The God who Gives Love - Advent 4

What was your most memorable Christmas?

Take a second and think about it.

It might have been a gift you still remember—something meaningful, thoughtful, maybe even surprising. But if you really trace it back, chances are the gift mattered because of who gave it, not just what it was.

I have a feeling our most meaningful Christmas memories usually have more to do with a person and their presence than a present we opened. The gift was meaningful because the person behind it was meaningful.

And that idea takes us straight to the heart of Christmas.

The Bible tells us something profound and simple: God is love (1 John 4). Not that God has love. Not that God sometimes shows love. God is love.

And the book of Colossians tells us that Jesus is the full embodiment of God. He shows us exactly what God is like—the fullness of God in skin and bones, walking among us. In Jesus, we see the fullness of God’s love, not as an idea, but as a person.

And that love—if we’re honest—was complex.

It wasn’t just warm, ooey-gooey feelings.

It wasn’t accepting everything and calling it loving.

Sometimes love meant speaking truthfully about sin, greed, arrogance, and dangers to the soul.

Sometimes love was interruptible and inconvenient.

Sometimes love stopped for people when it would have been easier to keep walking.

But it was always kind.

Always compassionate.

Always truthful.

There are many dimensions to understanding a person, and the same is true when it comes to understanding God—and understanding His love.

That’s why the apostle Paul prays this powerful prayer in Ephesians. I want to read it in full.

Ephesians 3:14–21 “14 For this reason I kneel before the Father 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. 16 I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, 17 and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

God wants you to receive His generous love.

Did you notice that?

God doesn’t just want you to know about His love.

He wants you to receive, comprehend, & be filled with His love.

Which raises an important question:

What do you imagine God thinks of you?

Some people imagine God as disappointed.

Some imagine Him as distant.

Some imagine Him as mostly frustrated.

But Scripture paints a very different picture.

Listen to these words from Jesus Himself.

John 3:16–18 “16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.”

Anytime we are not connected to God, we remain under condemnation—not because God enjoys condemning, but because He is the only one who can heal what’s broken. He is the only one who can correct the corrosion that sin brings into our lives and into our world.

Which brings us to an honest question: What is sin, actually?

In our culture, the word “sin” can sound antiquated—maybe even embarrassing. But think about this: we still have strong language for when something has gone terribly wrong.

Cancel culture, for example, is all about calling out violations so severe they deserve relational death. That’s just a modern echo of what Christians mean by sin: a rupture, a breakdown in trust—between us and God, and between us and one another.

Recently, a woman who came to faith while studying at Oxford described how people today—surrounded by dating apps, endless options, and self-made morality—are exhausted. We’re desperate for a word stronger than “I don’t like it” to name what feels deeply wrong. For many, both inside and outside the church, “sin” is making a comeback—not to shame, but to relieve. Finally, a word strong enough to describe what ails us.

The Bible uses several images to describe sin.

First, sin is dominion. It’s a power that sits over us like Pharaoh over Israel. That’s why the Gospels connect Jesus’ death to Passover. Sin requires deliverance.

Second, sin is a decision. We cooperate with it. We turn from God in our own lives.

Third, sin is a contagion. It spreads. Adam and Eve may have been patient zero, but the infection is now universal. Sin divides, isolates, and drives wedges between people from the very beginning of the story.

So:

If sin is dominion, we need rescue.

If sin is decision, we need forgiveness.

If sin is contagion, we need healing.

And Jesus provides all three.

He frees us.

He forgives us.

He heals us.

The greatest gift we could ever receive is God’s generous love, given to us in the person of Jesus.

Listen to how Scripture describes it.

Romans 5:5–6, 8

“This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly… But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:16“And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.”

1 John 3:23“Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us.”

God wants you to live out generous love.

Ephesians 5:1–2 “1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.”

Generous love always gives of itself. And that stands in contrast to greed and envy.

Greed hoards.

Greed demands.

Greed loves only when there’s a guaranteed return.

Materialism reduces love to things that can be wrapped and exchanged. But Christ shows us love by giving Himself.

Christmas truth: Love isn’t measured by how much we spend—but by how much we give of ourselves.

Loving generosity is more than giving money to others, but it’s not less than that. Financial generosity to the Lord is motived by love and gratitude and is an act of worship to God.

Paul describes the fruit of that kind of generosity in this passage.

2 Corinthians 9:10–15 “10 Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone. 14 And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

God wants you to know He is the fullness of multifaceted, generous love.

How do you know someone loves you?

The Psalms tell us again and again that God’s faithful love endures forever—and how do we know? Because it’s evidenced by His generosity toward His people.

During this Advent season, we’ve looked closely at Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, all through the lens of God’s generosity toward us.

Our desire is to imitate God in all things, including having a generous heart toward the things and people He loves.

So today, we come to a giving moment.

Everything given this weekend—100%—is going toward our building expansion project. We believe now is the time. We’ve spent over 18 months dreaming, praying, and saving toward this moment. And now, we’re stepping forward together.

We invite everyone to participate, bringing Jesus a gift as an expression of love and worship through financial giving. This is a holy moment. Some have prepared by giving bonuses, selling things, or moving investments—not out of pressure, but out of gratitude and love for God’s goodness.

Let’s pray over our generosity.

Prayer

Lord, love is the driving force of Your generosity. You didn’t just give a gift—you gave Yourself. Your Son. Your presence. Your Spirit.

We receive Your generous love today, and we choose to reflect it back to You and to others.

May our giving be worship, our generosity be joyful, and our lives be rooted in Your love.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

>> Transition to Xmas Story:

Love is the driving force of God’s generosity, embodied in the gift of His Son. God’s love is generous because it gives Himself—His presence, His Son, His Spirit—to rescue and redeem.

The Christmas story exposes greed for the empty lie it is, and replaces it with the generous gifts of Christ. This is the story of Love’s Arrival to us.