4/25/2021 Normal Service

First John Chapter 4 verses 7 through 21 from the new revised Standard Version. Beloved, let us love one another because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows, God. Whoever does not love, does not know. God for God is love God's love, was revealed Among Us in this way. God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. And in this is love, not that, we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved since God, loves loved us so much. We also ought to love one. Another no one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is perfected in US. By this, we know that we abide in him and and he is not cuz he is giving us of his spirit and we have seen and do testify that the father has sent his son as the savior of The World. God abides, and those who confess that Jesus is the son of God and they abide in God. So we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them, love is been perfected. Among Us in this, that we may have boldness on the day of judgment because he is so, are we in this world? There is no fear in love, but perfect love. Casts out, fear, or fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, I love God and hate their brothers or sisters are liars for those who do not love a brother or a sister whom they have seen. Cannot love God whom they have not seen the Commandment we have from him. Is this those who love? God must love their brothers and sisters. Also the word of God for the people of God.

Butter spray. Lord may the meditation of our hearts in the words of my lips, be pleasing in your sight. Our Rock and Our Redeemer. Amen.

This is our third week in the series on prove it. This is about proving our love to the world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Died on April 9th, 1945. Less than 2 weeks before. U.s. Allied soldiers would free the concentration camp where he was housed at. It's not on accident. Dietrich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was one of the best theologians of the 20th century, wrote a book called The, the cost of discipleship, which we'll get to in a minute. but, He was there. Preaching a sermon.

Tooth friends. This particular concentration camp was a Flossin flossing Berg. And it was unique that it was very remote. Which would prove to be very helpful if you were killing a bunch of people. And so,

Bonhoeffer was taken there. And that particular concentration camp was a labor camp and they did two things, they did Granite, you know, all the beautiful architecture that Hitler recorded all the time and made a big deal. Around that, Steven Nuremberg and whatnot. They provided all the granite for that through their slave labor. They also then which was the most profitable part of the SS is

Business model and eventually towards the end of the war, they also produced parts for airplanes as they needed more and more and more parts. And we actually think of World War II, sometimes it's so long ago, probably, right around 75 years ago from from when Bonhoeffer died. But that company, that head Gotten the labor to manufacture that survived after the war and then was taken over and is not like a little part of Airbus, and so it's not that far away. That there aren't things that we know that we can connect back to Swampert was there and and he said, when they took him, he knew what was coming. And he said to them who were with him, He said this is the end for me, just the beginning.

One of the things that we have that the Bonhoeffer wrote was the cost of discipleship. The cost of discipleship and talks about Grace and in what Bonhoeffer is writing to is why the church in Germany was able to follow in to become connected with Nazis. And so Bonhoeffer is explaining this and what he explains. Is it a lot of it was just cheap Grace? Cheap Grace. Cheap, Grace is forgiveness. Without repentance.

Wanting to be forgiven but not wanting to talk about what happened, right?

And if they have small children at home, it, is it something that kids often times want to do? They just want to say? Okay, yeah, I did that. Lets me Juan right? I did that. Lets, let's move on, let's not talk about that, right? And it's also not necessarily a whole lot different. And so cheap, Grace is forgiveness, without the act of repentance.

That week, we have a call to confession. Another component of this communion without confession? Confession is in our handle, is what we do. but we, we say things like We've done things that we ought not to have done and we ought not to have done things that we have done that. We we done things, we ought not to have done. And weave. Not done things that we ought to have done. Thank you, for those of you who were praying, I would get that. So that's kind of

Expensive. It cost us is not comfortable, right? The act of confession, acknowledges our relationship to God the act of confession acknowledges that we failed others in our lives and that others have failed us to write.

And so cheap, Grace is asking for communion but not wanting to have confession. And also for it it was it was baptism without discipline.

my understanding that the authors that were here that were talking In 1st, John. We're talking about cheap love. Cheap love.

The kind of love that says, I love you. It doesn't really get to know you. Dunn's. I watch Jimmy Fallon. Every there, every time all he loves everybody. Everybody loves some, Johnny Carson was any different, right? Everybody loved. Everybody was so great, right? Well. To really love someone, you really have to know him.

I really love someone really takes a decision to love them. This week. I always mending fence. Literally mending a dog fence and When we moved in this in November I was I fixed it. I was so happy with my job and then here like three months later, half of it, swapping down, you know who I was most upset with when I was mending, my fences myself. I was most upset with myself because I was having to fix my own mistakes along the way.

I think there's a sermon there somewhere.

