The Star: The Journey to Love

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Sermon 2

The Star: A Journey of Love

[Show Love Bumper video.]

Isa. 7:10-1

Isaiah 7:10–17 NIV

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

in your church will be doing the lessons based on the major motion picture The

Matthew 1:18–25 NIV

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Star, you may also want to show the weekly movie clip for the whole

Prayer

congregation to enjoy together.]

Introduction:

Advent is an amazing season and so we use these weeks leading up to Christmas as

as we journey together toward Christmas. As we began our Advent season last

week, we talked a little bit about the word advent, which is a version of a Latin

term meaning “coming.” And so we use these weeks leading up to Christmas as

a chance to look forward with great expectation to the coming of Christ as we

embark on a journey of hope, love, joy, and peace.

We are taking into account the importance of the star. It was a star that led people to Jesus, just as the star leads us to Jesus this Advent season.

beacon and a guide to the newly arrived Messiah, Jesus. We talked a bit last

week about the biblical account of the star. It receives a more central role in

Christmas pageants than it got in the Gospel accounts of the Christmas story.

But despite its brief biblical appearance, it was a star that led people to Jesus,

just as the star leads us to Jesus this Advent season.

So together we continue to look for the light as we follow the star on this

journey of love.

The star signals:

the brightest love

the love that never gives up

the love that conquered sin and death

the love that surrounds us daily and fills us eternally.

us eternally. Perfect love. God’s love embodied.

Perfect love. God’s love embodied.

As we think on love this morning let me ask you a few questions and see a show of hands:

questions and see a show of hands: How many of you are finished with all your

How many of you are finished with all your Christmas shopping?

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How many of you haven’t even started?

Christmas shopping? How many of you haven’t even started? How many of you

How many of you plan to just skip the whole shopping thing and go straight to the Christmas dinner?

plan to just skip the whole shopping thing and go straight to the Christmas

dinner?

Well, wherever you stand on Christmas gift shopping and giving,

we spend a lot of money on Christmas. Retail sales from November 2016

through January 2017 in the U.S. was $1 trillion!

But while that number is a bit mind-blowing, here is another fun number

for you: $60 billion. That’s how much Americans spent on their pets last year. 2

Which leaves me with one question: Why?!?!

Don’t get me wrong—I love a cat, dog, fish, or lizard as much as the next person, but $60 billion!?!

dog, fish, or lizard as much as the next person, but $60 billion!?! For animals that

For animals that really just cause a lot of trouble—we walk them, clean up after them, vacuum up the hair, take allergy pills, clean the tank, apologize to the neighbors . . . Really, our pets should be paying us. But we love them, so we spend our hard-earned money and time caring for them. It’s not because of anything they’ve done for us, but simply because we love them.

really just cause a lot of trouble—we walk them, clean up after them, vacuum up

the hair, take allergy pills, clean the tank, apologize to the neighbors . . . Really,

our pets should be paying us. But we love them, so we spend our hard-earned

money and time caring for them. It’s not because of anything they’ve done for us,

but simply because we love them.

Okay, I admit this is not an exact comparison. (Please don’t leave here

thinking that I’m telling you God loves us like we love our dogs.)

But the example does start us down the path of recognizing some things about love.

does start us down the path of recognizing some things about love.

As we do, let me ask you to consider several questions:

How do you perceive God’s love for you?

perceive God’s love for you? Do you feel you need to earn it? Do you wonder if

Do you feel you need to earn it?

Do you wonder if God’s love is meant for you?

God’s love is meant for you? Do you see the overflow of God’s love in your own

Do you see the overflow of God’s love in your own life toward others?

life toward others?

This morning lets look at the love of God, that love caused Him to enter our world through His Son that first Christmas. This love was present from the creation of the world and it is enough for each and everyone of us and is meant to overflow in our lives.

https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/industry/retail-distribution/holiday-retail-sales-consumer-

survey.html?id=us:2em:3na:holiday:dup3524:awa:cip:102616; Bryan Pearson, “Holiday Spending to

Exceed $1 Trillion—And 11 Other Surprising Data Points of Christmas,” Forbes.com, December 22,

2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpearson/2016/12/22/holiday-spending-to-exceed-1-

trillion-and-11-other-surprising-data-points-of-christmas/#6a5853ee247f.

2 Michelle Castillo, “Americans Will Spend More Than $60 Billion on Their Pets This Year,”

NBCNews.com, July12, 2015, http://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/americans-will-spend-

more-60-billion-their-pets-year-n390181.

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Let’s dive deep today into the love of God as we explore a love that

caused Him to enter our world through His Son that first Christmas. A love that

was present from the creation of the world is enough for each and every one of

us and is meant to overflow in our lives.

