Kerry O’Neill, our guest speaker Sunday, spoke about Love .  But he started with a reminder again of what Evangelical really means and what we as Christians need to do.

We need to take back the term Evangelical, which has been absconded by zealots pushing a political agenda rather than promoting the person of Christ!

We are evangelicals because we share good news!

The good news is that Jesus is alive and He is King.

And He came into the world to NOT to condemn it, but to save it.

That is good news!

We will become Christians like countless others who will be known for our extreme, unexplainable love.

Our lives will be marked by

  • Love & Compassion

  • Listening

  • Generosity

So what is love.

Kerry reminded us that when Jesus was asked what the most important thing is, he responded with:!

  • Love God, love neighbor

  • Love enemy, love the least of these

Love Defined – 1 Cor 13

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

He Love in a perspective we strive for

At Fawn Lake Church, we will show you love when you face adversity.

When you get a phone call with bad news, there are dozens of people at FLC you can call and you will receive encouragement

You WILL feel the love & presence of God here.

Because He dwells within us.

We can’t hide it!

We couldn’t keep it a secret if we tried.

We love God; we love each other.

None of us has to face anything alone, because we have each other!

And it is NOT – me and God. It is US and God.

Many churches are known for what they are against!

  • Proudly displayed on their website
  • Message – Fawn Lake Church should be all about Love

He presented something we can personalize, challenging us to insert our name into the scripture:

Dad is patient.  Dad is kind… Mom is never jealous.
Grandpa is never irritable?  My Husband never rejoices about injustice.

What is love and what is it not

Love is:

Love is not:

Patient

Jealous

Kind

Boastful

Always hopeful

Proud

Rude

Irritable

 

Love Does:

Love Does Not:

Rejoices when truth wins

Demand its own way

Endures through every circumstance

Keep record of being wronged

Rejoice about injustice

Give up

Lose faith

So how are you doing based on this definition?

If you truly loved one another like Jesus does, news would get out about Fawn Lake Church!

When we love people like Jesus does, it WILL so draw people here!

  • Because people flock to where they feel loved and valued.

We must fight the tendency to make church about us!

John 13:34

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

I give you permission to love.

Last few verses of 1 Cor 13…

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

A take away for all of us: Admit you need to grow in this most important area

He closed with a prayer asking who needs prayer to love better?