Oh how he loves us

Did you give us Harvey? Thank you for this opportunity to gather in your house and to worship. And Lord, as we think of those who have been mentioned, Florida, Gary recovering from his surgery, Lord Anne's son, Ryan is he recovers? Lord endow this Belmont wrestler who was injured Lord, we pray that you would bring each of them, the healing that they need. And Lord. I know there are probably many other concerns that we're not voiced, the Lord's, you know, what's on her hearts. Lord, I pray that you will just be with each and every one of those situations.

nor do, you know what, our deepest desires, what our deepest concerns are and Lord, we pray that you will just help us to lean into you during those times and to trust you And Lord, as we talked about your deep love for us today, Lord, I pray that each of us will leave with a sense of knowing how deeply loved we are. We pray this all on your most holy name. Amen. Lavinia. The kids want to go out for children's church. You can do that. I forgot to ask Gage if he would do that, but he's nodding his head and heading that way. So thank you sir.

You know, this year, as we've been doing Advent, you see on the front of the bulletins that says, he know, preparing for Christmas, or preparing for Jesus, you know, some different themes that have been there. And, you know, today we light the pink candle that usually some Churches, mix it up differently, some traditions, there's about a thousand different ways to just do add then I think but you know, the pink usually represents love. And you know what I like about this is because when we talk about love, you know, this is one of those gifts that we talked about this season, that, you know, is just so wonderful because of its Supernatural origin. Because it is a free gift from God and we're going to look at some scriptures that talk about that. In 1st. John 3:1, it says how great is the love? The father has lavished on us. That we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us, is that it did not know him. You know, is received from the scripture, you know. One of the things that talks about is it talks about God, lavishing his love on us, is that great part of that, that means we get to be members of the family of God and that is one of the greatest things that he can give to us. Is that invite to join the family. And, you know, sometimes I think that's hard for us to understand for a lot of human reasons. You know, when you talk about the love of a father or the love of a family, that means different things to all of us because all of us have had different relationships with family, with our fathers, with our parents and Generals. Like I said, it can mean a million different things. I can make that a difficult concept for us to understand. and even as we think about it during this holiday season,

you know, so often we think about. So you know what we hear kind of van me mythical side of Christmas, you know, is it based off of us being naughty or nice. You know what are we going to get in our stocking? Those sort of things but you know, God's love what type of love that were talking about here isn't something like that. It isn't something that we can learn based off of our own good Merit. And it's not something that we can lose because of our lack of Merit. It is the free gift of God's grace. We don't deserve it, but God gives it to us because his love is an unconditional love. And I think that's what makes it hard for us to understand because so often, when we love someone or something, it comes with a lot of conditions.

When we lived in Eastern Kentucky, on I had the privilege for a little while of I wasn't driving a school bus, but I was in Aid on a school bus for a special needs girl. And the unique thing about this situation was that because she lives so far out in the boonies and the school she was going to so far, the other way on the county, the only two kids who wrote on the bus for her, and her little brother So, the bus driver would drive me to their house. Every week, we would get them on the bus and then we would go, which it was really just a 15-passenger van painted yellow. But we would go to the school. Drop off the little brother at his elementary school and then take her to her school. But it got to a point where after a while the mom was talking to a saying that you know, she didn't know how much longer she would need us be taking her daughter because her daughter's needs were growing to a point that she didn't know how much longer she's going to care for her home. And that was tough for this mom to think about. She's cared for her needs up till this point and she thought, you know, have I failed as a mom. If I'm getting to the point that I can't care for her that I can't, you know? She talked about that and then she talked about how she got to a point finally, with it. Where she thought. Well, I got to start praying about this. You know, what does God want me to do? Cuz she knew if she knew anything for sure, she knew that she wanted. What was best for her daughter. That was all that she wanted. So, she prayed about it and prayed about it and prayed about it. And then she said, finally, one morning as she got up and she was getting her ready to be picked up by us. She said, I just felt that kind of still Small Voice, you know, whisper to me. Why do you love your daughter?

