Do Everything in Love
Do Everything In Love
Be watchful! Stand firm in he faith! Act like men! Be strong! Let all that you do be done in love! These five phrases from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV are a descriptive overview of how we can increasingly be a full grown man. It's not perfection because every day we are a beginner. We can start out on fire, be a crazy fool by lunch, and lose it all in a moment. The truth is we need each other to be our best selves.
Locations & Times
First Baptist Church Seminole Tx
202 SW Ave B, Seminole, TX 79360, USA
Sunday 5:00 AM
Reckless Love
Read Plan
Welcome to First Baptist. This page is where you will find the sermon notes and more information about what is happening at FBC.
Stay connected:
www.fbcseminole.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FirstSeminole
Twitter: @Seminolefbc
Instagram: @fbcseminolekids
@fbcseminole_youth
We meet Sundays in the summer:
9:00 am Connect Groups
10:30 am Worship
Connect Groups throughout the week.
Love is at the center of all things. It is what drives resurrection life forward. It is the means by which God did and is establishing His Kingdom on earth.
Love is what should propel all of our actions. It’s what was behind all of the actions of Jesus.
If we are to be a faithful follower of Christ, our actions cannot be divorced or devoid of love. Our actions must come from a place of love, driven by it.
Love is the punctuation on everything we’ve talked about so far.
Love is the punctuation on everything we’ve talked about so far.
(1) Stand firm in love.
(2) Be Courageous in love.
(3) Be strong, in love.
(2) Be Courageous in love.
(3) Be strong, in love.
(1) Stand Firm in Love
Captains are committed, wholly, to being present with those in their charge–even to the bitter end.
As men, as husbands and fathers, we are called to the same kind of commitment. We are to stand firm with those whom we have been charged to care for–even to the bitter end.
An Epidemic of Absent Fathers:
1-in-4 households are fatherless.
Children without fathers are 20 times more likely to be incarcerated.
70-85% of incarcerated people have experienced fatherlessness.
1-in-4 households are fatherless.
Children without fathers are 20 times more likely to be incarcerated.
70-85% of incarcerated people have experienced fatherlessness.
Children need a loving father figure in their life. Children need someone in their life to stand firm in their commitment and dedication to watching over them and loving them.
(2) Be Courageous In Love
Emotions are part of what it means to be human. They are an essential part of who God made us to be. They aren’t something to be stuffed down and avoided. They are an important form of expression.
C.S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, says that love is need based. You need to receive it, and it needs to be given. And you cannot receive love if nobody is willing to give it.
Your family, your wife, your kids, they need you to express your love for them. They need you to tell them.
The three most powerful words you can say to your wife and kids are:
I.
Love.
You.
I.
Love.
You.
Have the courage to openly express, with your words, your affections for those you care about.
C.S. Lewis also wrote about how the greatest of all loves is that which is selfless. But selfless love is dangerous, it is risky. He shares why:
“Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket–safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
Be courageous in love. Express your feelings openly and with confidence.
(3) Be Strong In Love
We like trucks that are "Ford tough."
We like baseball players with a "strong" swing.
We like it when JT Toppin takes it "strong" to the rim
Those forms of "strong" are occasional. Paul isn’t calling us to be loving occasionally. He’s calling us to something enduring.
If a bridge bends a little, does that make it weak? No. They need a little “give” in order to withstand whatever may come.
Strong does not mean rigid.
We can tell a bridge is strong if it is there. It’s strength is shown in its reliability.
We can tell a bridge is strong if it is there. It’s strength is shown in its reliability.
Strength means reliability.
Men, your family don’t need you to be rigid. They need you to be reliable.
Men, your family don’t need you to be rigid. They need you to be reliable.
With Jesus as the example:
Being strong in love doesn’t mean we are supposed to be emotionless.Being strong in love means that we can be relied upon to be there when we are needed.
Being strong in love doesn’t mean we are supposed to be emotionless.Being strong in love means that we can be relied upon to be there when we are needed.
Jesus was never shaken or wavered in the face of what lied before him–a brutal death on the cross. His loving strength was always available: to his followers, to strangers, and especially to children. He can always be relied upon to lend an ear, a hug or a lap when needed.
Paul is calling us to the same reliability:
Be available to your family, your wife, your kids.
Be available to your friends, your co-workers.
Be reliable in your love.
That is what strength looks like.
Be available to your family, your wife, your kids.
Be available to your friends, your co-workers.
Be reliable in your love.
That is what strength looks like.
We need men, we need followers of Christ, who are willing to live out risky, selfless love.
We need people who are willing stand firm in love.
We need people who are willing to be courageous in love.
We need people who are willing to be strong in love.
We need people who do everything in love.
Will you?
We need people who are willing stand firm in love.
We need people who are willing to be courageous in love.
We need people who are willing to be strong in love.
We need people who do everything in love.
Will you?
Discussion Questions:
(1) Who was a strong example of loving well when you were growing up? If none, how does God factor into that?
(2) How can you stand firm in love this week?
(3) How can you be courageous in love this week?
(4) Who do you need to express your love to with words?
(5) How can you be strong in love? What can you do to avoid “checking out” emotionally?
(6) How does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 speak to you? What needs to be done in your life to better align with Paul’s vision of Christ-centered love?
(1) Who was a strong example of loving well when you were growing up? If none, how does God factor into that?
(2) How can you stand firm in love this week?
(3) How can you be courageous in love this week?
(4) Who do you need to express your love to with words?
(5) How can you be strong in love? What can you do to avoid “checking out” emotionally?
(6) How does 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 speak to you? What needs to be done in your life to better align with Paul’s vision of Christ-centered love?