Love from the Start

When we speak of Christmas we often refer to it as a time “when love came down”. We say God’s love entered the world as a baby. And that is all true.

say God’s love entered the world as a baby. And that is all true. But we would be

But we would be mistaken if we didn’t take a longer view, a view back in time to the beginning of the world. The history of our world, the story of the Bible, is a love story right from the first day of creation. It is the story of God’s love for His people and His plan of redemption to bring us back into relationship with Him.

mistaken if we didn’t take a longer view, a view back in time to the beginning of

the world. The history of our world, the story of the Bible, is a love story from the

first day of creation. It is the story of God’s love for His people and His plan of

redemption to bring us back into relationship with Him.

We need to remember that God is not some distant uncle who suddenly shows up with a gift nobody knows what to do with. Nor is He a cold and miserly distant figure grudgingly offering us an occasional token.

knows what to do with. Nor is He a cold and miserly distant figure grudgingly

Yes, love came crashing into that stable in Bethlehem.

offering us an occasional token. Yes, love came crashing into that stable in

Jesus’s birth was the culmination of a long history of love.

Bethlehem. But Jesus’s birth was the culmination of a long history of love. And

And His love for us today, this Advent season, is not something new.

His love for us today, this Advent season, is not something new.

tells all about how God knew us intimately before we were

born.

Psalm 139:13–14 NKJV

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

:13-14

And the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians:  

Ephesians 1:4–6 NIV

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Eph.

“For he chose us in him before

the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he

predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with

his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely

given us in the One he loves” ().

God’s love does not depend on us.

It’s not something we have to earn or perform for to maintain.

perform for to maintain. It starts with God, not us. God is love. It is His nature and

It starts with God, not us.

God is love.

It is His nature and character. His love for us was there from the beginning of time and will continue throughout eternity.

character. His love for us was there from the beginning of time and will continue

throughout eternity.

It can be a mind-boggling concept to grasp. But as we pursue the journey

of love, let me encourage you to simply accept that God’s love for us exists

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beyond the constraints of time, space, and our limited understanding.

This morning I want to remind you that it is a love worth focusing on, meditating on, and basking in during this season of preparation.

worth focusing on, meditating on, and basking in during this season of

preparation.

Love Enough

Let me pose some more questions this morning:

But do you ever have a hard time loving God?

Do you ever have a hard time accepting His love for you?

time accepting His love for you? Do you ever doubt that His love is enough to

Do you ever doubt that His love is enough to cover all the pain, hurt, selfishness, and evil of our world?

cover all the pain, hurt, selfishness, and evil of our world? Or that His love is

Or that His love is enough to cover the pain or hurt in your own heart?

enough to cover the pain or hurt in your own heart?

If we’re honest, I think most all of us would have to answer yes to all those

questions, and some of us more than others.

Despite what we may know in our heads or believe in our hearts, there is a daily struggle to live in the reality of God’s love for us.

heads or believe in our hearts, there is a daily struggle to live in the reality of

It’s so different from our own ability to love. It may be vastly different from the love—or lack of it—that you’ve experienced in your human relationships and life overall.

God’s love for us. It’s so different from our own ability to love. It may be vastly

different from the love—or lack of it—that you’ve experienced in your human

relationships and life overall.

Let me remind you of some good news this morning—the best news.

God.

Loves.

You.

Not because of anything you’ve done or have to do.

Not for today but then He’s going to take it all back tomorrow.

He’s going to take it all back tomorrow. Not like the father or mother or spouse or

Not like the father or mother or spouse or friend or enemy who let you down or hurt you or abused you or twisted the concept or guise of love to inflict damage or pain or heartache that can seem so hard to heal from or let go of.

ex-spouse or friend or enemy who let you down or hurt you or abused you or

twisted the concept or guise of love to inflict damage or pain or heartache that

can seem so hard to heal from or let go of.

God loves you purely, perfectly, wholly, lavishly.

You don’t have to earn points to muster up love from God.

points to muster up love from God. He pours love out on us—no matter how

He pours love out on us—no matter how unlovable or unworthy we may feel.

unlovable or unworthy we may feel. And He pours out love unendingly.

And He pours out love unendingly.

Think of the Christmas story characters. They didn’t fit into the “most

lovable people” box.

They were a bewildered, young, average, and humble engaged couple, a band of smelly shepherds, a group of foreign mystics.

engaged couple, a band of smelly shepherds, a group of foreign mystics. Dig a

Dig a little deeper behind the bathrobes and kid animal costumes of the typical

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little deeper behind the bathrobes and kid animal costumes of the typical

Christmas pageant scene and you get the picture.

Where would you fit into the scene on that Bethlehem night so long ago?

Where do you find yourself now in this season of long, dark, and cold winter

nights?

No matter where you are on the journey, God’s love is for you. It is more

vast and perfect than you can ever fully and completely grasp this side of

heaven—but so worth opening your heart and mind and soul to receive and be

drawn ever deeper into.

Maybe that was a little like the prayer the apostle Paul offered for the

Ephesians when he wrote,

Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

God’s love is deep and wide and long and high. And it doesn’t change

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in

love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how

wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that

surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of

God” ().

