I Want To Know What Love Is

Last week when we talked about Love, we talked about the impact of what misunderstanding what it is and how that misunderstanding affects our connection with God. God did bring other Christians into the circle of love. God, me, Jesus

1 Corinthians 12:31–13:13 NIV

31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way. 1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Sermon Title - I want to know what love is

Prayer

Last week, we talked about the importance of love, this week I want us to talk about what love actually is. Last week, we got the definition, this week we will use it in a sentence.

Part of the challenge is that we talk about love as a feeling. Most of what we do is based on feelings. That’s why one week we are happy and serving God and the next week we are down and saying we are going to leave the church. That’s why we have to be pumped up for praise and worship. Here is the issue; we love in the flesh more than we love in the spirit. We love the way WE do stuff. Then we try to get God to cosign.

We live in a society where there are lots of folks saying lots of things. empty words. and we try to get people to think we know more than what we know. we try to get people believe what we believe, even if what we believe is not the truth.

But Pastor James, how do we know what love is? Dont you see how corrupt people are? Dont you see all the racism, dont you see all the domestic violence, dont you see all the job loss…Tell me Pastor James, I wanna know what love is, cause right now, I dont see it.

I want to know what love is when everyone gives up on me but God’s love never fails.

I want to know what love is when I keep messing up and people lose patience with me but God never loses patience.

How do I do it

Being is better than doing - v1-3

Doing is better than knowing - v4-7

Knowing is better than saying - v8-12

Be patient

At the end of days, there will be no Pastors or deacons or Apostles. No gifts of healing or speaking in tongues. At the end, all things will pass away and only faith hope and love will endure and the greatest will be love.