God is love.

"My boyfriend at the time had made reservations for lunch at a nice restaurant, but never came to pick me up. Two hours later he calls me to let me know he simply got distracted trying to memorize song lyrics and that it wasn't a big deal because he had a back up plan. We saw Avatarfor the 4th time." – amandalea71

"I got a stuffed dog and a sweet, heartfelt declaration of undying love...that was written for the guy that she had just broken up with to be with me. She just figured screw it, it's already written and sealed. She even scratched his name off the envelope and wrote mine. We didn't last long." – bowyer-betty

"I kept the whole [dinner] date secret from my GF. She thought I wasn't gonna do anything. And broke up with me." – Dave_Kun

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What better day to talk about Love than Valentine’s Day.

1 John 4:7–11 NASB95

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we 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.

4 Kinds of Love

C.S. Lewes wrote that there are four kinds of love written about in scripture.

Eros: Romantic love. Intimate love. Valentines day, hearts, candy.

Storge: The love that we feel for our children/parents.

Lincon’s face when he sees his momma.

Philao: The love that we fell with our brothers and sisters. It is often borne of adversity. It is what I feel when I walk into this church and see you.

John 11:3 NASB95

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

Agape: Intentional Love. a choice.

sacrificial love

Demonstrated love.

John 3:16 NASB95

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Patient

kind

not jealous

does not brag

not arrogant

does not act unbecomingly

seek its own

not provoked

does not take into account wrong suffering

does not rejoice in unrighteousness

rejoices with the truth

bears all things

believes all things

hopes all things.

entures all things

never fails.

Marriage is important!

Ephesians 5:25–27 NASB95

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:31–32 NASB95

31 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.

Revelation 19:7 NASB95

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”

The only relationship that we as created beings to reflect all four types of love.

Eros. Romantic love without all the others is a perversion of what God intended. It becomes only self fulfilling without regard for anyone else

Storge: Family. Two becoming one flesh:

Romans 11:17 NASB95

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

Philao: Martye and I have been through some stuff… Struggling with little money. Raising Children. Spiritual battles.

The adversities that we have faced have drawn us together.

Agape: Sacrificial Love. Act of making the choice to love one another. Through sickness and health, richer and poorer.

The Art of Marriage retreat:

You are both very selfish people:

Marriage is not primarily about you:

The ultimate purpose of marriage is to reflect God’s image.

For couples: express your self honestly with your spouse:

Commit to working on yourself.

AGAPE love expressed is the way you will receive the other forms of love.

Directions for the Church

1 John 4:12–15 NASB95

12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

1 John 4:19 NASB95

19 We love, because He first loved us.

Warning:

1 John 4:20 NASB95

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

1 John 4:21 NASB95

21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Choose Love!