Restoration

Restoration

Intro.: Rochester has a unusual historical note in its history – is the place where Super Glue was invented. Earlier this year we purchased a small tube of Super Glue

1. Now, I mention this because earlier this year we purchased a small tube of Super Glue.

2. Nothing major broken – in fact our need for the Super Glue was a stupic mistake on my part.

3. I was trying to dig a shirt out of the clothes hamper and kicked box on the floor.

4. In that box was a mug from our mug collection. And when I looked in the box, I found I had broken the handle off side of the mug.

5. Now the amazing thing is that though we were quick to buy what we needed to in order to repair the mug – but we still have not completed the repair.

Read: Romans 3:21-26

Pray

1. If there is one thing true throughout scripture, it is the brokenness of all mankind.

   1. With the exception of Jesus, there is not one person, man or woman, in scripture that is even pictured without evidence of his or brokenness.

   2. Think of the great men of scripture – starting with Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets – and the apostles: each of them fell short.

(Ill.) It has been said that Peter was the most important disciple – the rock upon which the church was built, but he had some of the greatest failures on the way getting there. Peter fell into the water when his faith wavered. Even after calling Jesus to task telling Peter that he would do it, he denied Jesus three times. And Paul, he called himself, “the chief of sinners.”ⁱ

3. Really nothing new – I have said it before. It is as true for these men as it is for you and me.

4. And it is where we have to begin – admitting that we are broken, admitting that we are fallen.

5. David understood when he wrote: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.

6. It was what David had to do, it was what Peter had to do, it was what Paul had to do.

(Ill.) If you have ever been part of a twelve-step group, this is also where they start. I am powerless, I have no control over alcohol, drugs, gambling – or sin.

2. Though we are broken, God offers restoration

(Ill.) When we purchased the Super Glue, our goal was to repair the broken mug. There are all kinds of ways to repair those things that are important to us – it might involve glue, varnish, tape, wires – anything that will restore some of the value of an item.

Yet I am told that if you or I restore an antique, we might also be decreasing its value. You see, we may know something about restoration, but we don't have the whole picture.

1. But God has the whole picture – regardless of how we are broken we are God is the one who is in total control

2. Restoration comes in many forms

3. For some it will be physical healing – but, as a writer recently said, “What good is an arm or a leg that is healed when the mind is still broken.”ⁱⁱ

4. Somewhere in each of us there is a broken part that needs healing – healing that cannot be touched by a carpenter or electrician, healing that cannot be touched by a doctor or nurse. Healing that cannot be touched by a dentist or a nutritionist.

3. We each need a restoration of the heart

(Ill.) And that gives two points –

1. First, we want to get healing from the one who can cure us – I won't go to a carpenter for a broken leg. I won't go to a doctor to get an upgrade to my bathroom.

2. Second, we each have a heart that needs to be healed.

1. And God is in the business of healing hearts.

2. Restoration begins with Rest – both literally and figuratively.

3. Remember the words of Jesus: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

4. Paul put it this way: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

(Ill.) Fresh out of Oxford, John Wesley was perplexed over England’s complicated social problems: slavery, economic uncertainties, corruption, drunkenness, gambling, and prostitution. This deeply religious, sensitive soul became a parish minister and, subsequently, a missionary to American Indians along the coast of Georgia. His ministries were far from successful. Disappointed and discouraged, he returned to Britain.

During the voyage, his ship was raked by a raging storm. Wesley was unashamedly frightened. In fact, the only calm persons aboard were Moravian missionaries. Noticing their behavior, Wesley asked if they were not afraid. “Why should I be afraid,” one answered, “I know Christ.” Then, with disarming directness, he asked, “Do you know Christ?” Wesley was uncomfortable, for in his heart he now realized he did not know Christ.

Back in London, on Wednesday evening, May 24, 1738, John Wesley attended a society meeting and worship at Aldersgate Street and listened to a reading of Martin Luther’s preface to the Book of Romans. The rest is history. According to Wesley, “About a quarter before nine.… I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation.”

