Advent Devotional (Week 4): Love Devotional: A Love Like That. . Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Christmas is the perfect opportunity to look at that love. 1 John 3:1-3, 16-18 1 Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. A verse that most everyone knows expresses the Christmas message of love. But Here is the love of God for you and me. The fourth week of waiting for his arrival invites us to experience His LOVE. Never wonder again if you are worthy of being loved, because you are loved by the God of the entire universe. Consider 1 John 4:9. When he saw the love that the Whos had, when he realized that this love was inside of them and couldn’t be taken away, that’s when he realized what it was all about, and that’s when he was changed too. It is a word that carries the meaning of God’s atoning sacrifice for our sin. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need—how can God’s love reside in him? Max Lucado put it this way: “The God of the universe was born into the poverty of a peasant and spent his first night in the cow’s feed trough. Listen to how author Jim Denison puts it: When you consider what Jesus gave up to come at Christmas for you, please never wonder again if God loves you. John 3:16 is all about love! It puts the loved before itself. This verse tells us that Jesus came because God loves us so much that he doesn’t want any of us to miss out on spending eternity (forever) with him. (3:14 and 4:7-21). Look at the meaning or significance of that love. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. Walking by Faith in the Wilderness 2. We have considered so far the themes of hope, peace, and joy. I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, Do I genuinely love other people? What is love? If you were God, would you? The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Is it really loving for God to cast down some people and exalt others? .” John 3:16 Today is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent. We take a break from the usual penance and reconciliation that is usually associated with Advent, and we pause for a brief moment and change things up a bit. Eros love. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. 618-377-7625. office @bethaltochurch.com Imagine, for example, how an invisible God feels when we ignore him in our age of visible technology and power, in an age of powerful laptops and one hundred channels. Matthew Parker - December 21, 2003 An unusual survey was done a few years ago, Participants in the survey were asked this question.......what 3 word sentence would you most like to hear or have said to … (Philippians 2:6-8). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. He exchanged the worship of angels for the company of killers. (Lucado, In the Manger). 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure. ADVENT #4 – GIVE BIRTH TO LOVE (12/23/12) Scripture Lessons: 1 John 4:7-21 John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world . For the Love of Justice - a Sermon for Advent 3B (Isaiah 61) Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11. But, we must come to a place to believe in His love. Luke 1:39-55. This message helps to explain three of the four elements of ADVENT: Love, Joy, and Hope. The final element of Peace will be the topic for the following Sunday. And you know what? We see His love in a manger. Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The love might begin in the softly starlit manger, but it inevitably will lead to the harsh noonday sun reflecting on the Cross. So, this once very popular king, gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. According to the Guinness Book Of World Records, the song “White Christmas”is the bestselling single of all time. 18 Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action. even to death on a cross. But we are Christians. Jesus humbled Himself. . 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And when you consider what Jesus gave up for you at Christmas, never wonder how you can repay him. The inscription inside the card includes Matthew 1:23, ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ I love the way this painting, along with so many others, brings the text of scripture to life. 20 th of December 2015. For the people in your life. Church Preaching Slide: Advent Royal - Love. His love for us is central to Christmas. Today, we look at the final candle of the Advent wreath and examine how God’s love has been the driving force behind the birth of Jesus. But John’s foundation is God’s love for us evidenced in the coming of Christ (the Advent of Christ) into our world. 16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We think about the love that a parent passes along to a child, grandparent to grandchild. INTROIT O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Today, we consider love. For the person who does not love his brother he has seen cannot love the God he has not seen.21 And we have this command from Him: The one who loves God must also love his brother. This is the Christmas story. Download free sermons, preaching outlines and illustrations. Let His love fall on you so yours can fall on them. This Latin phrase was first coined by the Augustan poet, Virgil. Application: He Taught Us to Love One Another. I hope that God has used the devotional readings, the prayer activities, the guided activities, the worship gatherings, and the participation in community outreach activities to activate advent in your life. Christmas is a message of God’s love for us. Here is the wonderful good news of Christmas. When we think about love, we often think about romance, even falling in love. … He did that knowing that His Son would die for the sins of the world. Though a relatively small book, 1 John is a most important book because this letter helps us to understand so much about salvation. “The greatest of these is love” writes St. Paul, and few of us would disagree. Our text today helps us to “zero” in on this question of love. 31 For the Lord will not cast off forever, 32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33 for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. A time of expectant waiting, knowing fully the amazing gift God is about to deliver and yet, at the same time, a period of slowing down to savor the season . (3:24) A person can know that he is filled with the Spirit if he can answer yes to the first three questions. God knows this, of course, but does not shy away from the pain that is coming. