1 John 4:7-12

Love

Love

This sermon is based on 1 John 4:7-12. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: To have a favorite or not to have a favorite, that is the question. Okay, “Hamlet” is loaded with possible favorite quotes, and it is hard to pick just one. But if I had to, it would be when Polonius interrupts Hamlet in the library and asks, “What do you read, my lord?” And Hamlet replies, “Words, words, words.” Now, Polonius is an accomplice of the evil king and Hamlet is feigning insanity, so we can’t take everything that is said here at face value. In fact, we all know that something is rotten in the library. Besides, if Hamlet didn’t believe in the power of words, he would never have uttered a single soliloquy. No, methinks the lad doth protest too much here. See, words matter. They

Then What Is God’s Story?

This sermon is based on 1 John 4:7-12. You can also view each week's sermon/worship service on our YouTube Channel during the weeks we cannot meet due to Covid-19 restrictions: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ncsq_QNvCv61bIwKUpP5A SERIES OVERVIEW: Let me just say it: of all the times for the angel of the Lord to introduce the name, Immanuel (meaning God with us), to use it to announce to Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was by the Holy Spirit was the worst. Why? Because from that point on, we have thought that Immanuel was a Christmas name and only properly used during Advent. Now, to be fair, Joseph was in a very difficult time and Israel was mourning in lonely exile there and that whole Caesar Augustus tax decree was extremely bitter (tax time always is), and those are all perfect occasions to remind us that God is with us. But somehow, we have lost the connection

Love One Another

This sermon is based on 1 John 4:7-12. SERIES OVERVIEW: Yogi Berra once famously said: “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” I think we would agree. We all love the idea of loving others. After all, love is the definitive distinctive of a disciple of Jesus; and it’s our most memorable mandate, our most important imperative, and our most dynamic and decisive decree. That’s why it is called the Greatest Commandment. So, there you have it. In theory we love it! But then there’s practice. And loving everyone, everywhere and all the time just doesn’t seem all that practical. Now, don’t get me wrong. We love it as an idea, and we love to love people who love us and who are lovable, but some people just don’t fit that description (maybe because we don’t know them or maybe because we’ve known them