The Kind of Love We Need Easter Service
By God’s grace, we can be recipients of Christ’s incomparable love that provides for our most profound needs by means of his life, death, and resurrection.
love
When It Motivates Sacrifice
Love and devotion to Christ motivates serious Christians to sacrifice much in their pursuit of being maximally useful to the Lord.
Our Christian Fellowship
There are profound and desperately needed Christian benefits that come from being highly committed, selfless participants in your church family.
God’s Gracious Solutions
God has graciously provided Christians his enablement and a set of commands which when faithfully obeyed will safeguard us against the destructive sin of envy.
Love
Love is not as easy or pleasant as it sounds. It is effortless to say “I love you” but so hard to demonstrate in real life. The Bible calls Christians to love “not with words or speech but with actions and truth” (1Jn.3:18). It is not that the words are wrong, but they…
Shared Struggles & Mutual Aid
We ought to always be attuned to the practical needs of God’s people, ready to do what we can to demonstrate the love of Christ in tangible ways.
Jealousy of God
Jealousy is generally perceived as a human weakness. Few would want to be described as “the jealous type.” Perhaps that’s why many choose to ignore the fact that our perfect God has revealed himself to be perfectly jealous. Consider Exodus 34…
Fruit of the Spirit: Love
The presence and activity of God’s Spirit in our lives is displayed by the increasing expressions of Christlike love, which don’t come easy, but will come, as we understand and cooperate with what God is working to do through us.
Love Like Jesus
Having spent years walking through Israel with Jesus, having listened to him teach, and having seen him heal the sick and even raise the dead, the Apostle John distilled Christ’s love into this intriguing statement: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16a). Without reference to any warm feelings or emotions, John elevates the painful sacrifice
Reflecting God’s Inexpressible Gift
God has set the ultimate example of selfless and sacrificial giving that should be diligently followed by all of his disciples – especially at Christmastime.
The Lord is My Strength
We should always be characterized by strength and courage because Christ has secured our favored place with the Father and the Holy Spirit will see us through until the coming of the kingdom.
Life In Perspective
In light of our utter dependence and inherent weakness as human beings we should enthusiastically and thoughtfully give credit to our gracious God for his kind and sovereign provision in our lives.
The Anticipation of Our Resurrection
Our forthcoming resurrection in God’s new and righteous world can be confidently and joyfully anticipated because of the finished work of Christ and the faithful promises he made to us.
How the Righteous Respond
Responding rightly to Christ’s redemptive work should result in a growing love for God that produces good works, love for people, and a desire to obey the Bible’s commands.
Serving Like the Angels
The angelic beings who directed the shepherds at Christ’s birth provide us with a challenging example of humble service to Christ’s people for Christ’s sake.
Pain and Temptation
The triune God demonstrated love for us in the most costly transaction imaginable; in response we ought to eternally thank him and sacrificially obey all that he commands.
An Unsung Christmas Hero
Joseph provides us with a relevant and compelling example to imitate, demonstrating a courageous and obedient faith amid confusion, fear, and disappointment.
Questions & Answers 2017-Part 1
Pastor Mike answers questions on the Bible, God and Christianity Questions in this service: 1. How do we now think biblically about the Jewish people scattered around the world? 2. What is the difference between the 4 and 5 points of Calvinism? 3. How do we strike the biblical balance between doctrine and love? 4. …
Loving God’s Challenging Work
We must be continually mindful of the unique and exceeding authority of the Triune God we were created and redeemed to humbly serve.
Loving God’s Flawed People
We must remember that our friends’ sanctification is flawed, just like our own, and so we must continue to graciously forgive them when they sin and be wholeheartedly restored to them when they repent.
Loving God’s Holy Standards
If we love Christ we will love what he loves and hate the sins for which he died and which cause such great damage to the body of Christ.
Caring for the Wandering Sheep of Your Church
God would have us be vigilant about those who wander away from the teaching and practice of the truth, concerned enough for the ramifications of their falling away to lovingly go after them to bring them back.
Providing Godly Encouragement to Your Friends
We have a God-given responsibility to care for our Christian friends in the church, by humbly being used by God to encourage them as they follow Christ.
Rejoicing in a God Who Saves
Understanding something of God’s greatness and our sin, we should always be joyfully and humbly thankful that the Triune God would seek and save us.
Worldly Comforts & Godly Sacrifices
Jesus, with every right to establish the terms, makes clear that to be on his team we must give up the worldly norms of managing our own lives and putting our own interests and loves above his sovereign leadership.
Worldly Religion & Godly Priorities
We can do a lot of self-serving and self-promoting in a cloak of religion, but true religion seeks to sincerely please God and will always drive us to give ourselves for the good of other people.
Patience & Forgiveness
Because for now our Christian friendships will be periodically marked by insensitive actions and sinful transgressions, we must for Christ’s sake resolve ahead of time to reflect God’s patience and forgiveness.
Kindness & Encouragement
Out of sincere love for our Christian friends we ought to regularly engage in strategic acts of kindness that benefit their lives, and communicate thoughtful words of encouragement that build them up.
Acceptance & Hospitality
Because we are made in God’s image we all were designed to be openly sharing our lives with a select group of friends who are pursuing the same spiritual goals.