Home Worship Services Sermons Location Contacts Bulletins Links |
FAMILY NEWSLADIES CLASS — Between weather problems and personal schedules the ladies have had a hard time meeting together for their Saturday study and fellowship. The February class is now scheduled for the 4th Saturday — the 23rd at 10:00 A.M. Put that date on your schedule and you will be contacted if weather does not allow the class to take place. WEATHER PROCEDURE. If the weather is bad for any service we have we will use a phone tree to advise everyone of whether services are canceled or not. The Gibsons are the closest ones to the building and will make the final decision based on road conditions in Dowagiac. If services are canceled we have a phone tree set up where anyone who attends regularly will be called. If you have doubts, call the Gibsons at 782-4564 or the Claytons at 687-9426. THANKS: You will notice that the property has been prepared for the construction project now scheduled for March. We want to thank Shane Wallace for using his equipment to do what would have been an almost impossible job without him. The bush is in the thicket on the corner of the property if anyone wants a cutting of it. Thanks to everyone working on the inside of the building as well. TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION
A. “Love” is a badly abused word.
I. GREEK WORDS FOR LOVE
1. Use in entertainment venues.
2. “Making love” refers to sexual activity. A. “Eros” — erotic, physical, sexual type of love.
II. HOW DO WE BUILD THAT KIND OF LOVE?
B. “Thelo” — making a wish (Mark 12:38) C. “Philadelphia” — love of brethren (1 Peter 3:8, etc.) D. “Phileo” refers to something material or emotional. 1. Philoproteuo — love to be first (3 John 9)
E. Agape (noun), Agapao (verb) — main word to us.
2. Philargyria — love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) 3. Philoteknos — love of children (Titus 2:4) 4. Philandros — love of husband (Titus 2:4 5. Philanthropia — love toward man (Titus 3:4) 6. Philautos — love of self (2 Timothy 3:2) 7. Philedonos — love of pleasure (2 Timothy 3:4) 8. Philadelphos — love of brethren (1 Peter 3:8; Hebrews13:1; Romans 12:10) 9. Phileo — love of a material or emotional thing (Matthew 6:5; 10:37; 23:6; Luke 20:46) 1. Love that values and esteems, unselfish, serving.
2. 1 John 4:7 to 5:3 — 114 uses in New Testament 3. 1 John 3:16-18 — do not just love in word 4. The challenge — non-Christians cannot do it. A. JOHN 21:15-17 — AGAPE versus PHILEO
III. BUILD A NEW LIFE!
B. Jesus' hard teachings are rooted in word usage. 1. Matthew 5:43-44 — love (Agape) your enemy, etc.
C. Learn to love spiritual things — John 3:19-21
2. John 15:12; Ephesians 5:25; 1 John 4:12; Hebrews 1:9 3. God's Spirit helps us — 1 Corinthaians 15:33; Luke 3:14. — Religion is not “sissy nonsense” — James 1:27
A. Help — Romans 6:4; 1 John 4:15-19
B. What kind of life do you have? Is it complete? C. Do we tap into the help that is available? THE BACK PAGEFALLING IN LOVE WITH GODToday's lesson is about love, and our word studies are very helpful when we pursue this subject. Most of the trouble that we have with the commands of Jesus that we feel are so very difficult is because we do not understand what the biblical concept of love is. When we are told to love our enemies we tend to view that as an oxymoron — words that cannot be used together. If you are my enemy, I cannot possibly love you or you would not be my enemy. When we read statements by Christ such as those in Matthew 10:37 where we are told that “anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;” we tend to say that such a statement is foolish and cannot be seriously entertained. Our problem with all of this is that we are not understanding what kind of love Jesus is talking about. In Matthew 10:37 the word for love is phileo and refers to material love, not the love of a spiritual nature. When God's love for us is expressed in John 3:16, the word used is agapao, and that is not the kind of relationship Matthew 10 is talking about. The classic book about our love relationship with God is 1 John. John begins by talking about walking in the light and our sin problem. In Chapter two we are told not to love (agapao) the world and what it has to offer because all of that is temporary. In chapter three we are told to love (agape) one another as an outgrowth of God's love for us in having Jesus lay down his life for us. We are told not to just love “in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” Chapter four tells us to love one another based on the fact that God loves us and that God's Spirit dwells in us if we are baptized into Christ (who gives us the capacity to love). We are also told that fear should not be a problem for us because “perfect love casts out fear.” The last chapter of 1 John reminds us that we show the love of God if we keep his commandments and that God has given us eternal life. Because of our love we have knowledge of the true God and confidence that we have eternal life. None of this is beyond any of us, because God helps us if we make an effort to agape. — John Clayton Our sign by the street!
The sentence on the sign is from 1 John 4:7. Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website. www.dowagiaccoc.org |
