Message: OMG! – God of Love
I.
Introduction
a. Over the next few weeks we are going to be
talking about different character traits of God. Beyond this, God desires us to be like him,
so we will show how we can live out that characteristic in our own lives.
b. Tonight we are going to look at the character
trait of love
i.
1st
John 4:8c says, “God is love.”
ii.
We have
a God of love
II.
Body
a. What is Love?
i.
If we
are saying God is love, what exactly does that mean? What is this type of love?
ii.
The
Greeks had 3 words for love: Eros, Philia, and Agape in order to differentiate
what they meant when they said love.
1. Eros meant lustful love, when you want
something; you love it because of what you can get from it. Can be for an object, a person of the
opposite gender, or a person of the same gender.
a. When you look at some one and check them out,
that is Eros. It is all about passion
and emotion that comes and goes.
2. Philia meant natural love. It is a love that is built over time because
of mutual relationship. You love them,
they love you.
a. When you say you love your brother, sister, mom, or dad, that
is Philia. There is no romantic part of
it, it is all about a built relationship.
3. Agape meant a sacrificial love. It is a love that is for someone despite what
they have done, and it always ends in an action.
a. When you take care of a stranger or help an
enemy that is Agape.
iii.
When we
talk about the love God has for us it is Agape.
He loves us despite what we do, no matter how bad or good we are He
loves us. And this was displayed for us
when he died for us, a sacrifice we didn’t deserve.
iv.
This is
the perfect love, while Eros is a corruption of love. In one it is about what you can get out of
it, instead of what you can give.
b. Read 1st Corinthians 13:4-8a –
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does
not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
i.
Go
through the list as how God loves us
III.
Conclusion
a. Read 1st John 4:7-8 – “Dear
friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and
knows God. Whoever does not love does
not know God, because God is love.”
b. This is the same passage that we started
with. It says that God is love, but it
also says that we are love one another.
In fact we don’t it means we don’t know God, we aren’t in relationship
with Him, we don’t get Him.
Read 1st Corinthians 13:4-8a –
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does
not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not
delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
i.
Go
through the list as how we should love others
d. Are you loving like this?
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