Christmas is Love

Well, as we prepare for Christmas. I thought it would be helpful to think of Christmas from three interlocking perspectives. Christmas is love. Christmas is joy and Christmas is peace to think of these three subjects love, joy and peace you experience. Much love in your life you think of love those who love you think of those that you you love is been your experience of love of the home that you grew up in your loving children.

If your battery of interesting love. Perhaps if your widows are separated, as was been your experience of love will be interesting if we the time for each person to come up here and share something of that by joy in the political arena in the world with coping alive, still he is on the use and that there's very little joy was your experience. Enjoy your joyful person is someone is people come into your presence is someone who communicates Johnny are you kind of gloomy person lugubrious sat solemn. My peace was been your expense of your personal base last night you laid her head on the pillow.

Did you do that with peace. Something really gnawing at you. Something disruptive, peace in your home phone is going to work. New relationships with your colleagues here is a piece harmony and well-being at Calvary church Christmas speaks to all of these things only these emotions and these truths love and joy and peace while today.

Our focus is love Christmas is about love love in action love personified.

Christmas is about the love of God, and I want to think of every simply today I trust not simplistically, but simply because this is a very very important subject as the thinkers of all of the reality of the love of God.

Secondly, of the proof of the love of God and third your response. My response, the reality of the love of God. The proof of the love of God and you response to the love of God is and must be response and I wonder if all of you responded to the love of God so going to think first of all think with me of the reality of the love of God.

But before thinking of the love of God. Let's think a little bit of the reality of love is it what we can't really think about love of God without having to think about love without thinking of the love of God. That's true. I think first of all of human love of her experience of love. Love is a crying need of the human heart is love without love is imaginable.

Think of the love between husband and wife, the love between parents and child the love between brothers and sisters love between friends and friends.

The love here at Calvary church is love. Love is the most exhilarating of experiences and love, I think, gives meaning and significance to life.

It would be intolerable, winded to live in a world without love, and yet the reality is, some people never really experience love.

Love is the most exhilarating of experiences giving significance and meaning to life when something was wrong with that love, it's one of the most painful experiences and some of you know exactly when speaking about love is wonderful but sometimes human love breaks that something goes wrong I sent here is a minister of the gospel with a young couple who make those told that they do part and they express their love for each other and that when I meet with them and I say you love this person for the rest of your life. Absolutely there is no possibility of my love coming to and I love this person so much and I was before God. Standing right here under the cross and then a few years later, sometimes even months later but usually some years later, something terribly goes wrong and where there was once love this pain was accusations. This recriminations and love.

Six of the suit. The reality of human love. We use this word love in different ways. Though my people say I love you but I'm not in love with that person. We also use anyway love in a way we shouldn't use it as some people talk about loving perhaps a man says I love this woman, but he doesn't love her. He uses her niece may say he loves this woman, but when you examine it. His love is all take take take take his love is self-centered. He uses people for his own satisfaction is producing himself in the center of his life and alone with his lips to say to this woman I love you. The reality is he does know about love et al. is not love, lust and lust is demanding less things so love loss puts me first, and yet many people say that love is not love et al., it's take take take, then perhaps the most familiar form of love. I think that most of us will experience is the love. Thank you, dear, I love you and the wife is coming up and giving me a tissue. Thank you. Just the thought of it makes me cry really very sentimental and good now. Love you. I think you know what was I the first time she's come up and that my thoughts is to take over but you probably could do much better than I do that when it comes to love. However, there was some theological issues there propitiation so you have struggled a little dab will go on.

There was I yes love love between two people.

It is not just take surely is give and take you love that person in the love you back is wonderful love of a child. Prepare love for husband-wife love for two friends and that kind of relationship is not just take take take know it's give-and-take. We love that person they love us. They do things progressively do things for them. I we put them before ourselves, and they put us before themselves, but the experience was that love has come to an end.

Think of it with friends there.

People are giving very close to you may be married to people in your own family and friends that one time you love them and that love was never returned.

It's very difficult to keep loving someone who doesn't love you and return you give give give and they take take take and after a while it becomes obvious that they don't love you.

It's all said he do but their actions are clear they don't love you.

They may let someone else they love themselves and that you feel when it's something wrong here and if that continues, I would suggest that your court love for them comes to hand them not acted in the way you think appropriate. You wake up one day uses always mean it makes the call. I'm the one is always doing things on the one is taking action and they give nothing in return. So that is love, which is take take take this love which is give-and-take, there's another love. I love that will create a love which is very very rare in human relationships of the people say it's what we call it unconditional love.

This love gives and gives and gives and gives and continues to get even one is not return even when it's rejected even when the other excuse me, even when the other person doesn't respond in the way that we expect this of course is the love of God. God's love, the reality of love is that God's continues to love us and pass on Hathaway put up that magnificent verse that God shows his love toward us in that while we were yet wonderful people who worshiped him and praised him every day and pray five times a day, that God commands his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, misreads open your Bibles something you just got you Bibles you're anxious to to use the and I know Alyssa couple people here who just got a Bible and that this is the first time that opening the Bible and the sanctuary encourage you to come with your Bible.

First John chapter 4 is at the end of the Bible we had the magnificent verse is from John one the beginning of the service rest, but read bypass Hathaway in the beginning was the word magnificent that you love to hear the word of God this morning. John writes in one way simply is Greek is very easy to understand but he works very perfectly. He also writes very prefiling. We harvest prefiling prologue from John one. Here's another passage of Scripture. First John four and were going to reach from verse seven. I want you to get these words when them to penetrate your heart to encourage listen to John. John is called the disciple of love. He knows about love. I was John the pretties had done it on the bosom of Jesus. So John and the sense is an expression of love and expect them love and he knows about the love of Jesus and so he writes a John first John four verse seven beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is the statement God is going to repeat it in their 60 God is in this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him.

Verse 10 in this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he announced because he's given us of his spirit and we have seen and testify that the father has sent his son, Savior of the world more beautiful words. This is the disciple of love) about love and John traces the flawed of the love of God to so he says here in verse eight God is love.

Look at verse 19 we love because he God first loved us a very important verse. We love because he first loved us so John is saying so brilliantly in a sense, so simply been so profoundly that love begins with God doesn't begin with your feelings that love this unconditional love this beautiful pure love begins with God. Love is from God love his source in God.

And then John says God is love, not just a God is loving is a true statement but is deeper than that. The very being of God is love. Love is the self communication of God which what your view of God I speak to people of God is often very sentimental. On the other hand, the view of God is are kind of the judge, a cosmic killjoy someone to be feared and the sense of being afraid and sadly God is to be feared but were not to be afraid of God because God is love through his holidays through his righteous is true that Easter but John is focusing on this that we focus this Christmas that God is love and John says is not you. One morning woke up and said I'm going to start loving God. It's rather, that God first loved you. We love because he first loved us. When you think about that when this to grip your heart to agree on this Christmas God's love comes to you. You, whoever you are sitting there, wherever you are listening on life saving God's love comes to you, God's love in the sense embraces you that this God is not God is far away. We had beautifully sung the words O'Connell, Emmanuelle Israel crying for the Messiah, the Messiah has come, and he's come to us. God is not a remote. God God is a personal God in the God who is revealed himself in God is not only loves Americans. Please remember, Americans of an American.

God loves Africans. God loves Bolivians. God loves Liberians. God loves Chinese God loves civilians loves Germans. God loves you here for the very first time I went visiting on these cues for many many years. I want to remind God loves you. Think about is what I was overwhelmed this great eternal God was so big he is immeasurable that this God would love John. Some of you sitting there find it hard to love me. I understand that is what got my wife's think this God's love's you.

The Bible says that God's will that God's love comes right down to you. I want you to understand that you are greatly loved person.

I don't know your experience of human love. Perhaps it's been rather difficult to came from all we didn't know much love I meet many people. Many men, particularly told me to grow up in a home and that her father never once said to them, I love you.

