GateWay Church of Visalia
Love
I Corinthians 12:31-14:1 Pastor Ed Kemp, July 26, 2020
Locations & Times
GateWay Church
1100 S Sowell St, Visalia, CA 93277, USA
Sunday 8:30 AM
Sunday 10:30 AM
Introduction
And I show you a still more excellent way. 12:31
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 13:1-13
Pursue love. 14:1
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 13:1-13
Pursue love. 14:1
So What?!
#1. What love does!
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Love = A VERB REQUIRING ACTION
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
Love = A VERB REQUIRING ACTION
#2. Who love serves!
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Cor. 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Cor. 12:27
#3. How love responds!
And now I will show you the most excellent way. I Cor. 12:31
And now I will show you the most excellent way. I Cor. 12:31
#4. When love stops!
Pursue Love! I Cor. 14:1 (NASV)
Pursue = A RELENTLESS ACTIVITY
Set love as your goal and pursue it relentlessly!
Pursue Love! I Cor. 14:1 (NASV)
Pursue = A RELENTLESS ACTIVITY
Set love as your goal and pursue it relentlessly!
Who is God? I Corinthians 13
Prayer Requests:
Group Discussion: Who was the first boy or girl, teacher or neighbor with whom you fell in love?
Read:I Corinthians 12:31b-14:1a
Talk through the four so what? What difference does any of this make, action steps:
#1. What love does! “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” Which one of these statements of love is the most difficult and the easiest for you to do? If love is a verb requiring action what’s one aspect of love, which is a part of God’s character, would you like to work on and what exactly would you do?
#2. Who love serves! “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” What’s the most difficult part of balancing loving your family, your neighborhood, your friends and your church? Where do you spend the most time, the least time? Do you need to make a correction and spend more time on any of those?
#3. How love responds! “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” If you wanted to show your husband, wife, parents, best friend, whoever, what is the number 1 excellent thing you would do to show love?
#4. When love stops! “Pursue Love!” Set love as your goal and pursue it relentlessly is a slogan but, how are you relentless in your love of someone close to you? Why is excellence never going to be easy?
Family Time: Read I Corinthians 13:4-6 to your kids and ask them which one of Paul’s 10 commandments about love they do best and the one they need to work on. Help them develop a plan and a strategy to accomplish that goal.
Prayer Requests:
Group Discussion: Who was the first boy or girl, teacher or neighbor with whom you fell in love?
Read:I Corinthians 12:31b-14:1a
Talk through the four so what? What difference does any of this make, action steps:
#1. What love does! “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” Which one of these statements of love is the most difficult and the easiest for you to do? If love is a verb requiring action what’s one aspect of love, which is a part of God’s character, would you like to work on and what exactly would you do?
#2. Who love serves! “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” What’s the most difficult part of balancing loving your family, your neighborhood, your friends and your church? Where do you spend the most time, the least time? Do you need to make a correction and spend more time on any of those?
#3. How love responds! “And now I will show you the most excellent way.” If you wanted to show your husband, wife, parents, best friend, whoever, what is the number 1 excellent thing you would do to show love?
#4. When love stops! “Pursue Love!” Set love as your goal and pursue it relentlessly is a slogan but, how are you relentless in your love of someone close to you? Why is excellence never going to be easy?
Family Time: Read I Corinthians 13:4-6 to your kids and ask them which one of Paul’s 10 commandments about love they do best and the one they need to work on. Help them develop a plan and a strategy to accomplish that goal.