2014 THEME INTRODUCTION
Scripture 1
John 4:7-12
Dear friends, let us love one another,
for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has
been born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He
sent his one and only Son into the world that we
might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since
God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another. No one has ever seen
God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his
love is made complete in us.
Noun: a word that
refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality.
Verb: a word or
phrase that describes an action, condition or experience.
Many people
I would call loving VERB.
But only one
who I would call LOVE as a noun = God. God is love.
My wife shows me love in some ways that
others have; Praying for me, spending time with me, tending to my wounds, etc.
She also loves me in ways that no one else in the world does. I experience love with or from others in many
ways, a gift or card on my birthday or Christmas, assistance building
something, food provided after a surgery, etc. God loves me by putting people
and things in my life for my benefit, like others do, however God loves me in
ways that no one else does. God lives in me by His Spirit, God has forgiven my
sin and given me eternal life through the greatest act of love in human
history. No one else can do that.
Name Religious
tradition founded Life of founder
No one else by their death could bring life. Jesus
proved the power of love to forgive by his resurrection. Let’s think about that one for a moment. Adam
and Eve thought about sin; which was not sin - that is called temptation. Then they ate the forbidden fruit and that “act”
was the first sin. But it was much more, it revealed our sin nature.
When Jesus sacrificed himself for me on the cross, it was not primarily for my
sins, rather for my sin nature. Sins are
not our greatest problem. Most who think about God think that way. If I stop
the acts of sin and do good God will be pleased with me. If I keep doing acts
of sin, God is always watching and will keep zapping me. The fruit is simply a
sign of the root. It is getting rid of the root of sin that Jesus died for. Simply trying to change behavior is never
enough. You MUST seek forgiveness for your sin condition as well as your sins.
There are many people who do good things who will never see heaven and many
people who have lived wretched lives who will, if they have truly received the
love gift of forgiveness - like the thief on the cross who, moments before he
died was forgiven of his sin condition and by Jesus for his sins, yet still
paid the earthly price for being a thief.
Does that help you recognize what took place in a
nano second 2000 years ago? While Jesus still breathed, we were still dead in
our sin condition. The moment Jesus
breathed his last breath forgiveness of sin was made possible for those who
would put their lives into his care.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. God’s wrath has been on us since the fall -
when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. That
wrath is removed by the obedience of Jesus.
His obedience to the Father is pure love toward us. We are invited to
live in that love…This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
We need to learn how to
live in that love. We have got to stop living in fear and start trusting that
God desires the best for us in love. 1
John 4:16-18 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In
this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the
day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in
love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
How do we live in this love? How do you live in anyone’s love. While my mother was living, I knew there was
nothing I could do that would remove her love from me. How did I know
that? Because she caught me smoking as a
kid, and she still loved me. Because
horsing around with my brothers we broke her bed - multiple times, she still
loved me. Because when I got caught
shoplifting at age 12 - on her birthday, she sat me down, grounded me for two
weeks, told me she was disappointed in me and also told me how much she loved
me. I couldn’t do anything to lose my
mother’s love. I got to live in that
love. I 100% trusted that love. I didn’t
have to be perfect to live in my mother’s love.
I don’t have to be perfect to live in God’s love through Christ. Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We will examine both parts of this theme all
year, but I really want you to begin to get how much God wants you to live IN
his love. It is only then that you can
live out the last part of our theme text - Dear
friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God
lives in us and his love is made complete
in us.
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