The father never embrace them and said I love you and to go through life. One night my father really so you grew up in homes where your abuse as some of you entered managers with great hope and expectation really love that man. You really love that woman.

They betrayed you broke the bonds of of managing the abuse you have gone through all kinds of difficult circumstances at the human level, but rejoice in this, something much more important than human love and that is this God loves you.

God's love.

The Bible says is great policy writes about it in Ephesians 2 says that God is rich in mercy, because he's loved us with that gray that were great times to insignificant but how do you describe the love of God. God's love is so great that it cannot be measured. You can put boundaries around the love of God. It is so high that it takes us to have the love of God when I die, I'm not going be separated from the love of God fight I will enter into a new dimension of the love of God, because this love does not let me go so high that it takes me to have this love is so why did embraces every single one of you. No one is excluded from the love of God. God's love is so long that it is eternal and never runs out. There will never be a time in all of eternity, time and eternity with God will start loving me love yes it can come to an end human love can be very very difficult and very very painful. But this we know that we received this love.

This love is eternal and this love is so, it's so deep that it reaches down into those who live in the very bottom to those who are despairing to those who are about to give up after those who feel that life is so difficult. They want to end when Natalia eliciting a new like that would to tell you that God loves you, we sometimes sing the love of God is greater, far lead time (can never tell.

It goes beyond the highest star even looking at the stars Juniper and Saturn are very close together in the sky we find almost credible to measure the distance to this to the stars. God's love is beyond the stars, and it reaches to the lowest love of God how rich and pure, measureless and strong shell for ever more. In June, saying, and angels. That is the love of God is indescribable. And we don't deserve it as much or is it true that you do not deserve the love of God you say why is that because God has created you. You've done your own way instead of God being the very center of your life.

You push God to the margins of life and perhaps even deny the existence of God. largely you to God for granted. You want God an emergency.

Things go wrong in your life you're dealing with a crisis in you calling to God, but otherwise you lived your life and in the more than that you have deliberately disobeyed the laws of God. The 12 Commandments you go on your own way. All of us Bibles is like sheep going astray with turned to all the way. Often we forgot that we were doing as a nation with large array forgotten God we pay lip service to, but we in our laws and the way we do things with largely forgotten God wonderful thing is that God still loves you.

You don't live up to your own standards far less than standards of a holy God. Yet God loves you and the message of Christmas is this that love has come down to us in Jesus Christ's will,, Emmanuelle was Emmanuelle God with us and God has come to us in Jesus Christ to reveal his love to us so that we really understand is will see them in the wonder of the Christian gospel with this religion tell you and all of its forms is basically you do this. 123-4567 and you'll get to heaven that you build a kind of ladder and at the end of it. You'll get to heaven if you're good enough, and some people say it will. Jesus came and he he taught us some wonderful things and he set a wonderful example, the Christian gospel is not that if you follow the standards of Jesus, you get to heaven. The gospel is not that if you try to obey his teaching to get to heaven. That is work. That's what we do to build a ladder to God, the very opposite of the Christian gospel the Christian gospel is that you cannot because of euro sinfulness. There is absolutely no way that you could ever reach heaven by yourself what's required Sage one who comes to us and God has never stopped loving you. The reality of the love of God. But secondly, the proof of the love of God is their mother sounds very good but do I really know that God loves me but it again verses nine and 10 of a passage. First John four verse nine. Listen again in this the love of God was made manifest among us.

I was God made his love manifest among us answer that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through that is the only way I get eternal life is through Jesus Christ not of my own doing. I am to believe in him best. And in this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins to hear his divine love here is to use the expression people love unconditional love. God's love is like giving love. He gives and gives and gives and gives. This is authentic love and it is demonstrated here is God's love in action. How do I know that God loves me answer he gave his only son is my Savior. This is the very heart then of the gospel that God gave his one and only son, Jesus Christ, God incarnate to save us from God so loved the world how do I know that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting love life not just a God sent his son John says here verse 10 he sends him to be the propitiation for our sins that propitiation is a theological word not going to take time to unpack all of it was John saying he sent his son to be the sacrifice for our sins. The gospel is that Christ died for our sins for your sins. This is how he demonstrates his love for us and he did this to use John's expression to be the propitiation for our sins.

