Love

WHAT IS LOVE?

What love means to four - eight year old… “When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.” Rebecca – age 8

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him to make sure it taste OK.” Danny - age 7

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” Noelle - age 7

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when Daddy gives Mommy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine - age 5

What love means to four - eight year old… “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren - age 4

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and doesn’t think its gross.” Mark – age 6

Google Love… 1,350,000,000 hits 1,960,000,000 songs 2, 750,000,000 books 1,650,000,000 movies 59, 000, 000 poems

Love “Love is the most used and neglected word in all the world.” - Anonymous

Stuff I love:

What does the Bible say about love?

The Bible on Love: KJV – 310 in 280 verses ESV – 551 in 505 verses NLT – 641 in 575 verses NIV – 567 in 526 verses

Bible languages: Old Testament Hebrew Ahab – strong (inward) emotional attachment to and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object. A strong affection and commitment to an object. Family, friend, romantic, sexual, New Testament Greek Eros – sensual, sexual, intimate love (NOT IN NT) Phileo – To approve of, to be affectionate toward, to show signs of love to, to welcome. Friends, family, spouse children Agape - selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, unearned love that God has toward us.

Defining love: “Love is a verb” – John Mayer

Questions Can acts of love be done but no love be in them? Does motive matter?

What …Who is Love God is love.” 1 John 4:8

Love in action… “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” (1 John 3:16)

Illustration

Jon Bloom: “Desiring God” God is love, and love is from God. Therefore, loving others is doing whatever it takes for them to have as much of God as they can.

The “Love” passage 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 “…but have not love…”

Five Love Languages 1.Words 2.Time 3.Gifts 4.Touch 5.Service

Summary God is love and therefore our source of love. And the kind of love we all need, Agape. Our tanks, and those of others we desire to fill, will forever be empty if we are filled with anything or anyone but Him.

Love SESSION 2

What love means to four - eight year old… “You really shouldn’t say “I love you” unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot because people forget.” – Jessica age 8

What love means to four - eight year old… ‘During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching mE anD saw my daddy waving and smiling and stuff. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore. – Cindy 9

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is when mommy sees daddy sweaty and smell and still says he as good lookin’ as Robert Redford. Chris – age 7

What love means to four - eight year old… “Love is what makes you smile even when your tired.” Terri – age 4

Re-Cap Last Week

Defining love: “Love is a verb” – John Mayer

What …Who is Love Love is a noun. God is love.” 1 John 4:8

Love in action… “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” (1 John 3:16)

Bible languages: Old Testament Hebrew Ahab – strong (inward) emotional attachment to and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object. A strong affection and commitment to an object. Family, friend, romantic, sexual, New Testament Greek Eros – sensual, sexual, intimate love (NOT IN NT) Phileo – To approve of, to be affectionate toward, to show signs of love to, to welcome. Friends, family, spouse children Agape - selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, unearned love that God has toward us.

Summary God is love and therefore our source of love. And the kind of love we all need, Agape. Our tanks, and those of others we desire to fill, will forever be empty if we are filled with anything or anyone but Him.

God’s love for God

God’s Love for His Glory “Gods love for his glory is the foundation of His love for Us” - John Piper

God’s love for His glory 1 Samuel 12:22 Isaiah 48:9,11 Ephesians 1:6, 12, and 14 1 Corinthians 10:31

No wonder she married me…

God’s Holiness God is Holy Isaiah 6:3 Nothing or no one is comparable to him Set apart

God’s glory The shining forth of his holiness It is the manifest display of his worth and beauty His glory is his holiness on display

Discussion points When we understand how great God is we will want others to know Him and thus really love them. God knows he is the greatest so it benefits us that God act out of the love he has for his glory

God’s love for us Jesus is the incarnation of God’s love for us Jesus is “who” and “how” we experience the love of God 1 John 4:9-102

John 8:42 “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”.

John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

ROMANS 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’.

ROMANS 8: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Max Lucado “Rather than let scripture remind us of a love we cannot produce, let it remind us of a love we cannot resist – God’s love”

God’s love in us for others Our ultimate love for others is that they would know God.

Love Qoutes "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." — Robert Heinlein

Love Qoutes "We're all a little weird, and life's a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." — Dr. Seuss

Love Quotes "There is no remedy for love but to love more." — Thoreau

Love Quotes "Love is a serious mental disease." — Plato

“I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.” Forest Gump

Bible Verses Leviticus 19:18 John 13:35, 15:12, 15:17, Matthew 5:44 Romans 12:10, 13:8 Galatians 5:14 Ephesians 5:2 1 Thessalonians 4: John 4:1-8

I Corinthians 13:1-13

Attributes Patient – bear offenses, not to loose heart Kind – to show one’s self as mild Not envious/jealous – to burn with zeal Not arrogant – to boast one’s self, to self display, or to swell up or puff up Not rude – to prepare disgrace for Insist in own way – about him/herself Irritable or resentful – to provoke to anger, troublesome, injurious, destructive Rejoice in wrongdoing – injustice Rejoices in truth – personal excellence

Attributes Bears – to protect Believes – to place confidence in Hopes – to trust in Endures – to bear calmly and courageously ill treatment Never ends – to fall from a thing