As we dive into love let take a brief moment to remember all the things we’ve talked about up to this point and how they’re all intimately connected to and a direct result of the life and sacrifice of Jesus.
We have eternal hope in the promises of God made alive in Christ.
We have unshakable peace in Christ who will return for His church.
We have the gift of deep, abiding, and resilient joy through our love for and understanding of Christ.
I. God is Love
1 John 4:8-11 NLT
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
II. Love is the New Commandment
John 13:34-35 NLT
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
1 John 3:16 NLT
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
III. Love is a Choice
John 3:16 NLT
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
IV. Love Redeems
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
The Best Christmas Ever is About Giving and Receiving Love
We have eternal hope in the promises of God made alive in Christ.
We have unshakable peace in Christ who will return for His church.
We have the gift of deep, abiding, and resilient joy through our love for and understanding of Christ.
I. God is Love
1 John 4:8-11 NLT
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
II. Love is the New Commandment
John 13:34-35 NLT
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
1 John 3:16 NLT
16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
III. Love is a Choice
John 3:16 NLT
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[g] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
IV. Love Redeems
Colossians 1:19-20 NLT
For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
The Best Christmas Ever is About Giving and Receiving Love