God's Love is Distinct

1 John 4:15–21 NIV

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:

Let me pray for us as we begin.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God.” - 1 John 3:1

I.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” -

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” -

1 John 4:9–21 NIV

9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:15–21 NIV

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Let me pray for us as we begin.

21

Let me pray for us as we begin.

I. ME - ORIENTATION

Mill City has been in a conversation about “Everyday ways to talk about God.” We’ve talked about how the Gospel is about declaring that Jesus is both Savior and Lord…or that He is the one who has brought salvation to us through his death and resurrection. And as Lord, he guides and leads our lives. A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Steph talked about the power in the name of Jesus and the importance of knowing how to have conversations about Jesus. This morning, we continue this conversation to talk about something that I would say is talked about more than anything within the church. There have been more worship songs written on this topic than anything else, and I would even be bold enough to say that all at once, it’s the word used most to describe God also the word that causes people to question God the most. If I polled this room and on asked you how you’d define this word as it relates to God, we’d probably all have different answers.

So what is this? It’s God’s love.

I would be so bold as to say that if you were to re-watch every sermon you’ve ever listened to, every

II. WE - IDENTIFICATION (Tension #1)

There’s this phrase that is commonly used today: “love is a verb.” You know, I was trying to figure out the origin of this phrase so I started to google it and just did some research. There’s a book by Gary Chapman with the title “Love is a Verb,” there’s a song by John Mayer, there are all these different blogs about it too. A mom who writes about loving her children. A therapist who encourages self-love as a verb. A million and a half blogs about romantic relationships and marriage and friendships. Love as a force for social justice. You name the specific topic, it’s been written and I came across it. In general, it seems like people from every age, ethnicity and race, spiritual background, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status believe in this phrase, Love is a Verb. So I was doing all this research and couldn’t really find the origin of it. But then I had this pretty profound realization. The origin of “love is a verb...” You know where it comes from? THE DICTIONARY. And so after all this research I thought to myself, “welp, that’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back.” But all that to say, what I discovered is that people, we have all these different definitions of what “love” is; everyone has a view on how to love people, on what the “right” way to love others really looks like.

But what does God’s love look like?

If you were here a few weeks ago, Pastor Steph read a passage from that said “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This morning, we’re not just going to talk about God’s love, but God’s distinct love. We’re having this conversation about everyday ways to talk about God because it seems like the world and cultures we live in today are making it more and more difficult to have conversations with people about God. But what if it isn’t the different cultures that surround us, or even the political and social state of the world? What if it’s the fact that we may not understand how God’s love is distinct from different kinds of love? So this morning, I want to ask the question:

I just want someone to look at me the way

BIG IDEA

every direction what it looks like to love others and it’s becoming more and more difficult to have conversations with people that want to look at what it means that God’s love is distinct…unlike any other kind of love in the world.

Big Idea

What does God’s distinct love look like, and how are we called to embody that love to others?”

“What does it look like to know and experience God’s love, and love others in the same way?”

“Because we are loved by God, we are called to love others in the name of Jesus.”

The love of Jesus

What does God’s distinct love look like, and how are we called to embody that love to one another and to others?”

To dive into this a little bit more I want to look at 1 John, which is the same author of the Gospel of John. If you have your Bibles with you or an app on your phone, turn with me to . As you turn there, I want to orient us to where we’re at in God’s greater story in Scripture. John the apostle is writing to remind them of things that they already know, that they have known for a long time.

John is writing to remind them of things that they already know, that they have known for a long time.

It’s evident throughout this letter that John wants his audience to know that Jesus has already forgiven their sin, and that He is their advocate. Second, John is writing to keep his audience focused on Jesus so the lens they use to live life with other people is reflective of the life and love of God.

III. GOD - ILLUMINATION

1 John 4:15–21 NIV

15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 4:

What John is saying here is that if we claim Jesus as the leader of our lives and are pursuing a relationship with Him, the other side of the same coin is that we love others.

It’s not just that the way God loves us is distinct. But how he calls us to embody it and live it out. When John says that love is not that we love God, but he loves us, it means that we are changed not because we love Him, but because we are loved by Him. God’s love isn’t just the perfect form of human love. Human love is evidence of God’s love, not the other way around.

