Sermon Notes and Scripture References are available below:
Leaning into Love
Romans 5:8
1 Peter 5:2-4
2 Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing[a] out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you;[b] not out of greed for money but eagerly; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
1 John 3:16-18
16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer[a] in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
storge- affectionate love, mother and child
philia- friendship love, two best friends
eros- sensual love
agape- love that wills the good of another
Agape is not dependent on the qualities of the one loved.
Agape can love the unlovely.
Agape can even love an enemy.
Believing God is not present in all four forms of love leaves us with a pale understanding of love.
John 15:12-14
12 “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Our ability to love (storge, philia, eros, and agape) are all direct reflections of our Creator.
1 Corinthians 13:13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.
Romans 5:1-8
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace[a] with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We have also obtained access through him by faith[b] into this grace in which we stand, and we boast[c] in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
