## **Introduction – A Moment to Remember**
Video Ill.: We Will Remember (Memorial Day) — Hyper Pixels Media
*“Today, we remember those who gave all for our freedom. We thank God for their sacrifice, and mourn with those left behind. 'Greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends' (John 15:13). We will remember. We will never forget.”*
Memorial Day — a day upon which we stop to express our gratitude — our thanksgiving — for those who have fought the good fight for our country — to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might live in peace, freedom, and security.
While we celebrate Memorial Day as the unofficial start of summer, with days off from work, travel, grilling and partying with friends and family, Memorial Day is a much more somber holiday for our country.
It is estimated that nearly 3 million soldiers have given their lives in battle fighting to defend the freedoms we so often take for granted today.
I pray that we never forget the deep cost that has been paid so that you and I can meet here today, can speak as we believe, can bear arms, can vote for those who will represent us in our governments. And the list goes on. *May we never forget.*
For when we forget, we risk far more than just losing sight of history—we risk becoming ungrateful, disconnected, even complacent. We begin to take for granted what was purchased at great cost. We start to drift from the values and commitments that once stirred our hearts.
That is why remembrance matters. It roots us. It re-centers us. It awakens us to what truly matters.
And just as we are called to remember the lives laid down for our country, we are also called to remember the One who laid down His life for our souls. Jesus said:
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15, NLT)
This morning, I want to talk about that kind of love—a sacrificial, first kind of love. Because if we are honest, it is easy to forget. Easy to drift. Easy to go through the motions of faith and forget the reason we started in the first place.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks to a church that had done just that. They were active, they were faithful—but they had forgotten something essential. They had forgotten *their first love.*
Let us turn there together and reflect on what it means to remember—and return to—the One who loved us first.
## **I. The Church That Forgot**
In Revelation 2, John was told to write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus:
1 …These are the words of Him who holds the seven starts in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, || and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not || repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from || the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2, NIV1984)
Jesus starts out commending and celebrating the church at Ephesus. They were the hardest working church around! No one works hard than they do. They give it their all all of the time.
And you know, they’ve really been through it — they’ve had some seriously difficult times, and they’ve come out on the other side no worse for the wear. They’ve persevered through the tough times.
They stand up for the truth and true doctrine. No one can pull any false teaching on them.
They have faith. They’ve added knowledge and perseverance to it. They’ve worked so hard over the years.
But their faith was missing the capstone of love. They had forgotten all about their first love, Jesus Christ.
Jesus commends their work. But Jesus condemns their lack of love.
They were faithful in service, but had forgotten intimacy.
**Illustration: The Marriage That Forgot**
Imagine a husband and wife who have been married for 30 or 40 years. When they were young, they were full of passion, love letters, long talks into the night, thoughtful gifts, and spontaneous gestures. But over time, something happened. The romance faded. The passion cooled. Now, their days are filled with tasks: paying the bills, mowing the lawn, cooking dinner, cleaning the house. They manage the household, they coordinate schedules, they make sure the kids and grandkids are taken care of—but the relationship itself has become mechanical, functional.
They live in the same house, but their hearts are distant. They are together, but not really *with* each other. They have drifted into a marriage of duty, not devotion.
The tragedy is that they still *love* each other, but they have forgotten *how* to love each other. The very things they did at the beginning to cultivate their relationship—pursuing one another, spending time together, expressing love—those things have been neglected.
And this is the exact thing about which Jesus was warns the church in Revelation. They were so busy in the church, busy doing all of the right things — serving, working, attending, giving — yet they were finding themselves adrift from God’s love.
Jesus called them to remember their first love — remember from where they had fallen — remember what it was like to be in love.
Jesus is calling to us today, and echoing His plea to the church in Ephesus — do not forget me! Do not be so busy that you forget about Him.
We can do ministry without intimacy, activity without affection. Jesus is calling us to remember the love we had at first—to rekindle it, to pursue Him like we did when we first believed.
## **II. Now, why Must Remember Our First Love?**
It’s rooted in the love that Jesus had for us. He said,
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15, NLT)
That kind of sacrificial love has been seen throughout history—especially in times of war.
