Introduction

Today is the final day of our sermon series Love Reigns. We have been challenging ourselves to allow the love of God to reign in every area of our lives. The first week, we celebrated the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter. We celebrate because the resurrection is the proof that Jesus is the true King of the world who has authority over all things. When we obey Jesus, we experience the life he has for us. The second week, we looked at how God’s love reigns over our past. Though our mistakes and sins can be a heavy burden on us, we embrace the love of God that forgives us our past and offers us a fresh start. Last week we discovered that God’s love gives us promise for our present. We can make choices that create healthier patterns in our lives and renew our minds to live in obedience to God. This final week of our series I want to speak about allowing the love of God to reign over our future.

I remember as a kid having a little toy that was supposed to help us know what the future held. It was a Magic 8 Ball. (Consider having one on stage.) I used it for all kinds of questions I had about the future. You would shake up that mysterious little triangle floating in the blue liquid inside. I’d ask it about whether my middle school crush would like me. Oddly enough, it always gave me the answer “Don’t Count On It”. I’d ask about how my grades would turn out and the answer would be “Better Not Tell You Now”. I’d ask about my future career to which it would respond “Ask Again Later”. This little toy that actually came out in 1950, is a tell-tale sign that our culture has a keen interest in the future.

We all have wondered from time to time about what the future might hold for us. Sometimes we wonder because our current situation is painful and we want to get on the other side of the difficulty. Sometimes we wonder because we are excited about the possibilities before us. Either way, our curiosity about the future can sometimes slip into an unhealthy obsession with what is to come that is commonly called worry.

This final week of our series I want to speak about allowing the love of God to reign over our future.

Worry is an all-consuming use of our time, energy and attention on things that we cannot control ... View this full sermon with PRO Premium