5. Here is a man whose heart was healed.

6. Each of us here has a heart that needs to be healed.

   1. A heart that has baggage that we have been holding

   2. – baggage that we need to give to God

   3. baggage that God is ready to carry.

Conclusion:

Pray

iDavis, Katie with Clark, Beth (2011). Kisses From Katie: A Young Woman's Journey of Faith. Howard Books: New York.

iiRubart, James (2011). The Chair. B & H Publishing Group: Nashville.

A God Who ...

A God Who ...

Intro.: I remember a pallor trick.

1. A bag with two parts.

2. The first part has something simple in it – child's blocks, or marbles, or some checkers

3. The bag is passed around members of the party – each given a chance to figure out what is in the bag. No one is to say anything – but to keep their guess to themselves.

4. But then the bag gets passed to the person who has been chosen to be IT. When that happens,, unknown to everyone but the chosen few, the first part of the bag is closed and the second part is exposed.

5. When the person who is IT places their hand into the bag, they don't feel the blocks, or marbles, or checkers, but they place their hand into a bag of catsup or some similarly messy substance.

6. John does not want God to be that kind of God – he wants us to know what God is like.

Read: I John 5:13-15

Pray

T.S. In I John 5:13-15, John introduces us to three characteristics of God that will better prepare us to live our lives for Him.

1. John shows us a God who gives us life

   1. John's audience was not a world of unbelievers.

   2. John wrote to those who believed in Jesus Chrsit

   3. And he wanted them to know something - “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

   4. You believe in Jesus – you have eternal life.

   5. John quotes Jesus, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

(Ill.) One hymn writers puts it this way:

I know that my Redeemer liveth, And on the earth again shall stand; I know eternal life he giveth, That grace and pow’r are in his hand.

I know His promise never faileth, The word He speaks, it cannot die; Tho’ cruel death my assaileth, Yet I shall see Him by and by.

I know my mansion He prepareth, That where He is there I may be; O wondrous tho’t, for me He careth, And He at last will come for me.

I know that my Redeemer liveth, And on the earth again shall stand; I know eternal life he giveth, That grace and pow’r are in his hand.¹

6. Do you believe in Jesus – you have eternal life.

7. This is called “assurance” - we can know that we have eternal life.

2. John shows us a God who hears us

   1. We can be assured of eternal life

   2. But there is more -

   3. Listen again to John, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

   4. We can not only be confident in the gift of eternal life; but when we take the time to pray according to His will, when we pray according to God's will, he will hear us.

(Ill.) Over the years I have been privileged to hear a great many preachers, some good, some not so good. I was sadden to hear that one of the best passed away this week. His name was John Stott. Rev. Stott was English – very English. I heard John Stott preach twice – both times I was a part of a congregation of nearly 17000 college students gathered from around the United States and the world to hear of God's love. This week as I was working on today's message, I stumbled on something Rev. Stott said that helped me to understand what John was saying. You see, Rev. Stott reminded me, Prayer is not designed to impose our will on God. Rather, prayer is designed to get us in agreement with God's will.

5. In some ways, we really are not praying until our prayers are in accordance with God's will. Jesus said it in his prayer - “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Every true prayer is a variation on that theme: “Thy will be done”

6. Charles Wesley understood it when he wrote:

To do or not to do; to have or not to have,

I leave to Thee:

Thy only will be done in me;

All my requests are lost in one,

“Father, Thy will be done!”²

(Ill.) But perhaps it was little five year old Jessica who understood it better than any one. Jessica became a bit frightened as lightning flashed and thunder cracked just as she was stepping out of her evening bath. The lights began flickering as she was getting into her pajamas. She remembered the other times the electricity had gone out and they had lit candles. Now she asked if she could “please sleep in Mommy’s room” because of the storm. Before kissing her parents good-night, Jessica prayed: “Dear God, I hope it doesn’t thunder and I hope the lights don’t go out.” After a brief pause she continued, “But I thought it over, and you can do what you want. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” What better way to say, “Thy will be done”?

