He First Loved Us. Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• The story of Roger Bannister is legendary in the annals of sports history.

• On May 6, 1954, Bannister broke the four-minute mile barrier. People said it was humanly impossible to run a mile under four minutes.

• They thought we were incapable of covering that amount of distance in that amount of time.

• SLIDE #2

• The record Roger broke had stood for 9 full years. The record was 4:01.4, set by a Swedish runner named “Gunder Haegg,” in 1945.

• They called him, “Gunder the wonder.” Until Bannister, no one approached Gunder’s time; no one threatened it. All but a few dreamers thought it couldn’t be done. But 46 days after Bannister broke the four-minute barrier, an Australian lowered the record still further.

• Once Bannister proved it could be done, many others did it. Today, hundreds of runners have eclipsed four minutes. John Walker did it 129 times. Steve Scott did it 136 times. Bannister ran a 3:59. The record today is 3:43.

• As we are considering How to Fireproof Our Relationships most of us have difficulty doing things we’ve never seen or experienced before.

• Throughout the rest of the messages in this series, we are going to examine some practical tools and suggestions on how to be a better husband, wife, neighbor, and friend.

• Today we are going to examine the source of good relational behavior. Like the sub-four-minute mile, many of us have missed out on an experience that God says is essential for the human soul: we’ve missed out on experiencing love at the deepest level. What you have not seen or experienced, you will not duplicate.

• Today I want you to consider God and His love. I hope that you can see and experience love.

• In the clip from Fire Proof I want to share with you today, Caleb’s dad has given him a book with some practical suggestions on how to love his wife. Caleb tries these steps, but they don’t work for him.

• CLICK TO VIDEO LIKE A NEW SONG.

• VIDEO CLIP #1

• CLICK TO NEW PP SLIDES AFTER VIDEO. IT WILL BE SLIDE #1

• You cannot give what you do not have.

• One of the great problems of our world is that many people are walking around these days trying to give and receive something they’ve never experienced for themselves.

• BESIDES NEEDING TO GIVE LOVE, ALL OF US NEED TO BE LOVED because we can’t go where we can’t see. We’ve got to receive love before we can give it.

• Let me show this to you in very practical terms. OPEN A BIBLE AND TURN TO 1 JOHN 4:7-19

• 1 John 4:7-19 ( ESV ) 7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19We love because he first loved us.

• Today we will examine FIVE PRINCIPLES OF RELATIONSHIPS from what John shares with us from his experience and relationship with Jesus.

SERMON

• The first principle is more implied than stated.

• SLIDE #2

I. When people have profound experiences, they want to share them.

• Have you ever had a profound experience in your life? Did you find yourself wanting to share?