March/25/ 2018
Love Like Jesus
Love Forgives
Palm Sunday
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Luke 23:34 “Father Forgive Them”
Matthew 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Hebrews 12:15 NLT “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many…
How unforgiveness contaminates us…
a. It seeps into our prayer life
Matthew 5:23-24 "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and suddenly you remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."
b. It seeps into our relationships
Hebrews 12:15 “Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.”
c. It seeps into our vision
I John 2:10-11 “Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.”
d. It seeps into our peace
Psalm 55:12-14 “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God,
as we walked about among the worshipers.”
How do we learn to forgive like Jesus?
1. Remember
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
2. Forget
Micah 7:19 “Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!”
Hebrews 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
3. Repeat
Matthew 18:21-22 “ Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
March/11/ 2018
Love Like Jesus
Spoken Love
John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Last week: His love was a patient love
Next week: His love was a serving love
Final week: His love was a forgiving love
THIS WEEK: His love was a spoken love
Proverbs 19:21 "Life and death are in the power of the tongue."
3 ways that words can create life or death...
1. Spiritual:
Matthew 12:37 “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned”
2. Physical:
3. Emotional:
3 loving words Jesus spoke…
1. Words of encouragement.
Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”
Matthew 16:17-19 “Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
2. Words of wisdom.
John 7:46 NCV “The words he says are greater than the words of any other person who has ever spoken!”
a. Wisdom about priorities:
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
b. Wisdom for our relationships:
Matthew 6:31 “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Mark 12:31 “‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
c. Wisdom about prayer:
Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
d. Wisdom about life
Matthew 6:27 “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin… 30 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”
3. Words of correction.
John 1 “Jesus came with grace and truth.”
Luke 10:38 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Mark 10:21 “Jesus looked at him and LOVED him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
How do we love like Jesus with our words?
1. Listen up
James 1:19 “be quick to listen and slow to speak…”
2. Speak up:
Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are like honey— sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
3. Shut up:
John 16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now.”
4. Lift up:
March/04/ 2018
Love Like Jesus
Patient Love
IN fact that leads me to our key verse for this entire series.
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. AS I HAVE LOVED YOU, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
4 ways that Jesus loved us.
His love was a patient love
His love was a spoken love
His love was a serving love
His love was a forgiving love
But how did Jesus love Peter? 3 things…
1. Jesus was patient with Peter’s FAITH.
2. Jesus is patient with Peter’s FEARS.
3. Jesus is patient with Peter’s FAILURES.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being PATIENT with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but he wants all people to change their hearts and lives.”
If this is how Jesus loves us then isn’t it how we should love others?
John 13:34 “as I have loved you love one another”
I Corinthians 13 “love is patient and kind…”
3 things we are going to have to do if we want to love with Patience!
1. See potential.
2. Show mercy.
James 2:12-13 “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Let mercy be your default.
The key to mercy is to remember the mercy you have been shown.
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
3. Seek God’s help.
Galatians 5:19-22 “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.”