Up until I was 24-25, the way I thought of God’s love was I thought of the person whose love for me was most pure and seemingly perfect. My mom who would literally give me anything…there’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me. And my dad…this hilarious guy (

My dad…this is the guy who watches wheel of fortune like he’s watching football. He’s so intense about how people don’t know what they’re doing. I love the Great British Baking Show. And I went home last weekend and was watching an episode with my niece and nephew. In the middle of the episode, I shouted at the TV, “YOU FORGOT TO TURN ON THE OVEN? Amateur.” And my nine year old nephew goes, “You sound like grandpa.” And I was like… “I am my father’s daughter.”

My point being…when we love people, it’s meant to be distinct, it is meant to be the kind of love that people look at and say, “Who’s daughter or son are they?” We

IV. WE - SUPPLICATION (Tension #2)

God’s love calls out the oppressor and calls up the oppressed. His love walked the dirt road to find Saul who was persecuting him, and then did not count it against him. Instead, he said…you will be my main representative to all non-Jews. His love did not look at Peter and say “I told you so” when Peter denied Jesus, but looked at him in such a way that caused him to actually become the rock of the church that Jesus said he’d be. He looks at the crowds with compassion. His love took two fish and fives loaves of bread and multiplied it to feed those in need. His love literally stretched out his arms and absorbed the pain of the world so that they might someday choose him to be the leader of their lives. The love of Jesus walks up to the woman at the well and told her the truth about the adultery in her life not to condemn or shame her, but to say “I see you for you, and not for what you do. Be free and released to experience true relationship and unconditional love.”

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” -

A few weeks ago, Pastor Michael talked about Jesus as the Lord and Savior. Jesus as Lord of your life doesn’t mean he watches your life and orders you around. Jesus as Lord of your life means you watch His life, and you live accordingly. Jesus lived his life by example.

V. YOU - APPLICATION

There’s a song we’re gonna sing later, Reckless Love. There’s a lyric in the middle of it: “There’s no shadow you won’t light up, mountain you won’t climb up coming after me. There’s no wall you won’t kick down, lie you won’t tear down coming after me.” First of all, these lyrics aren’t about how God stalks or creeps on us until He catches up to us or until we stop running. Second, this also isn’t the kind of love in romantic comedies where someone chases down the person their in love with at the end of the movie to profess their love. This is a kind of love that is willing to endure all things in order to find them and proclaim for them and over them , “no matter what you have done, what you have experienced, what has been done to you, what you have lacked in life…you are loved.”

TOUGH LOVE ????

Recently as I’ve heard this song, I’m humbled that I was and still am worth it to Him to endure all things, the cross. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” -

So what does this look like for us on an everyday basis? What does it look like to talk about this?

Have you encountered the love of God? Or just the love of the church?

V. YOU - APPLICATION

You have never been loved by anyone more than

No, we may not have the ability to multiply two fish and five loaves of bread to feed thousands. But if you have the means to…you can give a financial gift to the Sheridan Story to help children go home on the weekend. If you don’t have the financial means, you can volunteer at the Little Kitchen Food Shelf which Mill City partners with in the community.

In my life,

No, you may not be up to date on the political and social state of things in America, but you can can call out racism, sexism, bigotry, and the times when people intentionally strip others of their human dignity.

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

we have the ability to volunteer at the nearest food shelter or donate to the Sheridan story to empower

“There is no fear in love” means if we are afraid of someone or a group of people, it will be difficult for you to love them. When we are intimidated by people or afraid of someone because they’re different than us, we will never be able to love them. I’m not talking about putting yourself in harm’s way, but about our lens to look at others.

we have the ability to volunteer at the nearest food shelter or donate to the Sheridan story to empower

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time I look at the state of our nation, of the world…I wonder if this kind of love is even worth fighting for. People all over the world are wondering why this kind of distinct l The world is wondering where the stories are in the world of people who love one another. My challenge to you: become these stories. You don’t need to be flashy about this love. Jesus wasn’t.

There’s a song that we sing quite a bit, Reckless love. There’s a lyric in the middle of the song “There’s no shadow you won’t light up, mountain you won’t climb up coming after me. There’s no wall you won’t kick down, lie you won’t tear down coming after me.” In my own life

My greatest desire is that we as the church would be the church that Jesus imagined when He spread his arms out and poured out all his love for us to be in relationship with Him.

VI. WE/US - INSPIRATION

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” -

There’s a song we’re gonna sing later, Reckless Love. There’s a lyric in the middle of it: “There’s no shadow you won’t light up, mountain you won’t climb up coming after me. There’s no wall you won’t kick down, lie you won’t tear down coming after me.” These lyrics are not about a love that stalks you without interacting with you or just creepily watches you until it catches up to you. This isn’t even the kind of love in romantic comedies where someone chases down the person their in love with at the end of the movie to profess their love. This is a kind of love that is willing to endure all things in order to find them and proclaim for them and over them , “no matter what you have done, what you have experienced, what has been done to you, what you have lacked in life…I need you to know that you are loved.”

