SERMON 1 COR 13 LOVE
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of
men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a
clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecyand can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a
faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and
give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but
do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does
not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does
not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does
not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are
prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be
stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.9 For we
know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when
completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When
I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For
now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to
face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love.
Not in a series, I can talk about
whatever I want to talk about.
1
cor is not really 1 corinthians………..
1 cor 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not
to associate with sexually
immoral people—
Three pictures of this passage
1.
As seen by those who love
2. As directed vs the spiritually arrogant
Stuck in the gifts- arrogant christianity
And now in response to sensational
Christianity, Paul says,
And now I will show you the most excellent
way.
Gifts and spirituality in the light of love
The things that you all think are religious
and spiritual are not.
Do you want to know about spirituality…………..here
is the most excellent way
If
you have it all but have not love………steve jobs and his daughter
And
his employees
3. As seen by those who are broken and beset by life
WHAT IS LOVE? So
what do we know about love?
1Love is not attraction
I
think you are beautiful
You
send me into orbit
What
happens when you lose your beauty?
We
all know beautiful people who are not beautiful inside
What
happens when I really learn about the nature of love?
2Love is not dependence
Two
dominoes leaning on each other
I
can’t live without you
A
story- What does your fiancée see in you? She thinks I am handsome,
bright, and a good dancer. And what do you see in her? She thinks I
am handsome, bright, and a good dancer.
The
scripture says - Love is not self seeking
3Love is not desire
There
needs to be some - desire in a relationship
It
cannot predominately
focus on what I get from you- size of the dowry
so if that is what love is not, here
are some handles on love
1Love is indiscriminate
The
shade of a tree
The
fragrance of the rose
The
light of a lamp
Love
has no particular object. It just is.
If
we only love those who love us, what is that?
Mt 543"You
have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor[h] and hate your
enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[i] and pray for
those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father
in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who
love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing
that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing
more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect,
therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The
rain falls on the just and the unjust
There
are no good and bad people
God
so loved the world that he gave…………
2Love is truly generous
Not
coercive, manipulative or controlling
Gives
expecting nothing in return
How
can we learn this?
Expose
your false love, your selfishness
Look
what shows up in its place
Love
is not self seeking
3Love is unselfconscious
It
is blissfully unaware of itself
It
becomes a natural part of who we are
Imbedded
into our dna – our true north
We
don’t even know that it is happening
The
left hand does not know……
When
were you hungry and we fed you? Mt. 25
4To love someone is to forgive
To
not be bound by unpleasant circumstances
Father
forgive them…
And
so, love exists outside of, in spite of, circumstances.
5.Love keeps no record of wrongs
Challenges
me to the core
Love
keeps no record of wrongs. Towards yourself, toward others
The
story of the bishop and the woman who talked to god
The
problem is not that the bishop sinned
The
problem is that the bishop could not forgive himself
Has
someone wronged you
If
you asked for forgiveness, and offered it –
What is the result? We don’t always
know for them
But
we know in our hearts we are clean.
Keep
no record of wrongs. Not forgive, but don’t even start the list
5LOVE EXPRESSES ITSELF IN ACTS OF KINDNESS
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
The scripture 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
6.So love is a decision to
care. To invest.
Some
years ago, Brian Swanson gave me a book – love does. Bob Goff.
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
7.Love
is Your ministry for Christ
When
we love, its not about us
Those
who love play the role of the servant
Love
is to give, not to take
I BELIEVE THAT WE CAN GROW
IN LOVE
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
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
Love is the mark of the Christian. The sign
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
CONCLUSION--Love never fails
All
of the things that humans think will come to an end
We
see thru a glass dimly- darkly
·
I
have lived a self centered life many times.
·
I
have sought as a Christian to live a life of love
·
To
the extent that I am selfish, I find pain.
·
To
the extent that I am able to love, I find peace.
Hyperspirituality
is challenged by paul. Prophecies shall cease. Tongues shall cease.
There
is something though that will not end, that goes on forever
we
are left w faith, hope and love.
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