3. John shows us a God who responds to us

   1. But there is more – you see if God hears us, he also gives what we need.

   2. I remember a time many years ago, when I was either still in high school or just starting college. I needed somebody to desperately understand me. It was before I knew what it meant to be a believer – and I felt so alone.

   3. I did not know it – but there was someone who understood. There was someone who would meet me where I was.

   4. I suppose some of you might expect me to say that I meant Sandra – but that is not true. She is good for me, but she will be the first to admit that even she does not always understand me. I confuse her – even when she wants to understand.

   5. The one who understands me, the one that will see that my needs are met is not Sandra, but it is God.

   6. John writes, “And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

   7. When life gets tough, the only one I can rely on is God Himself.

   8. Oh, I am glad that my wife is there – oh, I am glad for friends, but in the end, it is God that will meet my very needs.

   9. Will you let God meet you needs today? Tomorrow? Whenever?

Conclusion:

Pray

1Eckert, P. (1998). Steve Green's MIDI hymnal : A complete toolkit for personal devotions and corporate worship. (Electronic ed.). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

2Hobbs, H. H. (1990). My favorite illustrations (124). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.

3Green, M. P. (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching : Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor's illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

It Ain't Over Yet

Intro.: Yogi Berra used to say, “It ain't over till its over.”

1. or, “It ain't over till the fat lady sings.”

2. or “Don't count your chickens till they're hatched.

Trans: John is coming to the end of his letter.

1. He has said a lot.

2. But now he is ready to close the book.

3. His work is finished – now he does two things.

4. The first, the topic of today's message, is to restate the most important lesson for his listeners.

5. The second, which I will postpone for another day, is to review many of the topics which he has discussed.

Read: I John 5:11-12

Pray

T.S. In I John 5:11-12 John restates the most important lesson that his audience is to draw from this letter

1. God gave us eternal life

   1. There are many ways to say, “I love you”

   2. Gary Chapman has written a fairly well-known book entitled, “The 5 Love Languages”. In that book he identifies five ways that we say and hear “I love you.”ⁱ:

      1. Words of affirmation – Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.

      2. Quality Time - In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

      3. Receiving Gifts - Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.

      4. Acts of Service - Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.

      5. Physical Touch - This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.

   3. Chapman goes on to say, “There are really two questions each of us has to ask”:

      1. How do I best hear “I love you.” ? - now I don't know your answer, but I know mine, “receiving gifts”

      2. How does the one I want to say “I love you” to best hear “I love you”? We tend to use our prefered method to communicate to others. For example, I will buy Sandra flowers, I will buy you knick-knacks – why, because that is how I hear “I love you.” But if I really want to tell Sandra “I love you”, I need to know how she will best hear it. And I don't always do that as well as I should.

   4. Now the reason I said all this is to tell you, that the best way for someone to communicate to me their love is through gifts – for example the Payday candy bar Sandra brought home on Friday afternoon.

   5. And I think it is why I appreciate God's gift that allows me to experience eternal life.

2. This life is in his son

   1. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

   2. God's gift was His Son.

   3. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

   4. There is no other way – and God gave us that way. It might be a bit harder for some to hear the message – but it is important to realize that God was showing His love when he sent His Son. It was not arbitrary, it was not unplanned, it was not a random act of kindness (as some say); but it was an act of love. It was God saying, “I love you so much that I will provide a way for you live eternally in my presence.”

3. Whoever has the Son, has life;

4. whoever does not have the Son of God, does not have life.