Recently as I’ve heard this song, I’m humbled that I was and still am worth it to Him to endure all things, the cross. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” -

Who would I be right now if Johanna hadn’t boldly told. God used Johanna to come after me.

I don’t know about you, but it seems like every time I look at the state of our nation, of the world…I wonder if this kind of love is even worth fighting for. People all over the world are wondering why this kind of distinct l The world is wondering where the stories are in the world of people who love one another. My challenge to you: become these stories. You don’t need to be flashy about this love. Jesus wasn’t.

The nature of God’s love is that it gives itself freely, expecting nothing in return. When you read through the Gospels and look carefully at how Jesus interacted with people, He inquires and listens but speaks confidently against the things that would hurt or harm others; against the things that are unjust. He teaches us to not just look at the hurting, oppressed, and marginalized from a distance and feel sadness…but to actually move towards them.

The nature of God’s love is that it gives itself freely, expecting nothing in return. When you read through the Gospels and look carefully at how Jesus interacted with people, Jesus inquires and listens but speaks confidently against the things that would hurt or harm others; against the things that are unjust. He does not let the disciples stay where they are. He taught his disciples to look not only at the hurting, oppressed, and marginalized from a distance and feel sadness…but to actually move towards them.

God’s love calls out the oppressor and calls up the oppressed. This love walked the dirt road to find Saul who was persecuting him, and then did not count it against him. Instead, he said…you will be my main representative to all non-Jews. His love did not look at Peter and say “I told you so” when Peter denied Jesus, but looked at him in such a way that caused him to actually become the very thing Jesus said Peter would be: the rock of the church. He looks at the crowds with compassion. God’s love took two fish and fives loaves of bread and multiplied it to feed those in need. The love of God walks up to the woman at the well and told her the truth about the adultery in her life not to condemn or shame her, but to say “I see you for you, and not for what you do. Be free and released to experience true relationship and unconditional love.”

And more important than any of that...God’s love literally stretched out arms and absorbed the pain of the world so that they might someday choose Jesus to be the Savior and leader of their lives. God’s love is sacrificial not just because it is selfless.

He looks at the crowds with compassion. God’s love took two fish and fives loaves of bread and multiplied it to feed those in need. God’s love literally stretched out arms and absorbed the pain of the world so that they might someday choose Jesus to be the leader of their lives. The love of God walks up to the woman at the well and told her the truth about the adultery in her life not to condemn or shame her, but to say “I see you for you, and not for what you do. Be free and released to experience true relationship and unconditional love.”

When we look at Scripture alone, we see our history. We see what God’s love established, and you and me here today is evidence that God’s distinct love has sustained His people for centuries upon centuries.

A few weeks ago, Pastor Michael talked about Jesus as the Lord and Savior. Jesus as Lord of your life doesn’t mean he watches your life and orders you around. Jesus as Lord of your life means you watch His life, and you live accordingly. Jesus lived his life by example.

From Genesis through Revelation, God makes it very clear that we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And whether we know it or feel it, as God’s people together, we embody God’s love when we go grocery shopping, sitting in a cubicle sending emails all day, setting up sound equipment, drinking coffee at Spyhouse, even when we sleep, we embody this love.

My greatest desire is that we as the church would be the church that Jesus imagined when He spread his arms out and poured out all his love for us to be in relationship with Him.

COMMUNION

Like God’s love, communion isn’t just something we take, but something we receive. Here at Mill City, you don’t need to be a member to receive communion, just pursuing Jesus in relationship as the leader of your life. There are going to be servers on either side of the room. As you take the gluten-free bread symbolizing the body of Jesus given for you and dip it in the juice symbolizing the blood of Jesus shed for you…remember that it was God’s distinct love for you, for us that brought him to with the joy set before Him give Jesus for our sake. The beauty of receiving communion alongside other believers and followers of Jesus is that we are acknowledging together the love of God in us and around us.

After you receive communion, if you’re in need of prayer, members of our prayer team will be on both sides of the auditorium ready to pray for you. You’re free to share specific prayer requests or simply ask for prayer.

The band is going to continue to lead us in musical worship. Come forward whenever you’re ready.

God's Love is Distinct

God’s Love is Distinct