"Stewarding the Love of God"

Key Verse: 1 John 4:11 (NKJV) – “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Absolutely! Here is a strong, Spirit-filled, enriched detailed introduction for your sermon titled “Stewarding the Love of God”:

Spirit-Filled Introduction: Stewarding the Love of God

The greatest gift heaven ever gave was not a miracle, not a mansion, not even an angel—it was love. And not just any love, but the pure, unbreakable, unstoppable love of Almighty God! This love walked among us. This love bled for us. This love rose again—and now dwells within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. But here’s the tragedy: many receive the love of God as if it were a fleeting moment, an emotional high, or a passing blessing, instead of what it truly is—a sacred trust to be stewarded.

God's love is not something we simply experience in worship and forget on Monday. It is not just a doctrine we study or a feeling we chase. It is a divine deposit from heaven meant to be cultivated, multiplied, and released through our lives. We are not called to be consumers of His love—we are called to be carriers of His love! To a world drowning in hatred, fear, and division, the Church must rise again—not first in might or miracles—but in authentic, fiery love that reflects the heartbeat of the Father.

This message is a call to stewardship—a call to faithfully manage the greatest treasure God has ever entrusted to His people: His own love. In this end-time hour when the love of many has grown cold and the hearts of people have turned to selfishness, God is looking for a remnant who will guard, grow, and give away His love like never before. The hour is urgent. The earth is groaning. And heaven is watching.

Will you be one who receives His love deeply? Will you be one who reflects it sacrificially? Will you be one who stewards it faithfully?

Because love isn’t just a message. Love is a mission. Love is a mantle. Love is a mark of those who truly belong to Jesus.

So let us press in now and discover what it means to steward the love of God with fire, faithfulness, and fervency.

Point 1: Receive the Love of God Personally

Scripture: Romans 5:5 – “...the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Illustration: Imagine trying to pour water from an empty pitcher. Many believers are trying to give love they haven’t received. Before we can steward God's love, we must drink deeply of it ourselves.

Application: You can’t steward what you haven’t received. Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to flood your heart with God's love? This isn't head knowledge—this is heart transformation. His love breaks shame, heals wounds, and makes us whole.

Additional Scriptures:

Ephesians 3:17–19 “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

Point 2: Love God with All Your Heart

Scripture: Mark 12:30 – “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart...” Illustration: Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.” Loving God means surrendering everything.

Application: When we steward love, it starts by giving it back to God. Loving God is not a Sunday morning event—it’s a daily sacrifice of praise, obedience, and longing. Passion for God fuels compassion for others.

Additional Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

Psalm 18:1 “I will love You, O Lord, my strength.”

Point 3: Demonstrate Love to Others Intentionally

Scripture: John 13:35 – “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Illustration: A pastor shared how his church changed a community—not by preaching louder but by serving better. Meals were delivered, kids were tutored, and elderly neighbors were visited—and revival came.

Application: Loving others is not a vague feeling. Stewardship of love demands intentional action. Love shows up, speaks kindly, gives generously, and forgives quickly.

Additional Scriptures:

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

1 John 3:18 “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Point 4: Forgive as You’ve Been Forgiven

Scripture: Colossians 3:13 – “...forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave you...” Illustration: A woman once came to a revival meeting carrying years of bitterness. At the altar, she surrendered it, weeping. That night, God healed her physically as she forgave—and her husband gave his life to Christ.

Application: You cannot steward love while storing grudges. Forgiveness is a love gift you give, not because someone deserves it, but because Jesus gave it to you. A heart that releases others creates space for God’s love to dwell.

Additional Scriptures:

Matthew 6:14–15 ““For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Point 5: Love in Truth, Not Just in Emotion

Scripture: 1 John 3:18 – “Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Illustration: Imagine a doctor telling a patient everything is fine when cancer is killing them. That’s not love—it’s fear. True love speaks the truth, even when it’s hard.

Application: The world needs a church that loves enough to stand for truth. Stewarding God’s love means upholding righteousness, not compromising with sin. Love and truth are not enemies—they are partners.

Additional Scriptures:

Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

Ephesians 4:15 “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”

Point 6: Serve Through the Love of Christ

Scripture: Galatians 5:13 – “...through love serve one another.” Illustration: Jesus, knowing He had all power, still knelt to wash His disciples' feet (John 13). That’s love with a towel, not a title.

Application: True love bends low to lift others. Whether it’s serving food, visiting prisons, teaching children, or cleaning bathrooms—when done in love, it’s kingdom stewardship.

Additional Scriptures:

Philippians 2:1–4 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”

Point 7: Keep the Flame of Love Burning

Scripture: Revelation 2:4–5 – “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love...” Illustration: A married couple of 50 years was once asked the secret to staying in love. The wife replied, “We never stopped pursuing each other.”

Application: Don’t let your love grow cold. Fan the flame through worship, the Word, and walking in the Spirit. Love is not a one-time gift—it’s a fire that must be tended. The church must shine with love in a world that’s frozen with fear.

Additional Scriptures:

Jude 21 “keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

2 Timothy 1:6 “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

Spirit-Filled Conclusion: Stewarding the Love of God

Beloved, we have not merely been called to receive God’s love—we’ve been summoned by heaven to steward it. This is not optional. This is not secondary. This is the heartbeat of the gospel. Stewardship means responsibility. It means accountability. And it means multiplication.

The world is waiting—not for a new program or another performance—but for a pure demonstration of God’s love through His people. That love must be fiercely protected, intentionally practiced, and boldly poured out.

So many are hurting, broken, angry, and hopeless—and the only thing that will reach them is not more religion, but a love that heals, restores, forgives, and delivers. That’s the love we’ve been entrusted with. That’s the love we must carry like a torch in the night.

Let’s not grow cold in a cold world. Let’s not hide what we were born to shine. Let us become vessels—burning lamps filled with holy oil, shining the love of Christ in dark places. This is our call. This is our commission.

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, We come before You today, humbled by the extravagant love You’ve lavished on us. Thank You for loving us when we were unlovable. Thank You for sending Jesus, the embodiment of Your love, to rescue and redeem us.

Lord, we repent for every time we’ve withheld Your love, ignored the hurting, or allowed bitterness and selfishness to dim our witness. We ask You now—by the power of the Holy Spirit—to set our hearts ablaze again with Your holy love.

Teach us to steward this love faithfully. Let it flow from our hearts into our homes, our churches, our communities, and even our enemies. Make us living letters of love—seen and read by all.

We surrender every offense, every fear, every excuse—and we say, “Yes, Lord!” Yes to love that serves. Yes to love that forgives. Yes to love that shines. Let our hearts become an altar, and let Your love be the fire upon it.

In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray—Amen.