Currently I am working on a 3-week sermon series based on Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love, and so far it has been extremely convicting. The book as well as the accompanying Scripture contained within its pages have served to rip apart the exterior of my life and get me thinking.
I’m hoping to do an interactive sermon series where I can engage those who will be listening to the sermons as well as others beforehand and afterwards. So, here’s what I ask from you, the reader: please comment on the following question:
What are some ways that God shows His love to us, both in the past, present, and in the future? If you could include Scripture along with your comment, that would be helpful.
Thanks for your help, and I appreciate your input.
4 Comments
If you stay strong in your faith God will stick by you and help you through amy situation. That has been my belief ever since I decided to adopt a certain verse as my favorite. And here I am now clear of Leukemia after a 2 year remission period. The verse is -Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. I Peter 5:8. As long as you keep your vigilance in faith and keep a sober and level confidence that God is in control, you can survive any bump in the road.
I don’t know if this is what you are looking for but, when I look back on my life to the time before I believed I can see the many times God protected me, kept me from serious harm. It points to the truth that God loved me even before I loved Him.
Thanks for allowing us the honor and opportunity to support you in this way. Your willingness to open up yourself to this kind of (constructive, I hope) criticism is something I’ve personally never witnessed before, but am encouraged to see. In a way, this is a version of showing an aspect of God’s love, sacrificing your personal pride as a Pastor (perhaps) to allow criticism before the sermon’s even preached, no?
Along those lines, and for what it’s worth, let me offer some points that I – coming more from an analytical and academic instructional preference – would prefer to hear (in a Socratic flair):
1) Be sure to define what you mean by God’s “love.” Is this love like puppy love? Or like love at first sight? Or love as in twinkies? Or is this the love that a father has for his children, which might not always appear pleasant, but is always in the child’s best interest (no matter what they think) 🙂
2) How does this “love” manifest itself in grace and mercy? What are grace and mercy (be specific, and provide at least one explanation that doesn’t use other “churchy”/theological words)? How are they different (again, be specific)? Why are grace and mercy important to us?
3) What does love have to do with a relationship? Is it important, helpful, a nice touch, or essential? Why is it as important as you claim it is?
4) Who is God (be complete, but brief), who are we, and why do we need/should we have a relationship with Him?
With this context in place, you can choose to apply the examples of your choosing.
For past experiences of God’s love (as you’ve defined/outlined), pick the dealing-with-Israel-instance of your choice. Maybe pick one example that’s not used frequently, perhaps from Kings, or something more thematic as to why all those rules in Deuteronomy are important and how they have to do with love.
For the present, one example that frequently comes to mind is that: if God is all-powerful, ever-present and eternal, and we mere mortals continue to slander, insult, reject, deny, and attack him and his principles (directly or indirectly) on a daily basis, why doesn’t He just smite us all and start from scratch again? While not Scripture, I think of Bill Cosby’s “My father established our relationship when I was seven years old. He looked at me and said, ‘You know, I brought you in this world, and I can take you out. And it don’t make no difference to me, I’ll make another one look just like you.’ ” While meant comedically, why doesn’t God take Bill Cosby’s father’s approach?
For the future, I think and hope for the day when all of the injustices of the world are justified. The time when those who have chosen wrong are brought to account for their choices, especially if it seems they’ve gotten off Scott-free in their life. And I think of those whose hearts ache because they see the unfairness of this world and they know that it isn’t right. What does love have to do with what Revelation foretells will happen with the return of Christ?
So to bring this short novel to a close, let me pray that regardless of what you choose to present or how you choose to present it, may it be done in a way that the Holy Spirit can take and use to drive home in the hearts of those who hear it. Because, ultimately, the effectiveness of this series doesn’t depend on your personality, content or presentation, right? And what does God’s love have to do with that?
God’s promises are one of the many ways His love is evident to me. Specific to your question, He promises that our past, present, AND future are being used for His glory and our ultimate good!