(Ill.) Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and his wife, Ruth, was asked if those who died in the explosions of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, but had not confessed Christ as Savior would go to heaven. She replied:

In my little book Heaven: My Father’s House, I tell about people who want to visit my father’s home in western North Carolina. They drive up the long drive and come to the gate. They knock on the gate and say, “Billy Graham, let us in. We’ve read your books, we’ve watched you on TV, we’ve written to you, and we want to come to your house.”

And my father says, “Depart from me, I don’t know you. You’re not a member of my family, and you’ve not made any arrangements to come.”

But when I drive up that same driveway and knock on the gate, I say, “Daddy, this is Anne, and I’ve come home.” The gate is thrown right open, and I go inside, because I’m the father’s child.

Because heaven is God’s house, he has the right to decide who comes in and who stays out. He says he will welcome anyone inside his home, but they have to be born again into his family through faith in Jesus Christ.

That gives us a wonderful hope that when the time comes—whether death comes as a thief in the night, as it did for those in the [World Trade Center] towers, or as an angel of mercy after a long illness—we can be assured that at the end of the journey, we’ll step right into our Father’s arms. We’ll be welcomed there because we are our Father’s children.ⁱⁱ

1. One of the reasons it is so difficult to share our faith is that we don't like this big thick line that separates the believer from the unbeliever -

2. - but it is not our line. It is a line that God has put down. And it is only a line – it is not a wall. One merely needs to say “yes” and cross over that line.

(Ill.) A common expression today is to “draw a line in the sand”. According to ledgend, the phrase is most commonly associated with Texas history surrounding the Battle of the Alamo, as it is attributed to Colonel William Travis, commander of the Alamo defense forces.[1] In the waning days of the Battle (somewhere between March 3–5, 1836), with Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Annahaving the Alamo completely surrounded, Santa Anna sent a messenger to Travis demanding surrender, or else everyone in the compound would be killed. According to the legend, Travis called the Alamo defenders together, explained that defeat was almost certain, and read the letter of surrender; Travis then (having chosen to die instead of surrender) reportedly pulled his battle sword, drew a line in the sand of the Alamo, and asked for volunteers to cross over the line and join him, understanding their decision would be irreversible. The legend states that all but one of the defenders (including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett) joined Travis on his side of the line; Moses Rose being the only holdout. Travis then responded to Santa Anna's letter with cannon fire, whereupon Santa Anna replied by playing El Degüello. ⁱⁱⁱ

Conclusion:

Pray

ihttp://www.5lovelanguages.com/learn-the-languages/the-five-love-languages/

iiLarson, Craig Brian and Phyllis Ten Elshof. 1001 Illustrations That Connect. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008.

iiihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_in_the_sand_(phrase)

Overcoming - Four Keys

Intro.: Until a few years ago, there were no laws about child safety seats and automobile restraint systems. Many young children who were not safely belted in their seats died in car accidents.

Today laws prohibit children from riding in a car without special seating facing the right direction and properly installed. New mothers must have the seat in place before taking a child home from the hospital.

A parent’s love for a child is beautiful. Yet when a child’s safety is at stake, it seems a parent’s love is not always enough. Many parents needed a seat belt law to ensure the safety of their children.

The same is true of our love and devotion for God and other people. Feelings are not enough. We needed laws and boundaries in the form of commands to help us love God and others.ⁱ Let us look at a passage that will help us understand how love and obedience fit together.

Read: I John 5:1-5

Pray

Trans:How do you know what is important when you read a book?

1. Bold faced terms

2. Maybe the title gives hints

3. But part of it are those terms that are repeated.

4. And ...

T.S. In these five verses, four important words are used three times each. These four words help us understand Johns message.

