Sermon at Woodlawn Christian Church, May 10th, 2015

Today is of course "Mothers Day", and during the Childrens Conversation at Church we had the children help distribute to all the mothers and grandmothers present, containers of hand lotion that had scripture verses upon them.  It's always fun to watch the little people hand out items to the congregation.  Some figure it all out easily and some need a bit more coaching and guidance.  But, it's great to see and as anyone who's followed this blog should know I have always loved children and I'm always happy when we have a large group in Church.

Today's sermon was pretty heavy on scripture references, but I have never felt that to be a weakness for a sermon.  Personally, I'd rather draw my illustrations from scripture.

It's a rainy day here in Lake City and I'm busy getting things ready for the Bible Study/Worship Service tonight.  Norma has graciously agreed to run the Study tonight as I have been invited to go up to the High School this evening and be a part of the Baccalaureate Program.  This year, we have four youth who are graduating from the local High School that are members of our Church.  Next Sunday, we'll be recognizing each of them in our worship service.

I've attached the manuscript for the sermon today.  This was a continuation of my sermon given last weekend.  I need to get back to work in preparing for tonight, so with that I will leave you all.

May God's gracious and abundant blessings be upon you!

In Christ,
Roy

Sermon 5/10/2015 at Woodlawn Christian Church by Pastor Roy Karlen:

Good morning, I pray that this day finds us all well and richly blessed.  It's Mothers Day, and what better day to preach over the second part of a two-part sermon series on 'Love'.  So, today we're going to expand a bit further on the theme from last week's sermon.  If you remember the sermon was entitled “We Must Love One Another”, and it was based upon the scripture found in 1st John 4: 7-21.  To paraphrase these verses it very pointedly told us that we must love our brothers and sisters.  If we don't love our brothers and sisters whom we do know and have seen, then we can't truly love God who we don't fully know and whom we have not seen.

As I said last week, it seems to me anyhow, that God's given us a pretty 'tall order' here.  Certainly, there are times when loving our brothers and sisters seems to be outright impossible.  It would seem that we're called to something pretty simple to understand, but terribly difficult to implement fully.

Before we go any further though, let's go before our Lord and God in prayer:

Heavenly Father, Abba, Creator, we lift up our hearts and minds to you for your guidance and care.  Allow the words that we speak and the lives that we live to be fully devoted to you and to carrying out your mission and purpose for this wanting world.  Lord, we ask that you bless us at this time with your presence and gracious love.  In your holy and sacred name we pray.  Amen

Today we're once again in the Gospel of John.  Just as we were the Sunday before last where we were reading and contemplating the scripture verses John 10:11-18 about Jesus as the 'Good Shepard'.  In that sermon, I also referenced John 21:12-17 which is very nearly at the end of the Gospel of John and concerns Jesus asking Peter three times if he loves him.  Interestingly, this past week in Norma's Bible Study we were covering these very same verses.  Norma mentioned that she had seen somewhere that the three requests by Jesus “do you love me” were all three different Greek words for love.

Well, I'd never heard this before so I had to check it out for myself to see if this was, in fact, true.  Interestingly, it turns out that there are two different words in these verses used by Jesus for love rather than three.  The first two questions that Jesus poses are using the Greek word 'agapas' which we all have heard many times before.  Strong's concordance translates this as;
I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.
When Peter replies though he uses all three times the Greek word 'philo' which Strong's concordance translates as; 
friendly: a friend, an associate.
In Jesus' final query, he uses the Greek word 'phileis' which Strong's translates as;
I love (of friendship), regard with affection, cherish; I kiss.

It is very interesting that Peter doesn't seem to be returning to Jesus the same level of affection that Jesus is requesting.....

Have you ever been in a relationship where you loved the other person far more than they could find it in their heart to love you?  Though here with Jesus, Peter and the rest of us we're not talking about romantic love but rather brotherly love.  We all can likely look back to our days of 'courting' and remember a particular relationship within which we either weren't loved as much as we loved or perhaps the other way around.  I can recall relationships where I was the one loving more and relationships where I was the one that was loved more than I could reciprocate.