Consider a story I read from the Civil War.
History Records That During The Civil War, Many ...
By Mark Hensley
SOURCE: http://www.scv674.org/gacsahist17.htm
Copied from Sermon Central
History records that during the Civil War, many acts of violence were committed by both the armies of the north and the south. Once such act occurred in October of 1862 in the town of Palmyra, Missouri. According to W. E. Sutterfield, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palmyra, the town was under military law at the time....occupied by one of the armies involved in this conflict.
The commander of the army ordered ten men shot in reprisal for the work of an informer in the town who leaked information to the enemy. Several men were being detained in Palmyra jail as prisoners of war at that time, and ten were selected from among them. One of the number was William T. Humphrey, the father of several children. His wife pleaded for his release because of the children and her poor physical condition. Because of this, the commanding officer struck Humphrey’s name from the list and chose the name of Hiram Smith, a young man without a family. Hiram agreed to take the place of Humphrey, stating that perhaps it was better for a single man to die than a man with a family.
The ten men were shot on October 17, 1862 in what has come to be known as the “Palmyra massacre.” At the Mount Pleasant Church cemetery, there is a stone erected at the grave of Hiram Smith by G. W. Humphrey, the son of the reprieved man. It reads: “This monument is dedicated to the memory of HIRAM SMITH, the hero who sleeps beneath the sod here, who was shot at Palmyra, October 17, 1862 as a substitute for William T. Humphrey, my father.”
Jesus was the perfect substitute for us. It was not for His sins that He died—but for ours. The sinless Son of God willingly laid down His life to take our place.
Jesus showed us the greatest love by laying down His life for us. And when we remember that love, it ought to compel us to love in return.
Listen to what John writes in 1 John 4:
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that || much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live || in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18 Such love has no fear, because perfect || love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other[b] because he loved us first. (1 John 4, NLT)
How can we not—when He gave everything for us?
Since He gave His all for us, how could we possibly allow our love for Him—or for one another—to grow cold?
Because He loved us, we must love Him—and we must love one another. By sharing His love with the world, we proclaim the heart of the Gospel: Jesus loved us first.
When His love is at the forefront of our lives—when it is the lens through which we see everything—we will not forget. We cannot forget.
## **III. Let’s take just a few moments highlighting a few practical ways How we can Remember Our First Love**
### **1. Remember Through Prayer**
Prayer is where love speaks and listens. Just like with any other relationship, communication — prayer —is part of the glue that holds our relationship with God together.
Would we go days without talking to our family members? Our spouses? Our children? Our parents? How could we claim to love them if we never spoke to them? Love requires communication.
I think too often we see prayer as an obligation. Oh, I’ve got to pray now. I’ve got to stop and say grace for this meal. I’ve got to say my prayers before I go to bed — before I get out of bed in the morning.
That’s not what prayer is about. Prayer is not a duty or obligation.
Prayer is an expression of our love for God. Prayer helps us to focus on Him, which will help us to not forget our first love.
### **2. Remember Through Scripture**
Spend time in His Word. His Word is filled with reminders of who God is and what He has done for us. Throughout Scripture, we find the fulfilled promises of God. We see God at work in the lives of His saints, and can draw inspiration for our lives today from the movement of God in the stories of old.
Scripture revives our affection and focus. What better way to focus on God than to get into His Word and see how He is speaking to us today.
[](https://www.etsy.com/listing/828905011/custom-old-fashioned-love-letter)
**Illustration: Love Letters Resurface After 80 Years**
In 2023, Lynne Smith, a 72-year-old woman from Australia, received an unexpected call from the current owners of her childhood home. While renovating, they had discovered a hidden trove of intimate love letters exchanged between her parents, Fred and Elwyn Mortley, during World War II. These letters had been tucked away beneath the floorboards for nearly 80 years, preserved in immaculate condition.
As Lynne read through the correspondence, she was moved by the affectionate and playful tone of her parents' words—a side of them she had never witnessed. The letters revealed a deep bond and longing between Fred and Elwyn, offering Lynne a newfound understanding of their relationship. Those letters did something powerful: they reconnected her to the love that had always been there, even though it had been hidden for so long.