1. Word #1: Everyone

   1. I would be deceptive if I stopped there – John is not talking about “everyone”

   2. Each of three times that John uses this word – he narrows down those who he is talking about:

      1. v. 1 – everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God

      2. v. 1 (again) – everyone who loves the father, loves his children too

      3. v. 4 – everyone born of God, overcomes the world

   3. You see, John is not talking about “everyone” - but everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, everyone who loves the Father, everyone who is born of God

   4. And note one other key fact here – John is not talking about three different groups – but they are all one and the same:

• Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is the same everyone who loves the father is the same everyone that is born of God

(Ill.) Lou Johnson, a 1965 World Series hero for the Los Angeles Dodgers, tried for thirty years to recover the championship ring he had lost to drug dealers in 1971. Drug and alcohol abuse cost him everything from that magical season, including his uniform, glove, and the bat he used to hit the winning home run in the deciding game.

When Dodger president Bob Graziano learned that Johnson’s World Series ring was about to be auctioned on the Internet, he immediately bought the ring for $3,457 and gave it to Johnson, sixty-six, who has been drug-free for years and a Dodger community relations employee. He did for Johnson what Johnson could not do for himself.

The ball player wept when given the gold ring. “It felt like a piece of me had been reborn,” he said.

Likewise, Christians can testify to a spiritual rebirth as a result of the price that Jesus paid on the cross in their place. He did for them what they could not do for themselves.ⁱⁱ

1. John is talking to everybody that has been born again.

1. Word #2: Love

   1. I John is all about love – it seems that every chapter seems to bring up this theme in some way.

(Ill.) Always, love is a choice. You come up against scores of opportunities every day to love or not to love. You encounter hundreds of small chances to please your friends, delight your Lord, and encourage your family. That’s why love and obedience are intimately linked—you can’t have one without the other.ⁱⁱⁱ

1. And that is exactly what John does – links love and obedience.

2. Listen to I John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

3. We cannot separate our love for God or for His people from our obedience to God – the come together.

1. Word #3: Commandments

   1. Which is the natural next word after love.

   2. Let me read it again: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

   3. I am reminded of another verse, one of my favorites. Maybe you will remember Jesus' words: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

   4. In most contexts the words commandment and love don't seem to go together. Yet in Christ it is exactly what we need to do – allow our love of God to bring us to a place where we joyfully obey Him.

(Ill). Hazel Simon understood this connection:

Love makes obedience a thing of joy!

To do the will of one we like to please

Is never hardship, though it tax our strength;

Each privilege of service love will seize!

Love makes us loyal, glad to do or go,

And eager to defend a name or cause;

Love takes the drudgery from common work,

And asks no rich reward or great applause.

Love gives us satisfaction in our task,

And wealth in learning lessons of the heart;

Love sheds a light of glory on our toil

And makes us humbly glad to have a part.

Love makes us choose to do the will of God,

To run His errands and proclaim His truth;

It gives our hearts an eager, lilting song;

Our feet are shod with tireless wings of youth!^iv

1. Word #4: Overcome

   1. Ovecome, Victory, Conquer, Prevail, Vanquish, Outstrip, Excel

   2. Strong words that describe the believers relationship to the world: everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

   3. What allows us to overcome life's most difficult circumstances is not good behavior, it is not good thoughts, it is not good food – what allows me to overcome whatever this world throws at me is my faith.

   4. Perhaps I need to reword this verse: And this is the victory that has overcome the world—my faith.

Conclusion:

Pray

iTroy Dean, Fullerton, California. Quoted in Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (304). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

iiRick Kauffman, “Team President Redeems Athlete,” PreachingToday.com located in Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (427). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

iiiJoni Eareckson Tada, Diamonds in the Dust quoted in Larson, C. B., & Lowery, B. (2009). 1001 quotations that connect: Timeless wisdom for preaching, teaching, and writing (301). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

ivHazel Hartwell Simon in Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.

God Is Love: So What

God Is Love: So What?

Intro.: Most of us think we know all about love.

1. We see it on TV, we read about it in books, we see it as couples hold hands walking down the street. We know what love is all about.

2. On the other hand, we also get lots of examples as to what love is not. The gossip column make sure that we know the mistakes that people make. We read of parents who try to control there kids lives, we see families splitting up. Yep, lots of instructions on how love is not supposed to work.