Said, I kind of like, you know, what do you say to that? And she said that, I heard that voice ask me. Well, you know, how do you love her because she does so well, in school. Do you love her? Because she's such a great athlete, do you love her? Because, you know, she's going to have such a great career. My mom says I have to admit I kind of laughed to myself and thought, are you kidding? I mean, You know, her condition, that's none of those things. I love her just because she's my daughter. She said, as soon as I thought that she said, I felt that still Small Voice say to me again and that's exactly why I love you. Simply because you are mine. And she said it was after that, she had that Assurance in her heart. That as long as she acted out of love for her daughter, that everything was going to be okay. That she didn't have to worry about it. That, as long as that was her motivation that she was using, she was going to be okay.

I always think of that every so often and I usually think of it every year when we roll around to this loved one thinking, you know what? That is exactly the same reason that God loves all of us. Simply because we are hits. We were created to be his, we were created to be loved by him and that is why he loves us. I mean, if you really think about what happens in the Christmas story of this child being born, which we know 33 years down the road. What happens with the Easter story?

What else? Other than love? Could motivate someone to act that way.

And like I said, you know that Mother's love for her daughter was and unconditional. Love it didn't matter all the hours in the work she had to put in taking care of her daughter. That wasn't it? That didn't matter. And God's love for us is an unconditional love. He loves us simply because we are his

Like I said, we're all created to be children of God, but unfortunately, some of us in this world never make that choice to follow him. Some people never. Realize that that is what they were created for to be a child of God. And that's why this gift is such a profound Act of Grace. You know, God offers this extravagant love to all of us.

Whether we want it or not. Whether we're worthy of it or not. And I have news for you and none of us are but God, still offers all of us that free gift 1st John chapter 3 verses 16 through 20 says this is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him. How can the love of God be in him? dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth This then is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence. Whenever our hearts condemn us for God, is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

You know, it's not always easy to help those. People who need the help the most, A lot of times, they don't want the help or at least still say they don't want the help or sometimes, when we look at people's needs, their needs are so overwhelming that we simply don't know where to start.

You know, we simply don't know what we can do, what we should do and we don't feel strong enough to, you know, Supply this need for them long-term.

That's when we have to remember that when God puts those sort of people in our path, when we feel the Holy Spirit, nudging us to help someone do something or to say something to someone that you know, we're not doing that all alone. No matter what, our shortcomings, maybe God knows our hearts, and he assured us that he will Empower us. To do those things. Cuz that's often it's often. The reason we hesitate is We doubt our ability. The love that person. Like we know, we need to

Now, let me know if this has happened to any of you so far, this Christmas season. You've taken all the time to wrap, all those lights around your tree or, you know, you take the time to put all the lights up on your house. You know, using your sketchy, bladder, extension thing to get up to the peak. Then what happens when you go, plug it in?

It doesn't work right or half of it works. You know, 300 light bulbs don't seem like a huge amount until you have to check every one of them, right? Because what is it about? The magical strands of Christmas lights. That there can be one bald that seems unrelated to everything else. That knocks out the power to all of it.

But, you know, that's just how it is that, you know, if you don't have all of the lights connected, if all the lights aren't doing their jobs. If energy doesn't flow, the power doesn't flow, and it doesn't work the way it was intended. You know, it's the same with us and our witness in the community, you know, if we aren't all plugged into the power source, it's not going to work.

If one of our dim little bulbs is burnout and not working, it can affect the rest of the Strand. That's when we have to help each other and work with each other to improve things. Your God's power enables us to love with, more than words.

you know, so many people will say to you this time of year, you know, Merry Christmas or happy New Year, right? Or The guy at the grocery store the other day, said to me, happy Christmas and Merry New Year.

