've never done that. I have 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:36.319 never gone to a leper and washed her feet, bandaged 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:48.740 her hands. Never. How about you? Does that bother 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:55.849 you at all? How do we explain this theologically? 00:24:01.509 --> 00:24:04.930 I don't have an answer for that yet that satisfies 00:24:04.930 --> 00:24:08.529 me. But I can tell you this, that I have asked 00:24:08.529 --> 00:24:12.470 myself this question right here. Will I allow 00:24:12.470 --> 00:24:19.609 Jesus to love others through me? And I hope that 00:24:19.609 --> 00:24:26.440 you will ask yourself that question too. And 00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:29.519 ask God what it means if He is going to love 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:35.759 somebody through you. Somebody who is undeserving. 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:39.519 Somebody you may not know, who can never pay 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:46.000 you back. Somebody that everybody else may despise. 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:53.279 Are you willing to pray with me this morning? 00:24:54.619 --> 00:25:05.839 Jesus. love others through me, and then to ask 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:10.220 Him to bring to you opportunities to do that, 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:13.839 and to allow you to see those opportunities. 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:20.700 Folks, do not pray that prayer lightly. It could 00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:27.279 revolutionize your life. It could change the 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:31.720 lives of people all around you. Be careful in 00:25:31.720 --> 00:25:35.180 praying the prayer. But I'll tell you something. 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:38.240 I have looked at myself in the face the last 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:42.720 few days and I have said, if you are a Christian 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:50.880 and a child of God, why don't you love with God's 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:59.250 kind of love? And that's a question all of us 00:25:59.250 --> 00:26:05.150 need to ask ourselves and repent and open our 00:26:05.150 --> 00:26:10.789 hearts for God to pour his love through us in 00:26:10.789 --> 00:26:14.390 a way that we have never ever experienced before. 00:26:18.750 --> 00:26:26.940 May God break our hearts today for a world that 00:26:26.940 --> 00:26:37.700 God loves and we despise. May God break our hearts 00:26:37.700 --> 00:26:43.660 today for people that Jesus died for and we don't 00:26:43.660 --> 00:26:49.579 give a rip for them and haven't. And may God 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:54.279 show us what we need to do to be his channels 00:26:54.279 --> 00:27:08.119 of love. Let's pray. I'm going to ask if you 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:10.700 would be willing to pray that prayer with me. 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:18.859 Jesus, love others through me. And if you're 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:20.779 willing to pray that prayer, I'm going to invite 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:22.960 you to pray it out loud with me in just a moment 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:25.759 and say those words. And I don't ask you to shout 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:29.819 them. I just ask you to pray them from your own 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:33.460 heart but out loud, not for the sake of anybody 00:27:33.460 --> 00:27:37.220 but you and God. But say the words, if you can 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:41.599 mean it, from your heart. I mean it deeply. Let's 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:48.839 say it together. Jesus, love others through me. 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:57.079 Lord, help us today. to become channels of your 00:27:57.079 --> 00:28:01.400 love in a way that we have never experienced 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:07.160 before in our lives. We repent before you of 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:12.279 hard -heartedness and self -righteousness. We 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:18.079 repent before you for judgmental attitudes and 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:24.539 for being impatient and unkind and jealous. and 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:30.759 all the rest. And we ask you to do something 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:35.319 fresh and new in our hearts that we might experience 00:28:35.319 --> 00:28:44.859 the fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Amen. 00:28:46.859 --> 00:28:48.500 I'm going to ask you to take your hymnal, and 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:50.920 we're not going to sing, but I want to read two 00:28:50.920 --> 00:28:54.750 verses of a hymn. and all of us read it together. 00:28:57.009 --> 00:29:07.410 Please take your hymnal and turn to 283. Would 00:29:07.410 --> 00:29:10.829 you stand with me please as we read this? This 00:29:10.829 --> 00:29:16.710 declaration really. 283, verses 1 and 2. Let's 00:29:16.710 --> 00:29:19.369 just try to read it in unison as much as we can. 00:29:20.210 --> 00:29:24.789 We are God's people. the chosen of the Lord, 00:29:25.369 --> 00:29:29.690 born of his Spirit, established by his word. 00:29:30.450 --> 00:29:35.329 Our cornerstone is Christ alone, and strong in 00:29:35.329 --> 00:29:41.470 him we stand. O let us live transparently, and 00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:46.809 walk heart to heart, and hand in hand. We are 00:29:46.809 --> 00:29:51.490 God's loved ones, the bride of Christ our Lord. 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:57.019 For we have known it, the love of God outpoured. 00:29:57.880 --> 00:30:02.880 Now let us learn how to return the gift of love 00:30:02.880 --> 00:30:08.380 once given. O let us share each joy and care, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:14.579 and live with a zeal that pleases heaven. Amen. 00:30:19.000 --> 00:30:19.460 Amen.