Showing God’s Love

Welcome

‌Opening Prayer

John 15:9-17

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

17 This is my command: Love each other.

Worship Song

Worship Song

Offering

Junior church

Joys and concerns

Worship song

Apostels creed

‌I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth;

‌

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;*

He descended to the dead

on the third day he rose again

he ascended into heaven,

is seated at the right hand the Father

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

‌I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Showing God’s Love

Wow did we not just lay down the ground work for this last week. God is amazing. You see in our first scripture Jesus reminds us that he loves as his father loves him, and if we keep his commands we will remain in his love just as he remains in his fathers love. Let’s stop and think for a moment. When we accept Jesus as our lord and savior we will receive his unconditional love as long as we keep his commandments. Why would we ever not keep his commandments? When we do we receive unconditional love. Kinda sounds like a no brainier. He wants us to have complete joy. so whats the issue? We tend to allow our flesh to get in the road. We want that feel good thing we want everything to be about us. If everything becomes about us and not about Jesus who is responsible? I know you all expect me to say the devil. well I’m not. you see Jesus is with us 24/7 and we have every chance to accept him as our lord and savior. But we are told to many time life, with Jesus life will be a cake walk. When it is a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong it is a very fulfilling life but it does have a lot of sacrifices and trials when we choose to walk with Jesus. Even with the promise of everlasting life in heaven with a seat at the right hand of God. We have to wait for that fulfillment. So we often look at what can give us e mediate satisfaction. and when we choose not to turn to Jesus for fulfillment and look for e mediate gratification Who is there to offer us a huge basket full of empty promises? The Devil. Let’s not give him anymore credit than he deserves. We are the ones who chose to turn away from God. But the devil offers us that feel good, we look for with out all the work. But what does he offer us? Eternal death. short term satisfaction but eternal death. Wow when you think of it this way, don’t sound so good, does it? Jesus calls us friend and there is no greater love than the love he has for us that he gave his life for we could have eternal life in His name. That is an offer we can receive if we follow his commands. When we give our lives to Jesus we are no longer called servants because servants do not know their master’s business. Although when we accept Jesus we are know called friends. Wow did you ever think of your self as a friend of Jesus Christ? You want to impress people by who you are friends with, try throwing around that your best friend is Jesus Christ. don’t get any higher on the pecking order than that right there. Once we are here we have one job He tells us go and love each other. The amazing love Jesus has for us is shown again in

Acts 10:44-48

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.

45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.

46 For they heard them speaking in tongues[a] and praising God.

Then Peter said,

47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

You see The gift from Jesus is available for everyone even the gentiles. You see being a follower of Jesus is not for a select few who meet all the requirements of status in life drive the right cars live in a specific neighborhood, or wear only Jeans bought at the buckle. Jesus is available for anyone who is willing to give up their old life and follow him. You see I want to spend a few minutes on this subject. Are we willing to do this? A lot of people call them selves christian but do not live out their life according to Jesus’s commands. I want to ask how many people have sat in on a baptism and and promised to be a model and a support for the person being baptised in how to live a life for Jesus Christ? How many of us do this? Did you know, we as members of the G.M.C are charged as Christians to hold each other accountable in our faith. I remember as a kid we never had the option to stay home on Sunday because we had to much going on. We had to get up and go to church every week unless for some odd reason we were out of town. I know as I look around this sanctuary some of us grew up on dairy farms and you milked cows got home cleaned up and still went to church. When did it become OK to put Jesus second behind what we want to do or if we feel like the couch sounds a little better today than church. So be it. I have been thinking a lot about this, it’s not our grandparents fault. Our grandparents made an example of good Christians who went almost every week. But as we have gotten older my self included we want to be friends with our kids instead examples. When we ask our selves why don’t young people and kids want to come to church? We stopped making it a priority. You all have heard me say I’m going to ask you if you know where your going when you die. A better question is did you forget you promise to God when you gave your life to Jesus Christ? It was to let your old self die and follow him. I ask you to understand this is given in true love because I care about where each of us and our children are going when we die. So, I ask us all to make worship more of a commitment so we all can join together and practice “Showing God’s Love”.

AMEN

Doxology/RNHC

Worship song

walk to the back

Benediction