SERMON NOTES
Part 2 Life-Giving Truth
Penned Truth: We cannot antagonize people, then expect to influence people for Christ.
David Alley. “If we claim to love God, but don’t love each other our love is nothing and meaningless.”
Richelle Smithee said, We must choose to love. Love is not a feeling, it is a Choice.
Ephesians 4:15 (NLT) 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Penned Truth: We must Stand Firm in the truth without compromise. And love well at the same time.
Ephesians 4:29 (NLT) 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Penned Truth: NEC exists to bring fresh hope one person at a time. To do so, we must Love Well and Forgive even better.
5 Principles On Love
John 13:34-35 (NLT) 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
• Corinthians 14:1 (NLT) 14 Let love be your highest goal!…
• Without Love- All I say is ineffective
Penned Truth: It’s Not about winning an argument or getting your way. It’s about winning hearts.
1 Corinthians 13:1 (NLT) 1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:2 (NLT) 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
• Without Love- All I believe is insufficient
• Without Love- All I know is insignificant
1 Corinthians 13:3 (NLT) 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
• Without Love- All I give is incompleteLife-Giving Truth: Life minus Love = 0
• Without Love- All I accomplish is inadequate1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT) 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[a] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
How To Love Well
• Serve Them
1 Corinthians 9:19 (NLT) 19 Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.
• Set An Example
Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT) 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Penned Truth: Don’t make things better, make things brighter!
Rick Warren, “Never procrastinate in showing love. Don’t delay. Don’t put it off. Do it now.”
• Share Christ
1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT) 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
Final Statement: Like the disciples standing on the hillside after the resurrection, I stand here today knowing that God is calling us to move forward with the power He is sending so that we can be the fullness of Jesus in our world. God's spirit will shape us if we let Him so that our lives will reflect more of God's love, grace, and power. Can we, will we move forward and Love Well?
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