In one relationship that ended badly, I am still amazed that the young lady could have loved me so very much.  That's the same sense I have about God, how is it that God can love me so very, very much when all I seem capable of doing is disappointing Him.  For those of us who are married the reality is that generally it goes back and forth during the relationship as to who is capable of loving the other more.  This isn't the case in our relationships with God, God will always love us more than we are capable of returning.  As I said last week, God doesn't love us because we love Him adequately, but He loves us because He loves us perfectly.

But we'll get back to this in just a little bit.

Let's listen to our scripture verses for today.

John 15:4-17 (NRSV)
4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Okay, what's one of the first things we notice in these verses?  Well, for one thing there's a whole lot of 'abiding' going on... either abiding in or not being able to abide in.  Last week we saw this trend of 'abiding in' didn't we.  Here we have a total of twelve references either positively or negatively stated about 'abiding in'.  As I pointed out to 'abide in' means someplace you dwell or live.  It's simply where you call home.  Jesus is calling us to live in God and for us to allow God to live in us.  

Most likely the next thing we notice is the command at the end.  A command that we must love one another.  Of course that was the topic of last weeks sermon.  Did you notice that we received this command twice here?  In both verses 12 and 17 we are commanded to love one another.  We are called to love our brothers and sisters.  And this isn't of course just our biological siblings but is a metaphor for all people.  Every single one of us humans running around on this earth is a child of God.  God created each of us and His greatest desire is a genuine relationship with each and every one of us as well.

1 John 5:1-6 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments.

And what seems to be the most important command of all...

2 John 1:3-6New Century Version (NCV)
3 Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, will be with us in truth and love.
4 I was very happy to learn that some of your children are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, this is not a new command but is the same command we have had from the beginning. I ask you that we all love each other. 6 And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love.

John 13:34-35 New Century Version (NCV)
34 “I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. 35 All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”

John 15: 12 & 17 (NRSV)
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

And we find almost identical exchanges in all three synoptic gospels, Mark, Matthew and Luke.  Here is the exchange in Matthew's Gospel

Matthew 22:36-40New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Perhaps the best known verses in all of scripture about 'love' come from the pen of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Church in Corinth.  A Church that suffered great disruptions and divisions within their numbers.  Even though these verses are normally utilized as how we are to love our spouses... that's not at all what Paul was trying to convey.  He was addressing the Church as a whole and instructing them to love each other, to love each and everyone.

1 Corinthians 13:1-8 New Century Version (NCV)
13 I may speak in different languages of people or even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only a noisy bell or a crashing cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. 6 Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth. 7 Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures.
8 Love never ends.

Remember that part earlier about Jesus and Peter.  Twice Jesus asks Peter if he loves him and Peter responds oh, yeah I'm fond of you Jesus.  Finally, Jesus asks Peter are you fond of me and Peter says yes Jesus, you know I am fond of you.

Even after everything Jesus and Peter had been through, after seeing Jesus arrested and crucified... after seeing Jesus come back from the grave, and seeing him on multiple occasions.... still Peter can't return in like kind the affection that Jesus has for him.  Seeing this brings new meaning to these passages at the end of John's Gospel, and I thank Norma for making me aware of this additional layer to this bit of scripture.  Peter can't manage to match Christ's love for him, what hope do we have of ever loving God adequately?  

We'll never love God nearly as much as he loves us, just like I said earlier we are doomed to forever disappoint our Lord. Fortunately, God, as we see in Christ's example of his exchange with Peter understands all too well that our relationship with him is largely one-sided.  As much as we may try to love and please God we're destined to always come up short.  But, as I pointed out last week that should never be an excuse for not even trying.

John 15: 12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

We are called to love one another as Christ has loved us.  To love those that will never, can never love us as much as we love them.  To love those that are entirely unlovable, to love those that very well may never like us, much less love us at all.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. 6 Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth. 7 Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures.
8 Love never ends.

Let's please close with a prayer...

Dear Father, Abba, we come to you humbly, and freely accept the grace that you provide to us, grace given despite our sins against you in thought, word and deed.  Lord, we thank you for your love and forgiveness and we cherish above all else our relationship to you, we also thank you for the relationships that you have blessed us with in our families, our friends, our fellow believers and all our fellow human beings.  Truly, all are a part of your grand design and creation.  Dear God, let us always be mindful of your directions in this world and let us be your hands and feet in this place.  Father, we look forward to the day when through your direction all shall be reconciled to you and to each other.

We pray this in your most Holy and Blessed name, AMEN.