3. John also knows something love. It was John who took the time to remind us that “God so loved the world ...”

4. And, and now, John returns to the subject in his first epistle. 46 times he mentions love in this letter – he had heard about from Jesus, he had seen it lived out – and he wants to talk about it.

5. Turn with me to I John 4:7-12.

Read: I John 4:7-12

Pray

T.S.

1. Love – what we know – Three key facts

   1. Fact One – Love is from God

      1. In the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis One, the author makes it clear that we have been created in the image of God.

      2. In just a few minute we will look at that verse that tells us that God is love. But if God is love and we are created in His image – then our love comes from Him.

(Appl.) I suggested earlier that we have learned most of what we know about love from the media – TV, movies, books, news, - you get the idea. But those are not God's idea of love. If I really like to know about love, and love does come from God, then we need to let God teach us about love. Did you know that word “love” occurs 551 times in 505 verses? But, even more important, scripture is full of examples of God's love – God caring for His people and for individuals who have learned to depend on Him.

2. Fact Two – God is Love

(Ill.) One author has translated Ephesians 3:17-18 as, “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” Fully grasping the dimensions of God's love for us is not an easy thing to do. the Scriptures teach that we are to have a growing awareness of divine love. Love is the very heart and essence of God, not only for the lovely but for the worst of sinners. Christ did not die merely to display God’s love—He died because God is love (1 John 4:8). If the New Testament teaches us anything, it teaches us about God’s love in searching for lost men. Becoming a Christian in a very real sense is simply putting ourselves in the way of being found by God—to stop running from His loving pursuit.ⁱ

1. We have been redeemed but the very God who loves us more than we even love ourselves.

2. And if we do not know that love, then we do not know God. That is the real test as to whether we know God – do we love like he loves. John says it like this, “Anyone who does not love does not know God.”

3. Fact Three – God showed his love by sending His son.

   1. John 3:16 says “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.”

   2. Now, some 60 years later, John writes, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

   3. Somehow Christmas and Easter have become fun holidays – we use them as opportunities to tell those around us that we love them, but we must never forget that they are the very proof the Jesus loved us first.

   4. We sit halfway between the two holidays – as you begin to prepare for this Christmas, remember that it is not just a way for you to tell those around you that you love them, it is also a time to reflect on the fact that God loved us.

1. Love – what to do

   1. In today's passage there is one command – repeated twice.

   2. “Beloved, let us love one another. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

   3. I really like the way John said that. Did you notice all the exceptions that he gave –

      1. “... let us love one another, unless we have been insulted.”

      2. “... let us love one another, unless someone has hurt us.”

      3. “... let us love one another, except when we don't feel good.”

      4. “... let us love one another, unless you are not a pastor.”

      5. Wait – you do know that I made those all up.

      6. There are no exceptions … “we ought to love one another.”

   4. Now to be honest, I sometimes wish there were exceptions.

   5. But God did not give me any.

   6. You know what – regardless of what you do, regardless of what you say, regardless of what you think, God asks me to love you.

Conclusion: Let me conclude with a story:

When Scottish teenager George Matheson learned he was losing his eyesight, he determined to finish his studies at the University of Glasgow as quickly as possible. His blindness overtook him while he pursued graduate studies for Christian ministry, but his family rallied to his side. His sisters even learned Greek and Hebrew to help him in his assignments.

The real blow came later, when his fiancée determined she just couldn’t marry a blind man. Breaking the engagement, she returned his ring. George was devastated. Years later when he was a beloved pastor in Scotland, his sister became engaged, and the news opened old wounds in his heart. More mature now, he turned to God and out of the experience wrote a prayer that later some may know as a hymn. The words say:

O love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thing ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.

Even when I don't feel like loving, God calls me to love. Am I willing?

Pray

iOsbeck, K. W. (1990). Amazing grace : 366 inspiring hymn stories for daily devotions (44). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications.