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Live Love

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

I believe we are all aware of how our culture lives…

  • Guilt, gluttony & greed

  • Examples: more counseling, bigger burgers & higher pay

  • In denial – or ignorance – of how the rest of the world lives

  • I.e., selfishness – self-centered-ness

  • Not always by desire or design

  • Subtlety of Satan’s attacks

We also know that is not how we are supposed to live

  • Our text spells it out quite plainly

  • At the end of it all, 3 things will remain

  • Faith, hope & love

  • Prophecies will end; tongues will stop; knowledge will end

Faith

  • Faith is trust in God in action

  • Matthew 19 = rich young man – go, sell what you own, & give the money to the poor.

  • But the man trusted his possessions more than God

  • Faith of the Pharisees included much lip-service, lots of prayer, but little action

  • We can fall into this trap

  • “God bless you;” – but what sort of blessings are we supplying?

  • James 2:14-16 = What good is it if people say they have faith but do nothing to show it? Claiming to have faith can’t save anyone, can it? Imagine a brother or sister who is naked & never has enough food to eat. What if one of you said, “Go in peace! Stay warm! Have a nice meal!” What good is it if you don’t actually give them what their body needs?

  • You may be thinking, “Dave, I have faith.” That’s good! We are saved by grace through faith.

  • Faith is a good thing. It will remain forever. But it must have action.

Hope

  • Hope is faith in action; Hebrews 11:1 = faith is being sure of what we hope for

  • Self-centered-ness is hope-less-ness

  • without hope, you look out for #1

  • without hope, you do unto others before…

  • hope has been a popular notion in America

  • 13 states have a city named Hope; 4 more have a New Hope

Hope is when our spirituality begins to assert itself

  • When we respond to God’s grace, hope begins to stir

  • You may be thinking, “Dave, I have hope.” Great! Romans 5:5 = hope does not disappoint us!

  • Hope is a good thing. It will remain forever. But it must have action.

Love

  • Love is our faith & hope in action

  • We may live in faith; we may live with hope; but to truly be like Christ, we must live out love

  • Living love, as Paul describes it, is only possible when the Holy Spirit becomes dominant in our life

  • It is Christ-centered-ness

Paul says that love is the greatest of all things

  • John 21, Jesus asked Peter 3 times: “Do you love me?”

  • John 15, Jesus told the disciples, “Live in my love.”

  • We sing the campfire song, “They will know we are Christians…”

The love Paul describes here is the highest virtue attainable

  • It is the greatest quality we can possess

  • It is the most Jesus-like characteristic we can imagine

Christian Science family & daughter with meningitis

  • Upon her death, the mother realizes what Paul is saying

Upper Room, 5/30/2000

I thank God for those of us living in faith, for we know God

I thank God for those of us living in hope, for we live beyond the here & now

I pray that God will grant us all the grace to live in love.

  • We can live a life of love because God first loved us

  • And God gives us the power – thru the Holy Spirit – to live out love

Let us pray. Dear God, help us to love as you love us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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