Faith Talk – July 28, 2024
Sunday: July 28, 2024
Series: Prove It!
Sermon: Knowing God Through Love
Series: Prove It!
Sermon: Knowing God Through Love
Scripture
1 John 4:7 – Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Summary
Today, we continued our series Prove it! as we studied the book of 1 John. We are not necessarily proving our salvation; we are proving we are living in genuine love and authentic fellowship with God. John is writing to protect these Christians from living in worldly sin and yet thinking they are also living a Christian life in harmony with God.
Our passage taught us that genuine love for God is demonstrated in the way we love one another. Since God is love, we understand that love is defined by God. True love, divine love, Christian love is a holy love that is defined by a holy God. Love is also gospel-driven. God’s greatest example of love is sending His Son to pay for our sins. This is also the source of our love for one another. We must believe the gospel to demonstrate the gospel’s love to one another in the way God commands. Love is also sacrificially given, meaning it's not about what people deserve; it's about who you are in Christ.
The beauty of loving one another this way is that not only do we experience God’s love amongst ourselves as the church, but we also display God’s love to the world. God’s love as demonstrated in the gospel is the most important reflection for the church to display.
When we love one another in this way, it proves we are living in an authentic fellowship with God, which frees us from fear of punishment to live in the love of those confident to stand before God when Christ returns.
Our passage taught us that genuine love for God is demonstrated in the way we love one another. Since God is love, we understand that love is defined by God. True love, divine love, Christian love is a holy love that is defined by a holy God. Love is also gospel-driven. God’s greatest example of love is sending His Son to pay for our sins. This is also the source of our love for one another. We must believe the gospel to demonstrate the gospel’s love to one another in the way God commands. Love is also sacrificially given, meaning it's not about what people deserve; it's about who you are in Christ.
The beauty of loving one another this way is that not only do we experience God’s love amongst ourselves as the church, but we also display God’s love to the world. God’s love as demonstrated in the gospel is the most important reflection for the church to display.
When we love one another in this way, it proves we are living in an authentic fellowship with God, which frees us from fear of punishment to live in the love of those confident to stand before God when Christ returns.
Discussion
- Share what stood out to you most from worship this morning?
- Fasting on the first, learning about God’s love, loving others, etc.?
- Discuss some of the differences between God defining love and the world using their version of love to define God.
- How can you live a life of love as defined by God in a world that denies God’s definition?
- We were challenged to love the way God loves us through the gospel. Unconditional, undeserved, and sacrificial. Share an area of your life or relationships that needs to mature in God’s love.
- How will you apply the gospel to the relationships you have with others?
Pray Together
Father, thank you for your love to us in Jesus Christ. The gospel is the most beautiful and sacrificial display of divine love in all the world. I ask that you mature a gospel-driven and sacrificially-given love in me. I want to not only believe the gospel but to live the gospel, especially in the church with other believers but also in the world surrounded by those lost and confused about what love is and who God is. We commit to growing in your love with one another in our home, in our church, and in the world around us. In the beautiful name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
Posted in Faith Talk