God’s love is deep and wide and long and high. And it doesn’t change

even if our feelings do. Even when we feel distant from God’s love, He is there

beside us.

The people of Israel must have felt abandoned many times. They must

have struggled to believe that God still loved them when it took so long for the

promise of a Messiah to be fulfilled. But even when they grew weary of waiting

and questioned God, His love never failed. It was there all along to carry and

sustain them through uncertainty.

And in the right timing, God’s love delivered its full culmination in the birth and person of Jesus, God made flesh, love come down among us.

full culmination in the birth and person of Jesus, God made flesh, love come

Jesus was God’s love with skin on.

down among us. Jesus was God’s love with skin on.

Nothing can shake that love.

Nothing can tear us away from it.

And it will never fail us now as we wait for Jesus’s coming

never fail us now as we wait for Jesus’s coming—figuratively through the Advent

season and literally until He returns to earth to complete His ultimate work.

In Romans, Paul gave us a description worth clinging to when we struggle

or doubt or simply need a hopeful reminder:

Romans 8:38–39 NIV

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

“For I am convinced that neither

death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor

any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be

able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”

().

Love Overflows

Does anyone have company coming this Christmas?

Parents, siblings,aunts, uncles?

aunts, uncles? Christmas is such a wonderful time to be together. But here’s the

Christmas is such a wonderful time to be together.

But here’s thereal question—will anyone be sick of their relatives or guests after day three of their visit?

real question—will anyone be sick of their relatives or guests after day three of

their visit?

It’s the very nature of God’s unending and unlimited love that it cannot be

contained.

God doesn’t want it to be contained.

The Bible tells us to love others, even the people who seem unlovable.

even the people who seem unlovable. Sometimes that is easy, and sometimes

Sometimes that is easy, and sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the world.

it’s the hardest thing in the world. And getting back to those holiday

And getting back to those Christmas houseguests—sometimes the unlovable are the people closest to us.

houseguests—sometimes the unlovable are the people closest to us. They can

They can be the people we truly love most but who also have the most power to drive us crazy, remind us of our weaknesses, and even bring up our deepest pain.

be the people we truly love most but who also have the most power to drive us

crazy, remind us of our weaknesses, and even bring up our deepest pain.

love in us overflowing to others. In reality, that’s not something we can do—or do

The journey of love is about God’s love in us overflowing to others. In reality, that’s not something we can do—or do for long—on our own effort. It must come from the source of love, and it can.

for long—on our own effort. It must come from the source of love, and it can. The

The Message nicely paraphrases Peter’s description of that:

1 Peter 1:22 The Message

Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.

Living Bible nicely paraphrases Peter’s description of that: “Now you can have

“Now you can have

real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness

and hatred when you trusted Christ to save you; so see to it that you really do

love each other warmly, with all your hearts” (, TLB).

That doesn’t mean it is easy, but it shifts our focus from trying hard to love

others to experiencing the depth of God’s love in a way that allows it to overflow

in our life to the people around us.

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1 John that sums up that connection between God’s

of Scripture together from 1 John that sums up that connection between God’s

love and our love for others:

1 John 1

1 John 4:17–19 NKJV

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

1 John 1 NLT

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

1 John

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

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. This is love:

not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an

atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us,

we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but

if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made

complete in us.  

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given

us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has

sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges

that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

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.

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.

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.

We love because he first loved us. ()

There is so much that could be unpacked in that passage, but I want us to

capture and take away three main things today:

God is love, and He sent His Son as a sacrifice for us. This was

Jesus, God’s love from the start and His gift to each of us.

We can know and rely on God’s love—God’s love is enough for us

today, tomorrow, for always.

We love because God first loved us. God’s love overflows within

and through us to others.

God’s love is truly the whole reason we celebrate this season.

Let me encourage you to dwell on it and abide in it throughout Advent.

encourage you to dwell on it and abide in it throughout Advent. Meditate on it.

Meditate on it.

Read these Scriptures we’ve discussed over and over again, and let their truth

wash over and through you.

But let me challenge you as well to walk in God’s love as it penetrates and

changes your heart. This journey of love is not simply about words or even the

feelings of acceptance—it is also a journey of action and truth. The gift of God’s

Son that we celebrate was God putting love into action through Jesus. His love is

an overwhelming love that calls and moves us to similar action.

tells us, “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.”

Advent and Christmas can be an easy season to put this similar love into

practice. Yet in many ways, it can be even more difficult. But as we prepare our

hearts expectantly and purposefully for our celebration of Christ’s arrival, let us

also put into practice His love flowing through us. Will you allow His love to

penetrate and overflow your heart as you abide with the source of all love this

Advent season?

Prayer: God, thank You that in this season of Advent, You invite us to

follow the star on a journey of love. Help us to experience the depth of Your love,

which has been there from the start, is enough for all of us, and overflows in our

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lives to others. Please continue to fill us with expectation as we live in Your love

and wait for the complete fulfillment of that love when Christ comes again. Amen.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and

long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses

knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

()