Sermon Tone Analysis

• There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree

We are one day away from Christmas!

YOU KNOW CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE WHEN:

• The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham.

• There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree

• A trip to the mall and back is more challenging then the Indy 500

• The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham.

• A trip to the mall and back is more challenging then the Indy 500

• You are pulling an all-nighter because of the words "Some Assembly Required"

• You are pulling an all-nighter because of the words "Some Assembly Required"

• Your Christmas list is written in black while your check book balance is written in red.

• Your Christmas list is written in black while your check book balance is written in red.

• The NFL referees are not the only ones giving away games

• The NFL referees are not the only ones giving away games

• The infamous fruitcake returns from it’s 12 months of hiding.

• The infamous fruitcake returns from it’s 12 months of hiding.

Over the past few weeks we have been in a series entitled, “unwrapping the gift of Christmas.’

Christmas is about the Advent of Christ coming to us… The incarnation is God’s decent into humanity, John tells us that the word that existed with God from the beginning… “who was with God and was God” became flesh and becoming one of us - God became a human being.

Over the past few weeks we have been in a series entitled, “unwrapping the gift of Christmas.’

Christmas is about the Advent of Christ coming to us… It is about the incarnation and God’s decent into humanity.

Paul tells us in the book of that Jesus who being God in every sense of the word God … that is in his essence, nature and deity… emptied himself (laid aside for a moment) the privileges of heaven and took on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…being found in human form.

John tells us that the word that existed with God from the beginning… “who was with God and was God” became flesh and becoming one of us - God became a human being.

• God came down to us…

One of the early Church fathers Augustine in the 3rd Century said,

Paul tells us in the book of that Jesus who being God in every sense of the word God … that is in his essence, nature and deity… emptied himself (laid aside for a moment) the privileges of heaven and took on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…being found in human form.

• God came down to us…in the incarnation we see the love of God.

“Nothing was so necessary for raising our hope as to show us how deeply God loved us.

And what could afford us a stronger proof of this than that the Son of God should become a partner with us of human nature?”

One of the early Church fathers Augustine in the 3rd Century said,

• God demonstrates to us the extent of his love for humanity……by taking on the human experience… He felt anger, He felt pain, He felt the joy of friendships… Part of his coming was to identify with our weaknesses…but he came on a mission and that was to

“Nothing was so necessary for raising our hope as to show us how deeply God loved us.

And what could afford us a stronger proof of this than that the Son of God should become a partner with us of human nature?”

• lay down his own life… in order to bring redemption and salvation to his creation.

The gift of Christmas is found in the person of Jesus Over the past few weeks we have seen that Jesus is our Hope, Jesus is our peace……Jesus is our Joy…

• God demonstrates to us the extent of his love for humanity……by taking on the human experience… He felt anger, He felt pain, He felt the joy of friendships… Part of his coming was to identify with our weaknesses…but he came on a mission and that was to

• This morning we see that Jesus is the gift of love.. Christmas is love coming down to us.

• lay down his own life… in order to bring redemption and salvation to his creation.

What is love?

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The gift of Christmas is found in the person of Jesus Over the past few weeks we have seen that Jesus is our Hope, Jesus is our peace……Jesus is our Joy…

• This morning we see that Jesus is the gift of love.. Christmas is love coming down to us.

Francis Crick, Nobel-winning scientist, some years ago wrote a book called The Astonishing Hypothesis.

In it, he said something that was controversial, but from the standpoint of a secular view of things, irrefutable.

What is love?

said that “ ‘our joys and sorrows, our memories and our ambitions, our sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Francis Crick, Nobel-winning scientist, some years ago wrote a book called The Astonishing Hypothesis.

In it, he said something that was controversial, but from the standpoint of a secular view of things, irrefutable.

What he is saying is love is a chemical thing that is happening in our brains.

Here is the problem with this thinking is that most us know intuitively that love is much more than that chemical responses..

said that “ ‘our joys and sorrows, our memories and our ambitions, our sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules.

Tim Keller says,

What he is saying is love is a chemical thing that is happening in our brains.

Here is the problem with this thinking is that most us know intuitively that love is much more than that chemical responses..

Tim Keller says,

We talk about love and when we talk about love, we talk about forever.

We say, “I’ll love you forever,” ....We feel like our love is going to last.

Why do we feel that way?

Because love is not a thing originally from time and space.

It has come into the world; it has come from somewhere else.

love comes to us through the incarnation…

Tim Keller says,

No one writes more about love than John the beloved disciple of Jesus.

It was core to his teaching and ministry.. Tradition tells us that after John’s imprisionment on the Isle of Patmos he became the pastor of the Church of Ephesus.

In his old age he would often talk about the love of God and loving others…

We talk about love and when we talk about love, we talk about forever.

We say, “I’ll love you forever,” ....We feel like our love is going to last.

Why do we feel that way?

Because love is not a thing originally from time and space.

It has come into the world; it has come from somewhere else.

love comes to us through the incarnation…

We are going to be looking at Where John deals with the purpose of Christs coming.... - The Genre of 1 John is wisdom literature meaning - it is instructional -similar to the book of proverbs - where it is intended to be practical letter for wisdom for Christian living…

John challenges us to receive God’s gift of love and then to live out that love the context of life.

No one writes more about love than John the beloved disciple of Jesus.

It was core to his teaching and ministry..

ESV

Tradition tells us that after John’s imprisionment on the Isle of Patmos he became the pastor of the Church of Ephesus.

In his old age he would often talk about the love of God and loving others…

ESV

We are going to be looking at ..

Where John deals with the purpose of Christs coming....

John calls the believers, BELOVED or dear friends..

Those who are the cherished the object of ones affections.

Believers were not only the objects of Johns affections but more importantly were the beneficiaries of the love of God…

- The Genre of 1 John is wisdom literature meaning - it is instructional -similar to the book of proverbs - where it is intended to be practical letter for wisdom for Christian living… John challenges us to receive God’s gift of love and then to live out that love the context of life.

John calls the believers, BELOVED or dear friends..

Those who are the cherished the object of ones affections.

Believers were not only the objects of Johns affections but more importantly were the beneficiaries of the love of God…

… He tells us that that as those who have received the love of God we should live out the love of God.

As you have been loved… "let us love one another."

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 that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

This is very practical advice — it is the call to love those who come into our lives… with the same love that we have recieved… because “love is from God.”

12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us

Here is the logic behind John’s instruction..… Why should you and I love others?

John calls the believers, BELOVED..John often often uses this term when he wanted to draw attention to something of importance… He is writing to them as their pastor .. he is giving instruction out of a relationship of love and affection…..

We are to love others Because God by nature is Love.

God is by nature Love...… and anyone who does not love DOES NOT KNOW GOD.

• This love is Agapeo which comes up quite a bit in the scriptures… it’s love that depends on the source of love… Just like a navigator depends on a compass to find which out which way is North… love depends on God’s nature...

John says as those who have received love … "let us love one another for love is from God.