The reality is that, that relationship takes mending. I serve the church several, several years ago and threw a unique set of circumstances. There were two siblings that hadn't talked for over 20 years. They just hadn't hadn't talked, they actively didn't talk you understand, okay? So it's kind of hatred level, right? And now they're they're in their 80s and one of them wants to meet And she wants to pray before they meet cuz she's worried. Okay, so I'll try I pray with her. I do not pride myself on my prayers. Not my prayers. Are not my strongest suit, right? They're not the most eloquent you can get people have way more elegant for eloquent prayers, right? But sometimes when the Holy Spirit grabs you and grabs you and it doesn't let go and something comes out of your mouth and as soon as it comes out of your mouth you're like oh I think she might slap me. This is what I said. I said I pray that she seeks to understand more than she seeks to be understood.

That was not for me.

If that's a large part of our love for one, another is is feeling that when things are broken that we haven't been fully understood, right? And we just want to get it all out. Reality. it's, we equally important, if not more important to understand and just to listen, In order for reconciliation to happen that has to be component and the reality is, it's not cheap, it's expensive, it's risky.

And so what God is calling us to is to love one another. even sometimes when we might not get along,

did you all get the point of the scripture in there was that about love? I don't think the authors could have fit another word of love in there. If they tried. Buy 3/4 the way down. You're like, yeah, I got the point. Flex hose me that the church is that time in that place had issues around love. Had issues with coralee had issues with not getting along. A tissues of hatred.

Route 1. the most frustrating things for me as a pastor denomination Ali, Is the polarization of the world around us. Especially in the church, but even outside of the church, this or that, right? This, or that, I'll be honest, around issues of race when people start talking about race cuz I have brown kids. Like I get claiming even just now. I was like, I don't know. Right. And last year I was with Charlie and we were at the golf course in someone was was joining up with us. Right. There is a third they're coming along with Drake. I don't do the Snowman from Adams older and he starts talking about race.

As would the First Tee Box. Without an invitation to talk about it. It was on his mind in and I was like clammy and he was talking about the issues of Injustice and he was talking about how they had somebody come in their church and in and speak it was after American man and he said, you know, my wife told me that I should just shut up and listen.

And after hearing him, that makes a lot of sense to me.

I was floored. Because it wasn't what I expected.

He acknowledged that it's sometimes best to listen to others. without the intention of saying, anything just to be understood just to understand rather and so, if you wanted to talk to somebody with the purpose of understanding, but But really the part of you can't wait to get to be understood. Then you're not ready yet. You're not there yet. But God calls us to love one another without this cheap love. With extravagant love. The kind of love that, that knows, and forgives and there's some relationships and in some situations that maybe that's not always appropriate for and I think we have to acknowledge that.

There are other times where we just don't want to, cuz we're not sure what to do or we're not comfortable. We don't think it's going to make a difference.

We can love in the ways of this world.

We we can love our new hair. We can love our new shoes. We can we can love our vacations. Or we can love with God's love. That's deep love. That's love that involves confession. That's love that involves repentance. And it's love that involves race.

God's love that has brought us here today. Is this last little bit of scripture.

The Commandment we have from him, is this? Those who love. God, must love their brothers and sisters. Also, The laws that were called to have can't be polarized because it seeks to love everyone. Not to not to.

Is everyone? No, it's no hands. No butts. It extends to everyone. But in order to do that, we have to love with God's love and not with our own. We have to accept with God's grace and not with our own. To bring healing. Reconciliation to bring people together. Takes the love of God. And it's an expression of God's love. That's the important part.

And approving it to the world around us. Have you ever seen reconciliation in something that the world just can't understand and you're like, I don't get it right? How can that person even talk to that person now, right? How can a person stand that person now? Love of God. Other people see that love. Because it's a sign of God's grace and it's attractive. because no human heart can bring that kind of healing, but God can

the same is true in our lives.

We all have areas in our life that we would much rather extend cheap love to Phoenix traffic in love. May God. Search those areas of our hearts and help us to mend. Because God is in the work of reconciliation and restoration. Not to bring something back to what it used to be. Because God is continually doing something different.

But if the basis of that is God's love.

Let us pray.

ORD. Search us.

Help us. The love.

As you have loved us.

But not in the way that we want to confess that you have loved us, we don't want to gloss over those things, we'd rather not discuss. We'd like to acknowledge the depth of Your Love. The extent of your grace.

And help us in doing so.

Extend that love to others?

Jesus name, we pray. Amen.