Untitled Sermon (6)

Intro

Advent: is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Birth of Christ at Christmas and the anticipation of the return of Christ at the Second Coming.

 There are typically 4 topics or themes that are discussed on the 4 Sundays leading up to advent, and sometimes you see a 5th added, just as we have.  

 Those are:

Hope (Last week)

Peace

Love

Joy

Christ

Think for a minute about the word advent.

Vent = ven greek word for come.

Advent is the arrive of…

invent = to create a new invention …

meaning these things never existed until they arrived.

Transition:

advent = the arrival of blank.

With Jesus we have the arrival of hope

With Jesus we have the arrival of peace

With Jesus we have the arrival of Love.

Opening Illustration: What is Love? Where is Love?

Song by Hadddaway

Song in Oliver Twist

How do you define Love?

I spent some time this week just looking how love is defined across American culture.

Dictionary = an intense feeling of deep affection.

Affection: a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.

Will Smith - The Central Idea of Love is not a relational commitment.

Cultural Displays of love: The Notebook, The Golden Bachelor.

I am not saying everything I read was a contrast view to biblical love… but a lot of it was

A survey of love across American Culture:

Love is a feeling.

Self Love is the start of Love.

Love has very little to do with commitment.

How does the Bible define love?

1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (ESV)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Transition: Love is made real in the arrival of Jesus. In Jesus we have a picture of love we can turn back to. I am going to encourage us this morning that whatever definition of love we have begins right here.

B.I =God is Love. love is from God. Love one another.

Pray and Read Passage

1 John 4:7–9 (ESV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

The Address:

Beloved

1. Loved Ones… 2. Loved by Paul.... I love you so please hear this. 3. Love by God 4. Loved by one another.

The Structure of the passage:

Paul presents three truths

Paul then repeats three truths in reverse order (Which I think is their logical order)

Transition: Truth number one is this… …

God is Love.

God was manifest among us v9

Just as the Jesus is the Hope, just as Jesus is Peace. Love is manifested with his presence.

God has and always will be loving.

The creation of earth was in response on the love of God.

Gods love is then spilled out on all of creation.

Psalm 145:8–9 (ESV)

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Love does not originate with us it exist within God.

“He loved us not because we are lovable, but because He is love.” (C.S. Lewis)

God did not look at you and say that is something I love rather he has always been committed to love.

Sure there is a feeling component

Yes the God of the universe if fond of himself

But at the core of it God loves because that is who he is… and all he does is directed out from his character…

Transition: So lets discuss how God directs his love.

Love is from God.

God sent his only son into the world. v9

The greatest display of Love in the history of the world is the sending of Jesus.

God all powerful… Eternal… Content… But so full of love he desires to restore a relationship with his creation.

So willing to love that he gives up something himself to restore a relationship with you.

so that our relationship may be restored.

Praise God Love is a commitment

Covenants: Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jeremiah.

Man never keeps his commitments but yet God does until the point that he keeps up both ends of the deal.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Transition: God is love. Love arrives with Jesus. Now we turn it to us… How do we practice Love…

So respond by… … Love one another.

Love One another (How passage begins)

So that we might live through him. v9

Loving one another does not begin by loving yourself....

Rather we only have the capacity to be a loving church community because of God.

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

Self Love does not lead to more love for other…

To Love one another is to see the face of God. - Le MIserable

“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.” - Tim Keller

We have a great opportunity to Love another and let is spill out into our daily lives.

John 13:35 ESV

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Recap:

Gods is Love

His love is on display

we respond by practicing love not only in this season but every day of our lives.

May we be a community that is marked by Love!

Pray