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. This sermon concludes the four weeks of A Deeper Advent. The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into our neighborhood.” (Lucado, In the Manger, p. I preached this sermon on December 24, 2012 at St. Paul United Church of Christ, Old Blue Rock Rd., Cincinnati. How would you describe LOVE? God displayed his love for us by sending his son, Jesus, into this world. This morning Zachary and Faith lit the last of our Advent candles, the candle of love… Join Pastor Nate McLaurin for the 4th Sunday of Advent as we focus on love. Advent feels like a little bit of both of those experiences to me. (5:13)—That is, I must believe what God has said about eternal life. The story isn’t merely words on a page. Just look at the manger. Every promise broken, every cross word, and harsh word. But, not just any kind of love. Sermon for Williamstown Uniting Church. In the texts before us today, John is simultaneously presenting the love that God has for us and commanding that we love with that same kind of love. Because that is what love does. And you know what? Knowing God Loves Me 3. Why? The fourth Week of Advent is the week of Love. Love conquers all. Introduction: In 1936, King Edward VIII shocked the world, when he gave up the throne of England to marry Ms. Wallis Simpson. (Here and 1 John 2:2) Volumes have been written about this one word. He is the propitiation for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. All we have to do is believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came to save us from sin. Love is the greatest of all the virtues on the Advent wreath and encompasses Jesus’ entire purpose for being on earth ( 1 Corinthians 13:13 ). 17 In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. Whatever else you might question about God, don’t question His love for you. And we are! Christmas call us to . VOICE - Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Love. THE CANDLES OF ADVENT - YEAR A THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: LOVE. This time last year, on the fourth Sunday of Advent, I explained to you why it is my favourite Sunday, not only in Advent, but in the whole Christmas season. You can love those he loves. You can do what he did. When we think of love, The Second Sunday of Advent – Love – Mary and Joseph Video: Matthew 1:18-23 Prelude – “Cantabile” by Darwin Wilford; Pauline Olsen, organ; Donna Grubbs, piano Welcome – Pastor Brad Beeman Hymn 210 – “Toda la Tierra,” by Alberto Taule; Patty Shoop, hymn leader; Donna Grubbs, piano Advent lighting – Bill and Lynette Baughman Prayer time – Deacon Kathleen Charters […] I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, 19 and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Jesus focused on preaching love throughout his ministry. Celebrate the fourth week of Advent, Love, with this royal emerald PowerPoint! Copyright © 2021 Christ's Covenant Church, 2090 E. Pierceton Rd. 12 No one has ever seen God. Jesus arrived after a period of 400 years of silence, confusion, and longing for the Jewish people. Find stories, quotes, humor, and statistics to bring your sermon on Advent to life. (Ephesians 3:16-19), Martin Luther said, “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the Serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ.”. Written in 1940 by Irving Berlin in his hotel room, the song has sold over 100 million copies worldwide, and the version sung by Bing Crosby (highlighted in the movie White Christmas) has alone sold an estimated 50 million copies. Look at the measure—how great a love. Never wonder again if he knows your problems or feels your pain. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. God’s love distinguishes Him. You are I, we are not Whos from Whoville. Sermon for Advent IV - Love in Advent - By Rev. I pray as did the Apostle Paul in writing to the Ephesians: 16 I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, 17 and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. The manger reminds us that He humbled Himself to become as one of us. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. More than 2,000 years ago, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, humbled Himself by taking on flesh of a human, a baby, so as to provide salvation for the ones He loved. The emphasis in this sermon differed significantly from that of the first Sunday in Advent by looking beyond individual examples of unfaithfulness to broader societal issues. 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. Doubt will come, but we can use these questions from 1 John to help us to evaluate our standing with the Lord. I wouldn’t, but Christ did! The book of 1 John helps us to understand or confirm our salvation This book gives us several questions that we can prayerfully and objectively work through in order to help confirm our commitment to Christ. Is there, perhaps, a deeper love that brings healing to all people, no matter what side of our many human divisions we may find ourselves. Let it! The love which passes all understanding. who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. John’s premise in these texts is that loving others will be the basis by which we evaluate our love for God and therefore our relationship to God. (4:10), We have confidence in the day of judgment (4:17). “Look at how great a love.” Love is sometimes hard to describe, isn’t it? Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. Though not a traditional Christmas text, it expresses well the love of God displayed in Christmas. On this Third Sunday of Advent, this Gaudete Sunday, we pause, we light the rose-colored candle, and we think of love. Hope and patience relate to each other, and so as we work our way around the Advent Wreath at Christmas, it’s good to know we are also working our way backwards through the first four fruit of the Spirit. The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know Him. Your place in heaven was more important to Him than His place in heaven, so He gave up His so you could have yours. It can be one of those words that we use often, but, do we really know the meaning? He couldn't do anything for himself. Look at the manner of His love. We have done nothing but earn eternal damnation through our own sin and disobedience to God’s Word. Rogers died of cancer on Nov. 15 at the age of 74. Hope, peace, and joy, or any other good thing in life is likely to feel empty and unfulfilling, without love. God does not just love; He is love. King Edward was not nearly the first king to abdicate a throne because of love. For those of you who may have forgotten, and for those of you who weren’t here, I’m going to tell you again. It feels strange to use the word “conquer” in conjunction with the word “love” during the Christmas season, a time when words of war do not seem to belong in our vocabulary. Is Being Good Enough? The past three weeks have been nothing less than examples showing God’s love for us. Fourth Sunday of Advent: Love As we celebrate Advent and Christmas, we're fully aware of where God's love is leading us. It's a Wonderful Life Scriptures: Psalm 103This model sermon, based on Psalm 103, uncovers and reminds us of God's endearing love from one of the Old Testament's most stirring passages. God displayed his love for us by sending his son, Jesus, into this world. Every believer ought to realize that God wants us to know for certain that we have eternal life. 1. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. Would you do what Jesus did? Three Types of Love: 1. God’s love. His love covers all things. 4. Am I filled with the Spirit of God? He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. He was pastor emeritus of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church and a three-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention. 19 We love because He first loved. Preaching Today provides pastors and preachers sermon prep help with sermon illustrations, sermons, sermon ideas, and preaching articles. God gave lavishly to us, and we will be blessed when we give lavishly to others. Christmas is a message of God’s love for us. EDITORS’ NOTE: The following Christmas sermon was aired recently over Adrian Rogers’ “Love Worth Finding” broadcast. (Philippians 2:6-8). A verse that most everyone knows expresses the Christmas message of love. Amazingly, you are God's treasure and if you follow Him, He will be yours. John 3:16 is all about love! Rejoice! … He did that knowing that His Son would die for the sins of the world. Get sermon ideas from Josh Malone by The Love of Advent (4 of 4). 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. “Look at how great a love the Father has given us.” We are to look at His love for us. For the peace of your heart. Sin, comparing ourselves to others, or simply a bad day are all reasons why a person may have a period of doubt in their lives. Many reasons can cause us to doubt our salvation. Text Introduction: This year at Christmas we have been on a journey to Activate Advent. 13 This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. (See 4:16) Here is a Christmas prayer—that all might come to believe in His love. The Character of the Savior 5. Most Christians go through a stage (or sometimes stages) in their spiritual journey that they begin to question whether they are truly saved. We lit the pink candle this morning, which means it’s time to rejoice. For hundreds of years the church has anticipated the coming of Jesus during the season of Advent. It’s time to let His love cover all things in your life. Sunday – 8:30 am & 10:30am Wednesday – 7:00pm All services are about an hour in length. Omnia vincit amor. . Do it for His sake. This year at Christmas we are on a journey to Activate Advent. as something to be used for His own advantage. This year at Christmas we are on a journey to Activate Advent. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. When I was growing up, my family always seemed to have a goal of being able to say at the end of Christmas, "This was the best Christmas we've ever had." And we are! Because she had been divorced, the American woman was not accepted by the British government. We anticipate the arrival of the King!. We cannot genuinely and consistently do these three things without the Spirit directing our lives. And do it for their sake. God desires that we come to a point in our lives where we know for certain that we have eternal life. Two of his greatest commands involve love: Love God, love your neighbor ( Matthew 22:36-40 ). This word is used only twice, both by John. Rejoice! You can serve those he serves. Love comes first in the fruit of the Spirit because love is the primary fruit of the Spirit. 9.). 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. Love with word or speech, but we can not genuinely and consistently these... 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