Just like those love letters reminded Lynne of the love between her parents, reading the Bible—the Word of God—is how we remember the love of our Savior. Scripture is God’s love letter to us. It tells the story of His heart, His faithfulness, His promises, and His ultimate sacrifice. When we open the Bible, we are not just reading ancient words on a page—we are being reminded of the One who loved us first.
And just like Lynne might have forgotten the depth of her parents' love without those letters, we can easily drift away and forget how much God loves us when we stop reading His Word. When we neglect Scripture, our relationship with God can become like that marriage that has grown distant—full of responsibilities but empty of passion.
But when we return to Scripture, when we read and meditate on it, we remember. We remember the cross. We remember His grace. We remember His faithfulness.
That is why we must read Scripture—not out of obligation, but as an act of love, a way to remember the One who first loved us.
### **3. Remember Through Meditation**
It is said that stillness and meditation brings clarity.
In the quiet, our hearts have a chance to remember what matters most. It gives us time to reflect on our lives and remember all of the ways God has worked in our lives.
In the same way that a cluttered room must be cleaned in order to find what matters, meditation clears the mental and spiritual clutter in our minds so we can see Christ again.
Stillness restores focus. Focus on the love our Father has for us, regardless of what we have done, where we have gone, how we have fallen.
### **4. Remember Through Communion**
Probably the most important way to remember our first love was in a celebration that Jesus Himself gave to us for the sole purpose of remembering.
Paul helps us. In 1 Corinthians 11, he wrote:
23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[f] Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he || took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. (1 Corinthians 11, NLT)
Do this in remembrance of Me.
Communion is more than a tradition; it is a moment to realign our hearts with our Savior.
Though I have never seen it in person, I am told that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. is a truly powerful sight to behold. Thousands upon thousands of names are etched cleanly and respectfully into the black granite wall. Each name tells a story. Each name holds the memories of a family, a home, a community forever marked by loss. Each name is a reminder of a life laid down in the chaos of war on the other side of the world. And as you stand before that wall, the weight of those names presses in on your heart, and you cannot help but remember the sacrifice they made.
And while not as grand in scale, our own courthouse has its own memorials—plaques bearing the names of soldiers from our county who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The statue of the soldier standing watch in the center of the courtyard commands our gaze. It calls us to stop and reflect—to remember the names, the stories, and the families who bore the burden of loss.
Just like those memorials, Communion is meant to make us stop and remember. To look back—not just in sorrow, but in gratitude.
Every time we take the bread and the cup, we are doing more than participating in a ritual. We are pausing to reflect on the One who gave everything for us. His body, broken. His blood, poured out. His life, given in our place.
The bread and the cup are like names etched into stone—reminders that there was a cost, and that cost was paid in full.
When we gather around the table as a family of believers, we proclaim, “I remember.”
When we come to the table, let us not rush. Let us not treat it lightly. Let us remember our first love. Let us remember the One who loved us first. And as we remember, let us give thanks—and renew our commitment to love Him in return.
## **Conclusion – We Will Remember**
Memorial Day is a call to remember—to honor the lives laid down for our nation’s freedom. We stop to reflect, to say “thank you”, to say, “We will remember.”
But as followers of Christ, we are called to remember something even greater: We are called to remember the One who laid down His life for the world—Jesus Christ.
We remember His body, broken for us.
We remember His blood, poured out for us.
We remember His love—freely given, never earned, always faithful.
And when we remember His love, it changes us. It rekindles our devotion. It draws us back when we have drifted. It compels us to love in return.
Friends, we cannot afford to forget. The world will distract us. Busyness will drown out the still, small voice of God. Duty will tempt us to replace devotion.
But let us be a people who remember. Let us be a church that loves like we did at first—who serves, who prays, who worships, and who loves Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Today, we say thank you to those who gave all for our country. But more importantly, we say thank you to the One who gave His all for our salvation.
May we never forget.
May we never forget our first love.
May we love Him because He first loved us.
### ** Invitation/Challenge:**
?Have we forgotten our first love? Let us return, remember, and renew our love for Jesus today.
