What's Love Got To Do With It?

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

John 18 & 19

Good Friday

I. Here we are again for “Good Friday” service

A. as a youngster and even now – odd name for this day

1. What we remember this day was not good

tragic, brutal, a day filled with injustice

2. How could this day be referred to as “good”

B. Other countries, other names for this day

1. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland – Long Friday

a. for some of us it feels like a long Friday

2. Germany – Friday of Mourning or Lamentation

3. Russia – Passion Friday

4. Latin Countries – Holy Friday

a. Some understand good to have a secondary meaning as holy

b. better, what is holy about death

C. Some think it was a bad translation somewhere along the way

and it should be God’s Friday

II. Really a day about love

A. Love is given to us by God

1. a deep, incredible love

B. A love that is proven by Jesus

1. Let’s think about this for a few moment

2. How did Jesus live his life?

3. He taught about loving your neighbor as yourself

a. not with a fleshy, familial love

b. but with a sacrificial love

4. He would some with a word or with a touch that conveyed

caring & love

C. His life here was all about love.

III. Teacher story “Let me tell you a story about how the deep, incredible love can effect even us.”

A. Teddy Stallard – unattractive, unmotivated 5th grader

B. Teacher – Mrs. Thompson found him difficult due to deadpan,

expressionless, unfocused stare

C. She decided look at his records, know more about him

1. 1st grade report – Teddy shows promise, but poor home

situation

2. 2nd grade report – Teddy could do better, Mother

seriously ill, receives little help at home

3. 3rd grade report – Teddy is a good boy but too serious,

slow learner, Mother died this year

4. 4th grade report – Teddy is a very slow learner but well

behaved, Father shows no interest.

D. Christmas that year – children brought presents to Mrs.

Thompson in pretty wrappings

1. Except Teddy’s – crude brown paper & loosely held

together with tape

2. Opened it – bracelet with stones missing, cheap bottle

of perfume

3. Other children snickered, but she put on bracelet and

some perfume

4. After school Teddy lingered behind and came to her desk

5. ‘Miss Thompson, you smell just like my mother and her

bracelet looks real nice on you. I’m glad you liked my

presents.’

6. That night she went home & asked God’s forgiveness for

how she treated Teddy

E. Next time class met, new teacher

1. Mrs. Thompson – no longer just a teacher, now agent of

God

2. Committed to loving the students in her class,

especially Teddy Stallard

F. Teddy dramatic improvement, end of year caught up with

rest of class

G. She didn’t hear from Teddy for a long time until one day

note

‘Dear Mrs. Thompson: They just told me I would be

graduating 2nd in high school class.

Love, Teddy Stallard.’

H. 4 years later another note – ‘Dear Mrs. Thompson, They

just told me I would graduating 1st in my class. I

wanted you to be the first to know. The university has

not been easy but I like it. Love, Teddy Stallard’

I. Finally: ‘Dear Mrs. Thompson, As of today I am Theodore

Stallard, MD. How about that? I wanted you to be the

first to know. I am getting married next month. I want

you to come and sit where my mother would have sat if

she were alive. You are my only family. Dad died last

year. Love, Teddy Stallard.

J. She went to the wedding , in Teddy’s eyes she had earned

the right to sit in a special place because she was

agent of God’s love.

K. She had learned of that love from God through Christ

IV. Love consists in this: not that we loved God but that God loves

A. The Gospel writer wrote that there is no greater love than

to lay down one’s life for another and that is how we know

what love is

B. Max Lucado wrote in his book ‘In the Eye of the Storm’

1. A fictional story about an angel trying to find another

way for the world’s salvation

2. “He looked around the hill and foresaw the scene.

3. 3 figures hung on three crosses.

4. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the

wind.

5. Men clad in religion stood off to one side…Arrogant, cocky.

6. Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the

hill….Faces tear stained.

7. All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue.