August 24, 2014
Stetson Memorial United Methodist
Church
Sermon
Series on “All My Day: A Summer of Prayer”
Inspired
by Marcia McFee
Sermon
8 of series-
“Love”
Luke 6:27-36 NIV
Bible
1 John 3:11-18
NIV Bible
“The Loveable Unlovable”
Let us pray… (Pray for God’s illumination…)
We are one in the
Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the
Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all
unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are
Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are
Christians by our love
I
have been talking about the Devo Magazine
that the youth have been reading and how thoughtful these writers have been.
They are just kids but their understanding of God is just astounding. I mean
these kids really have a lot to say and they are very profound. For instance,
in the March thru May edition, there was one week al about love….radical love.
They talked about radical love and stepping out in faith and love to and for
others. They understood that love is a verb and when you love it is an action
rather than an emotion. One even talked about how love is life changing not
only for the other person but for the giver as well. They understood that
Jesus’ love was radical…something that was different from what the religious
leaders taught in the Synagogue. It is hard to love sometimes. Especially when
someone is “unlovable”.
This
summer, we are invited to pray “All My Days” and to make a habit of prayer
wherever you are. Each Sunday in worship we have focused on one of the steps of
the prayer beads. My continued hope is that our Summer Sermon Series “All My Days: A Summer of Prayer” will
help us learn a way of prayer that will bring us closer to the maker of all we
see.
I
hope we have learned a few things as we have been going through the beads on the
string. Let’s see…the Gold Bead…which
reminds us to begin with adoration ….the bumpy beady….that is to remind us to
let go and let God….the embrace of silence with the “holey Bead” …the steeping stone bead…our journey
of faith…the black...the black and white...the grey bead...we are to bring our
spiritual struggles to God….and the green bead, represents concern…not worries
but concerns.
This
week…the first red one on the string…is a bead…a prayer…that may be difficult.
Now it is the bead for love but not just the love you feel for family and
friends. This bead is also about love of the “unlovable” people in our lives.
You know those people that just get under our skin…those who we just can’t
stand…those who may have caused us harm
in the past.
We will work with each
other, we will work side by side
We will work with each
other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each
one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are
Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are
Christians by our love
The
scripture I read this morning is all about loving. But it is not about your
every day type of love, everyone can feel that, it is about that love that
stretches you…about a love that has nothing to do with how you feel…it is an
intentional love. It is easy to love those who are nice to you and are your
friends but it is a whole other ball game when we are told to love those who
we…well…really can’t stand. We all have those “unlovable” people in our lives.
But it is how we react towards them that really truly matters.
1st
John talks more about this kind of love. The epistle talks about a love that is
in action. Let me read to you what it has to say about this love action. I am reading from chapter 3 verses 11 thru
18…listen about this radical way of loving and see if this is a kind of love
may be what Christians need in their lives…
More
on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the
message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be
like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did
he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were
righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[a] if the world
hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love
each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a
brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life
residing in him.
16 This is how we know
what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down
our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions
and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love
of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or
speech but with actions and in truth.
It
is all about an action not just a “thing” called love.
We will walk with each
other, we will walk hand in hand
We will walk with each
other, we will walk hand in hand
And together we'll
spread the news that God is in our land
And they'll know we are
Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are
Christians by our love
As
a matter of fact, God loves us so much that we are pursued by His love for us.
In the book study from this summer “Having
A Mary Heart In A Martha World”, we have read and heard about this type of
love God has for us. There was one week that the video that we watched got me
really thinking. It stated “because of
the fall, God’s holiness required separation in the form of the temple veil.
But then Jesus came as the final sacrifice to reconcile us to God. The veil was
“torn in two from top to bottom” when Jesus breathed His last breath.” God
pursed humanity and still does to this day because of the radical love that He
has for us. Now if God has showed us this kind of love, how can we, in
gratitude for what He has done, not show the same love for those who are the
“unlovable” in our own lives. Remember
how Jesus acted on the Cross. Remember His prayer…forgive them Father for they
know not what they (we) do…radical love in action.
Love is patient, love
is kind
Never boasts, not full
of pride
Always hopes, and it
always trusts
The evidence of Christ
in us
This is my commandment
that you love one another
That your joy may be
full
Love,
this is what we are called to do. Not just that emotional love but that radical
love that causes us to act in love even when we don’t feel so loving towards
others. As we pray for those we love and not so much love, we grow in love. As
we pray for those unlovable people in our lives we begin to actually love them
in spite of themselves. As we pray for those who are not “part of our circle of
friends” we begin to let them into that very same circle. We may need to begin
by praying for ourselves…praying that we will begin to love those unlovable
people. Maybe if we start there we can not only change how we feel but have a
radical change and new vision of what love really is. You see love is not just
a word, it’s a noun and a verb, and hiding it is absurd.
Maybe…just
maybe…as we learn to pray for and love one another, lives will be changed.
Maybe if we show that radical love that Jesus showed from the Cross our lives
will be changed. Perhaps then we will truly be known by our love…perhaps that
is when the tide will change for humanity. Perhaps then and only then God’s
Kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven. But it begins with you and me
deciding to be radical in how we love and view others. Let us look to the
example of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ…the perfector of our faith for it is
through Him we can do all things…even love and pray for the unlovable that are
in our lives and in the world. Maybe…just maybe…
Let
us pray…pray about those we love and not
so much love in our lives…
And
they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They
will know we are Christians by our love
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment