Love is…
I’ve always enjoyed those “Love is…” cartoons, some are silly and sentimental, while others bring truth with humour. But the sermons in this series help us understand God’s love for us, our love for God, and how love in our lives helps us to shine God’s light into the world. Learn what love is, from the perspective of the one who created love. Let the Creator define and grow His love in your heart and mind, for His greatest attribute is love. Finding true love is within your reach.
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God’s love for us is greater than you can imagine. It is a warm personal love, and also the love that is loyal and gives us assurance in the promises God has made. Take a walk through the scriptures with Jeff and come to learn about ahav, hesed, phileo and agape, the love of God in action. It will give you hope and confidence in your Creator who loves you with an everlasting love.
God’s Love and a Royal Wedding
The recent royal wedding in England viewed by over 30 million viewers was a brilliant spectacle. But perhaps the meaning of the biblical passages cited in the wedding message were not understood by most. So, what did the apostle John really mean when he wrote about love, “agape?” Jesus the Messiah came to bring a “new” covenant and a “new” commandment to his followers. To love one another…
How many of us have known from childhood the verse that reads, “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind” That is God’s hope for us, true love. Yet how many of us really know what this means? Heart, soul, mind and strength…? You may assume that you understand these words, but you may also find some surprises as Jeff Patton leads you through an in-depth analysis of the scriptures to help you get a clearer picture of what it means to love God. How can we love Him…let us count the ways!
Christ reiterated the command given in the torah, to love your neighbour as yourself. Jeff hones in on this topic to help us understand the difference between selfishness and an enlightened self-interest, self-love, that helps us to love others in the same way that we should love ourselves, with an eye to achieving the best good that God has in mind for us. We don’t love ourselves then reach out to others, rather we love ourselves as (at the same time and in the same way) we love others, so that what is in the best interest of our neighbour proves to be what is also in our best interest.
Divine love is agape, “what God prefers.” So what does God prefer when it comes to the question of “How do we love our neighbour?” How can we know God’s mind on the matter of “love your neighbour as yourself”? The scripture does not leave any doubt, but gives us specific instructions that all who are part of God’s “vineyard” will heed in order to produce the kind of fruit God expects.