Sermon Tone Analysis

Living in Love...

It’s hard to believe, but we are already at the fourth Sunday of Advent.

This morning, We’re going to look at God’s love and what it means to live in love.

Simple Love

The great theologian of the last century, Karl Barth, wrote a 10 volume theological work titled "Ethics."

When traveling and lecturing throughout the United States at all the important universities and theological schools, it is reported that one young man asked him, "Dr.

Barth, you have written multiple volumes on theology.

But, if you had to boil down all your theological knowledge into just a sentence or two, what would you say is the essence of your theological understanding?"

Dr. Barth didn’t hesitate.

He replied, "It is really quite simple.

'Jesus loves me, this I know - for the Bible tells me so.'" (Devon Huss, SC)

Let’s read,

God’s love...

How do we even begin to describe the love that God has for us?

How can we even begin to fathom what that love looks like?

Many think that God’s love is a blank cheque.

In other words, when we die, we all get to go to heaven.

Have you ever been to a funeral that made you wonder?

In 1989, my neighbour was killed in an accident.

Three of my neighbours had gone to a farm sale.

They pulled out in front of another vehicle.

George ended up with a brain injury, Snoop banged his knees really badly, and Curtis broke his back and died from his injuries.

These neighbours weren’t bad guys, even though they liked to party.

At the funeral the minister got up and spoke of a man that I didn’t know.

He preached him into heaven based on his infant baptism.

As a seventeen year-old, something stirred within me.

My spirit was grieved that in an attempt to bring comfort to a grieving family, that a minister had given a family false hope.

To this day, I don’t know where Curtis is, but I made up my mind that if God called me to preach that I would preach the gospel, I would point people to Jesus.

Let’s go back to 1 John 4:9-10

John explains it really clearly how God demonstrated His love to humans.

He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.

At Christmas time, we celebrate this love.

Philippians 2:5-8 explains this love,

As Christians we believe that God is eternal.

This means that He has no beginning and He will have no end.

Maybe as a child you asked the question who created God?

I’m not hiding the fact that it takes faith to believe that God has always been.

Hebrews 11:6

You cannot please God without faith.

Christianity is not against Science.

We are not anti-technology.

Definition of Science

Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment:

Many of us have made observations in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry, and we continue to make observations every day in our world.

Whenever I barbecue, it is an experimental project to see if the fire that heats up the grill will cook the meat that I am attempting to feed my family.

It’s through the process of observation that I ensure that my family doesn’t eat a burnt offering, but something that is hopefully palatable and sends the proper response to each of our tastebuds.

I perform a lab every time I barbecue.

Lab #1:

Barbecuing Hamburger

The purpose:

To cook delicious food.

Procedure:

Heat up the grill

Place burger on grill

Cook to desired temp of 165 F

Observation:

Grill is too hot.

Flames are shooting up

Meat is black

Conclusion:

Watch more closely next time

Go to DQ

As Christians, we may look at the world and observe what we see, and draw the conclusion,

We don’t oppose the observations that scientists make, sometimes we don’t agree with their conclusions, because many oppose that God exists.

God doesn’t ask us to leave our intellect at the door when we come to faith.

He wants us to worship Him with everything He has given us, including our minds.

Romans 12:1 says,

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.”

(AMPC)

Living in Love...

The word love, can mean so many things in the English language.

I love pizza!

I love my family!

I love my wife, and yet when we look at what it means to love in the Koine Greek, in this passage it refers to God’s love.

Such self-sacrificing love that sent Christ to die for sinners is the kind of love that believers who are Spirit-controlled manifest.

People that haven’t come to faith yet, cannot express Agape love until the Holy Spirit comes to live in them.

I’m not saying that you cannot love unless you are a Christian.

What I am saying is that you cannot love with God’s love that sent Jesus to the cross unless you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you.

God must live in us for us to live in Agape love.

We are told that God is love, but love is not God.

Why do we love?

We love because He loved us.

I’ve got to be honest with you, I’ve been wrestling with what the Scripture means that we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 John 3 talks about if we have earthly goods and somebody comes to us in need, we need to do more than just our speech.

Here’s the kicker.

If Joshua, Caleb, and Zoey come downstairs first thing in the morning, and start asking for chocolate bars and ice cream, as a parent am I supposed to give junk food to them just because they have asked.

Then when I don’t give it right away, if they start to demand that I give them what they have asked, what should be my response?

A week ago, a lady that we have helped in the past, said that God had sent her on a mission, and that LifePoint Church was supposed to give her $200.

When the suggestion wasn’t answered right away, the lady brought in that I was deceived as the pastor and that God would reveal it to me.

From there she demanded that I give it to her, in Jesus’ name.

As Pastor of this church, I have a policy that I don’t give people cash.

If somebody needs food, I have bought food.

If somebody needs gas, I have given gas,but to give without having any clarity to where it is going, is not being a good steward of God’s money.

I believe that when God calls us to give, He lays it on our hearts, and we know that we need to be obedient to Him.

As Christians, we can’t manipulate each other to get our own way.

God isn’t pleased with us when we try to manipulate and call judgment down on other people only trying to get our own way.

Let’s love with actions that are led by the Holy Spirit.

Christ in us...

We call this coming to faith.

If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in you.