Love In Action Series

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). Love displayed in the family/Church (vs 9-13).

• (a). Love is genuine (vs 9a):

• (b). Love is good (vs 9b):

(2). Love displayed in a hostile world (vs 14—21).

• Principle #1: Love fights evil with good.

• Principle #2: Love is sensitive to other’ feelings.

SERMON BODY:

Joke:

• Well on Thursday the people of the UK voted,

• Out went Rishi Sunak and in came Sir Keir Starmer.

• As a final gesture before he resigned,

• Rishi took his former cabinet members out for a meal.

• The waitress asked him what he would like to eat, and he replied, the roast beef.

• She then said, “and what about the vegetables,”

• He replied, “They will have the same!”

• TRANSITION: In most elections there is little love or respect between the parties,

• They are constantly finding faults in each other’s polices and performances,

• And highlighting them and criticising them.

• In the Church the opposite should be true,

• Instead of finding ways to criticise and find fault,

• We should be looking to encourage and each other build up.

In this next section of the book of Romans:

• It may seem a bit unconnected with what has gone before.

• Remember last we looked at Grace/spiritual gifts that God has given to his Church.

• Then straight away in verses 9-21

• The apostle Paul discharges a series of rapid-fire instructions,

• That fire out like bullets from a machine gun,

• And often without much connection or clarification.

• In fact, we have 30, that’s right 30, 3, 0-- commands. 30 exhortations,

• And they are all connected around one theme, which is love,

Question: Sound familiar?

Answer:

• Think of another list of spiritual gifts that is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 12.

• Remember that straight away in the very next chapter,

• We have that great chapter on love (1 Corinthians chapter 13)

I think the principle is,

• God gifts his people so that they can demonstrate the type of love mentioned,

• We will see that love outworked in two primary areas.

• In the Church (vs 9-14):

• In the world (vs 15-21).

Ill:

• Story told of a man who needed to draw water from a well,

• But the wooden bucket next to the well looked to be useless,

• Because it had been sitting next to the well in the hot sunshine,

• And unused for a long time.

• The man could see daylight between the wooden slats of the bucket.

• Certainly, this bucket would never hold water again.

But an older man came along to the well and tied the bucket to the rope,

• And let it drop into the water below.

• Then he waited and waited and waited.

• After a few hours he pulled up the bucket and it was full of clear, cool well water,

• And the bucket was no longer leaking,

• The reason being,

• The water had re-hydrated the dry wooden slats,

• So that they swelled and fitted back together as originally designed,

• And the bucket was useful again.

• TRANSITION: What water was to that bucket,

• Love is to a local Church.

• It swells our lives and plugs the gaps by making us be what we ought to be.

Quote Bible commentator James Montgomery Boyce:

"Love is not some mushy emotion that embraces all, forgives all, forgets all, and requires nothing.........

In fact, you will notice at once in our text Paul does not even define love.

He passes immediately to how love functions".

Ill:

• We would probably say, “Love is proved by actions and not words!

• I love the play and also the movie Fiddler on the Roof.

• It's a musical, with some great songs and it has some great funny parts in it.

• But the part I am think of is when the father named Tevye,

• Asks his wife Golda a question,

• They've been married a quarter of a century.

• And he turns to her and says… let’s watch the clip!

• YouTube: https://youtu.be/h_y9F5St4j0?si=uOw5l68tkJNeaC60

• (SINGING) do you love me?

• Maybe he is waiting to hear is, oh, I have this warm, fuzzy feeling about you.

• But rather she says to him,

“for 25 years. I've washed your clothes; I've cooked your meals. I've cleaned the house. I've given you children. I've milked your cow. If that's not love, what is?”

• TRANSITION: Golda nails it,

• Because Love is a verb. Love is willing to act on something.

• The rest of this chapter (#12), beginning in verse 9,

• Can be summed up with the word love.