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Sheep in pasture
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Sunday, August 24, 2014

“The Loveable Unlovable”

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

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