But, you know, as we do those things, I always wonder when I hear people say that to me. Merry Christmas. What did they really believe about Christmas? What do they think about it? And you know, with God's help, we are able to follow through on the actions and meet the needs of other people, putting their needs above our own. And whenever we do that, we're not going to like everything. Because that's what the love of God looks like selflessly helping others.

I mean, there's nothing else that explains the whole Christmas Story, sending your son is the savior of the world thing, except for selfless, unconditional love. And when we can stay connected to him and to his love and plugged into that source of our power, if we are able to serve and love people, the way that God loves us. You know, our church has done an amazing job responding to the needs of others that we see with our food bank. Do you know some of you might think? Well that's not really my thing. I don't like coming and doing that or I don't like serving in that way and that's okay. But you know, God can use all of us in our own way to be a part of different things. There is a way for all of us to be used. We're all little bulbs in that, strand of light. That if we're really going to make a difference, we all have to be working.

And that's something I would have challenges with. As we think about this Advent season as we prepare for Christmas, as we prepare for celebrating the birth of Christ, you know? If we think about that power of Jesus, that power of God, that is available to us, that is working in us, as children of God. What is it that God is calling us to this Advent season?

What is it that he can use this for? You know, whose life? Will you impact? In a way that, you know it seems like for some reason, around this time of year, people are more open to that stuff. They're more willing to hear it.

and, you know, with God's strength, in his power, working through you in his help, there's no telling What the results will be. You might doubt you but God never does. God, never has doubted your ability to do what he's called you to do. And you know, when his love is made complete within us, then we are able to perform acts of kindness and love in his name.

You know, if I try to love somebody with the power that Dave has to love them, that's not going to get that far. If they're lucky, they catch me on a good day and it might not be too bad. There's not every day that I'm filled with love all day long. I mean, I might be the only person in here that feels that way. But we all have those days, right? And the only way that we can love people on those days is by the love of God, that's within us.

And you know sometimes we have things happened to us. That it's really hard for us to understand what God's doing. God, why are you doing this? Why you no. Do you keep putting this person in front of me. Every time I come here, I bump into the same person. Lord. Why There might be a reason for that. There might be a connection that God is trying to make. That's why we need to keep asking God to work through Us in to help us understand his loving ways, how to love these people. Because one thing that we can be sure of is that when God does something, he does it out of love.

That's always his motivation. Doesn't matter if he's blessing us. If he's disciplining us, if he's doing whatever. When God doesn't he does it out of love. You know, the Bible says that if we ask, we will receive that. If we knock the door of divine love, will be open to us.

You'll then his love will fill us so much that we will literally see got it work. Around us every day. Have you ever thought about that? You know, getting to a point where you are so aware of God's love for you that you can see things happen throughout your day and realize that happened because of God's love for me or that happened because of God's love for that person.

It's happening around us all the time, everyday. You know, if you really look at the original language of the Bible, you'll see that the Greek word that's used for love. And most of these passages that I just talked about. Means a selfless concern for the needs of others.

That's how God loves.

We can love that way by the power of God within us by the power of His Spirit but we can't love people that way on her own. Like I said, the tank runs empty really quick. Cuz you know real love, doesn't depend on whether of the person being loved is worthy or not. That's how the world books. I mean, we all know that we know it's true that, you know, when we talked about loving something, it's got to meet certain standards, right? Certain things have to be But that is not. How God loves, you know, real love is a decision, a conscious Act of our will to love even the most unlovable and obedience to God's command to love one another.

We will all encounter people that really challenges in that. How do I love this person live? And I love this person.

Whenever that pops into your head, the next thought needs to be because God loves me. That's why.

And we know all of our own shortcomings, we know where we fall short. So,

We can surely see why we can love others. John chapter 13 verses 34 and 35 will be my closing verse here. It says a new command. I give you Love one another as I have loved you so you must love one another by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. Please bow with me in prayer. heavenly father is,