Sermon
3-30-14 lent –love and devotion Romans 12:9-21
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil;
cling to what is good. 10 Be
devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual
fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful
in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share
with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not
curse. 15 Rejoice with those who
rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live
in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with
people of low position.[c] Do
not be conceited. 17 Do not repay
anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on
you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do
not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is
written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says
the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]
21 Do
not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good
Love and devotion-
Something
we all think about.
A
spouse. A child. A friend. A pet. A job.
Laugh
– a job? Yes devotion to work is very important
Where does one begin such a discussion?
Disclaimer-
don’t stay in abusive situations
Don’t
hear this sermon and insist on staying where you shouldn’t
Some
people are not healthy and they are not going to become healthy
Disclaimer
understood?
Disclaimer
over
Everyone thinks that they know about
love
We
have ideas in our head about love
Thoughts
about love are good
But
as pat starke stays, it doesn’t count if you don’t express it
Loving thoughts and feelings are fine
and valuable
But
the highest form of love is love that is acted upon
Something
must be said or done
“A
bell's not a bell 'til you ring it A song's not a song 'til you sing it Love in
your heart wasn't put there to stay Love isn't love 'til you give it away!”
Oscar
Hammerstein
And so the bible is filled with not
just thoughts but action
We
like to think of faith as private.
I
believe in jesus. That’s enough
But
over and over again we are pointed to act
Paul asks us - - Not just think nice
thoughts about your enemy
Love
your enemy
Be
devoted to one another
Honor
one another
Live
in harmony
All
actions
So love is a decision to care. To
invest.
Brian
swanson gave me a book – love does. [author]
Love
just does
I
am here for you.
It
sometimes includes feelings and sometimes it does not
Common
misnomer that love is a feeling…… it is so much more
To be devoted to a person place or
thing is to keep going back
To
reinvest
To
habitually be there
Tom
cruise in top gun – i'm not leaving my wing man
Keeping
the disclaimer in mind
Love
recognizes that life has its challenges
Devotion
means staying the course………..
Marriage and divorce.
The
problem usually is not divorce but marriage for all the wrong reasons
Yet
still I believe that too many people throw each other away much too easily
Too
many marriages fail because people aren't all in
if
you are married your spouse is going to drive you crazy at some point
the
richard Roberts story
if
you are married, your spouse is going to drive you crazy at some point
don't
trade the car, don't quit the church, don't get a divorce
as
long as you have grace to give, give it with all of your heart
keep
working to win the person
Devotion
means I am more interesting in loving you than arguing with you
Go
home and lose an argument
The
rabbi who teaches the angry people to hum taking flight pg 18
When
we love, its not about us
Those
who love play the role of the servant
Love
is to give, not to take
Love is something that we can learn
about
No
excuses
·
I
was raised in a dysfunctional home
·
I
was poor
·
I
was…..whatever
You
can choose to change.
I
have witnessed big strong men decide to become people of love
The
wives are ecstatic
The
husbands are pretty happy inside about it too
Its something that we can get better at
When
we first begin to do what we call love
Its
about beauty
Its
about dependence
Love
is neither of these
Its
an investment, a choice, a commitment
Truly loving people try to improve
Love
is like a drug. When you get the knack of it, you want to do it more and
better
Loving
people actively work on themselves
I
love you, but I am a finished product. I am what I am
Does
that sound like love
Love is a journey toward healthy living
Richard
rohr – every decision in life is either based in fear or love
Dysfunction,
selfishness, anger, spiteful words = fear based
Caring,
forgiving, embracing, seeing the good
Are
love based
It
trumps doctrine, though healthy teaching is good. Love trumps it.
Love
is the core of the best of it
Financial
gifts not given in love have a completely different ring to them
Missions
work without love are simply good works
Love
is the mark of the Christian
Someone
said- the eyes are a window to the soul
When
someone hurts us, it is hard to love
Others
are closed, you cant see in
But
we are invited to keep trying. Keep loving.
All
of us know of people that we grew to love
People
that we were once estranged from, but the relationship healed
Get
up close to someone. Spend some time with them
Let
them see that you care
viktor
frankl.......saw that the Nazis would take Austria. could have left. his
parents had no visas. he could not leave them. and so he was sent
to auchwitz
the
greatest example of love that we have is the love of God who sent jesus
we
love him because he first loved us
love
the lord your god with all your heart soul mind and strength. Love your
neighbor as yourself
[1 jn 4 7-8]beloved let us love one another
it
is the highest form of living
"I
am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts
and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name
will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and
to me, this has always been enough."
quotes in the book aspire pg 84-85
stories
closer
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