That is the judgment that I desire because of my sin as I've gone the strays. I disobeyed God, the God still loves me, he sends Jesus Christ in order to take away my sin these, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of John Monroe is a take away the sin of John Munroe by going into my place is my substitute. He takes my said all of my sin is placed on Christ and the die he dies, he pays the price for my sin is bloated and he rises again and he's alive, the gospel is that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So you get right with God becoming a member, church, not by brick by being baptized, not by taking communion. All of these things are good to have their place but here is the heart of the gospel. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

God in his great love for us.

He takes the section now that we wonderful people know when only wonderful because God loves us. God doesn't love us because were wonderful. We are wonderful because God loves you and love God know he first loved us and sent his son into this world on the cross is the greatest revelation of the love of God in some churches that want to remove the cross. They don't like the blood of Christ, with the cross on their ceiling. The very center of our faith.

Not only is it the symbol of the Christian faith is out of any part of the Christian faith. If you take away the cross that is not gospel there's no salvation because Jesus didn't just come into the world to live an example for us. He didn't just come into the world to give us teaching came into the world. This is his mission to be the propitiation for our sins to be the substitute for her since you cannot fully understand the love of God, apart from the cross of Christ.

The reality of the love of God. The proof of the love of God.

Third, the response to the love of God which you response to this. I'm calling for every single one of us to make a response which is your response. First of all, the response of personally receiving God's God's love calls for a personal response from you and me. God is a personal God with whom you can have a love relationship.

So once you today.

Personally, to experience the love I want you to live in God's love. I want God's love to captivate you to inspire you on God's love to guide you to empower you if you've ever fallen in love that you know what it is to be captivated by someone's love to be inspired by it to want to be with them. That's fish as Sherman Levin is a wonderful day of the something greater is to experience the love of God and to be captivated and controlled, as it were, by this magnificent church that God loves me and I have received the love of God as I receive Jesus Christ. So you have to understand that God loves you. You've done understand that you send it understand that the only way to receive forgiveness of sins, and to receive eternal life is to personally trusting in Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and rose again chapter 3 verse 23 John says and this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. This is the command God is commanding you to believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ. I'm calling on every single one of you here today to put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ never done that. This is the call of the gospel. This is the command of God repented.

Believe in the gospel believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. This is the first personal response. Then, for the love of God to ask you what I've always believed in Jesus.

You know I believe in Christmas with them, asking asking of you Sabina a time you got on your knees with her, actually or figuratively, or God said, save me receiving Christ as my Savior that love is not something abstract is not just a concept so love pulsates, which is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit is goodness. God's love source of love being poured into my heart being poured into your heart as you receive Christ. How do you receive the love of God. You receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior and I calling you to do that today is the response. The response of loving others.

Verse 11 beloved of God so loved us, we also ought to love one another as God loved us, using a follower of Jesus Christ.

You've experienced the love of God. The question then is to love one another and love for God impacts our love for others is a this is a love which not only saves her souls but transforms our lives since forms are home in your home love in our relationships, love in their churches. What kind of churches Calvary church.

I love to hear the answer is his church with a love God and love one another. That's it is this love transforms her life and we are to be known brothers and sisters for our love listen to the teaching of Jesus is recorded again by John who obviously loves writing about love the gospel of John chapter 13 verse 34 John 13 verse 34 Jesus John says, quoting the words of Jesus, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another doesn't stop there, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. You also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Jesus say I loved you. This is new commandment not just that you love one another. I want you to love in the way that I have loved you. Think of this is the standing characteristic of a follower of Christ that you loving others.

This is a love which is not just on her lips, but comes from our heart as described in the first Corinthians 13 love is patient, love is kind. Your kind person. You kind to your friends. You kind to your children manner. You kind to your life. It's it's kind of jealous or arrogance. The love which is sacrificial so John says in verse seven.

Here, beloved, let us love one another love one another during covert, which is been a struggle for all of us over the privilege of seeing many of you reach out and love harassment John you know of any family and in the only way I could I could help I've seen in is a congregation of nonsignificant lease these last months with out with people who are terminally ill people have died. People have struggled in their marriages.

People who have lost their jobs. People have been followed. People are unemployed and I've seen so many you reach out and love as magnificent as numb because is a program because is a follower of Christ. God has put in your heart. Love and that love overflows to others, such as loving yourself as loving others, beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God's going to speak to some of you.

You say you're a follower of Jesus Christ. You say you love Jesus Christ do not.

The reality that your love for your Savior has become rather cold, distant. The Lord hasn't changed. He continues to love you great is his faithfulness, but you've moved away a little bit some sinners come into your life and there is a stillness there's a coldness of your love for God was happened know he continues to love your but you've wondered what your response to the love of God today that any bitterness in your heart about the love in your relationship. So John I've been really hard by that person.

I believe it is very painful.

I know very difficult for you to forgive is not part of love he forgiven that person you reached out and love towards them. Just try to reconcile perhaps with your own son your own daughter, your father, your brother or sister. Your distant from them and difficulties of common practices very very complicated often is. But this love of God, the super natural.

Could you take the first move to new today in your heart.

First, forgive that person, can you today I asked God through his spirit support his love into your heart.

Perhaps there's a stillness there's a difference in your love, perhaps even in your marriage.

You become a bit hard to become a bit distant, you become a bit remote from your husband, your wife, your children, your relationship with us. When this happens, you need to come to cross. You need to think. Once again God's great love for you. You are to love others with the love that God has for you.

You are to forgive others, even as God in Christ has forgiven you, and the very center of the love of God. Christmas is the love of God for you and me with the coming of Jesus into the world, God gives us this wonderful gift promises that if you believe in him will have eternal life, and you will never perish, and this love will never ever ever reverts brothers and sisters at Calvary. Just the last few months' time into retirement and others of our pastors and elders in leaders and some of you about the privilege of ministering to such people. Wonderful to know that this girl, this boy, this man, this woman, the trust is in Jesus Christ. While they are separated as it went from us that never ever separated from the love of God and that whatever happens, whatever happens to me.

I know this that I am loved by God and he will hold me fast and there is a love which will never ever, nothing sizable can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Lord I'm going to give us an opportunity just as we close each one of us to make a response for some of you for the first time to open your hearts to Christ.

Would you do that you and your home. There may be a Christmas tree, and there may be a present with your with your name on it. Someone who loves you. I spent quite a bit of money and time and thought and purchased a present she's got your name on it is an act of love for you to do is to take that to open it up and appropriately gift with some and give you give your watch you open up and you think that when you put the watch on which a response to the gift of Jesus Christ we receive. JI Packer says that the know God's love is indeed heaven on because the love of God comes to us in Jesus Christ that we can experience this lump right to acknowledge, you can save yourself.

Acknowledge your sin believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Open your heart to the love of God receive Christ as your Savior do not have a time of quietness and then I will pray and make your response receive Christ as God. If you're a follower of Christ provide that loving you. Perhaps you need to forgive someone to begin to love them instead of perpetuating indifference or even hate. Take a few moments, each of us to make a response. Loving father were overwhelmed. Reflect on your love you first loved us. For those who never received Christ maybe come to the cross and ask them to come to save them as many here father the love of God. The cold is taking you for granted provides that love maker homes and the relationships Calvary church homes and relationships in the church of love. Thank you that you sent your son to be the propitiation for our sins with incredible love and we know that this love will hold as fast in all of the ups and downs in life, the joys and the disappointments you will hold us fast. We thank you for that love from which nothing can separate us in Christ name a man