Family Goals Grow in Love 1 John 2:7 “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it” 3 things about love.
Love is priority.
I Corinthians 13:1-3 “ If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is more important than being spiritual
verse 1 “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
I Corinthians 12:31 “and now I will show you a MORE EXCELLENT WAY…”
b. Love is more important that being smart verse 2 “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge…”
I Corinthians 8:1 Paul says “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.”
c. Love is more important than having faith verse 2b “and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
d. Love is more important than being generous verse 3 “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
e. Love is more important than being successful verse 3 msg “no matter what I say, what I believe, what I do I am bankrupt without love…”
verse 13 “3 things remain, faith hope and love, but the greatest of these is love!”
I Corinthians 14:1(LB) “Let love be your greatest aim”
2. Love is practical I John 3:18 “Dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.”
verse 4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 3. Love is perfect verse 7 “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” verse 9 NLT “Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
I Peter 4:8 “Above all love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins”
Ephesians 4:2-3 AB “with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.”
How do we grow in love? 1. Focus on others first Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
2. Find the good in others
I Corinthians 13:6 MSG “Love always looks for the best.” 3. Forgive others quickly
I Corinthians 13:5 “love keeps no record of wrongs…”
Who do I need to forgive? ______________________ ______________________ ______________________
4. Follow through to the end I Corinthians 13:6-7 “ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Family Goals Equip Parents Psalm 112:1b-4b, 6b NLT “1b How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever... 4b They are generous, compassionate, and righteous…6b Those who are righteous will be long remembered.”
4 goals for this series and this year… 1. Strengthen families 2. Equip Parents 3. Grow in Love 4. Care for orphans Mark 10:16 NLT“ Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.”
Loving touch.
verse 13 “One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.”
Matthew 14:36 “People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.”
2. Abundant time verse 13-14 “One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. 14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
3. Encouraging talk verse 16 “and he took the children in his arms and put his hands on them and BLESSED THEM.”
Proverbs 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death.”
Matthew 3:17 “This is my son whom I love and I am well pleased with him”
1. Share the love 2. Take the time 3. Say the words
Family Goals Part 1 Strengthen Families Psalm 112:1b-4b, 6b NLT “How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. 2 Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. 3 They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever... 4b They are generous, compassionate, and righteous…6b Those who are righteous will be long remembered.”
Our word for the year at LG is FAMILY. 1. Strengthen families 2. Equip parents 3. Grow in Love 4. Care for orphans Joshua 24:8 and 12b-15 “I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land…. verse 12b You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ 14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
3 things about building strong families.
Building a strong family is a FIGHT.
Verse 8 “I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you…” verse 11b-12 “They fought against you… But I handed them over to you. 12 I sent terror ahead of you to force out two Amorite kings. You took the land without using swords and bows. 13 I gave you that land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’”
verse 13 “I gave you that land where you did not have to work. I gave you cities that you did not have to build. And now you live in that land and in those cities, and you eat from vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant.’”
2. Building a strong family is a CHOICE Verse 15“ But if you don’t want to serve the Lord, you must choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. You may serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, or you may serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” verse 14 “Then Joshua said to the people, “Now respect the Lord and serve him fully and sincerely. Throw away the gods that your ancestors worshiped on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord…”
3. Building a strong family is a COMMITMENT
verse 16 “Then the people answered, “We will never stop following the Lord to serve other gods!”
2 Corinthians 8:11 “Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it…” Building a Godly family is a… Fight Choice Commitment What do you do when you’ve gotten off track?
Repent
Revelation 2:2-5 “I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
Verse 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
2. Rearrange
3. Resolve
Verse 24-27 “And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” 25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord. 27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”
