Scripture for Feb. 24th: Psalm 63:1-5

Sermon Title: Giving God Our Best Love

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

What does a Christian who gives all his or her love to God look like? Author Francis Chan answers this when he describes his friend Rings:

"I don't know how old exactly Rings is, but he's definitely what you would call an old man. I also don't know where he was born or what his real name is; he simply goes by Rings. His home is the cab of his pickup, which he parks near downtown Ocean Beach, California. He is a chain smoker, an ex- convict, ex- addict, and ex- alcoholic.

Rings likes to say that if Jesus saved him, then Jesus is able to save anyone and everyone. So instead of using his monthly check to buy alcohol or a hotel room for himself, he spends all of it on food at the local supermarket. He transfers the food he buys to coolers in the back of his truck, then he drives to the beach and makes meals for his fellow homeless.

While preparing the food, Rings tells the gathering crowd about the freedom that Jesus brought into his life. He tells them that God is the One who told him to feed others with his money, and that it's because God loves each of them. This man gives everything he has to others—literally everything—because he knows he has nothing that wasn't given to him by God.”

Rings is giving all his love to God, the God that has given him love that is overwhelming and transforming. He is an example of what it looks like when a person gives all his love to God. On Sunday we will give more examples as we describe what it means to give God our best love as we conclude the sermon series, “Crazy Love.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Feb. 17th: Revelation 3:15-18

Sermon Title: Giving God Just Some of Our Love

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee provides a good background on the phase, “…that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!”

“This had a background and a local meaning for the people in that day. Being down in the valley, they had difficulty getting water in Laodicea. As I stood there in the ruins, I looked south toward the Phrygian mountains, some of which are very high. I was there around the first of June, and there was still an abundance of snow on top of those mountains. The Laodiceans built an aqueduct to bring that cold water down from the mountains. When it left the mountains, it was ice cold, but by the time it made that trip all the way down the mountains to Laodicea, it was lukewarm. And lukewarm water is not very good.

Down in the valley where the Lycus River joins the Maeander River, there are hot springs. The springs are so hot that steam is produced. The Turkish government has capped it and is using it today, and I understand they intend to develop its use even more because it is there in abundance. It is the hottest water you can imagine; a lot of it is just steam. However, when they would take this hot water up to Laodicea, by the time it got there, it was no longer hot—it had become lukewarm water.

When the Lord Jesus said to the Laodicean church, “You are neither cold nor hot,” they knew exactly what He was talking about. They had been drinking lukewarm water for years. Water left the mountains ice cold, and it left the springs steaming hot, but when they got it, both were lukewarm, and it was sickening. We like to put a little ice in our water, and many folk drink hot water, but lukewarm water is just not good, my friend. The Lord Jesus said that this church was neither cold nor hot and He would spew it out of His mouth.”

Are you neither hot or cold? If you are lukewarm, you are giving God only some of your love, and this will negatively impact your relationship with Him. This coming Sunday we will talk more about what a lukewarm Christian looks like and how not to live like one as we continue the sermon series, “Crazy Love.” Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Feb. 10th: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Sermon: God's Crazy Love for Us

The LORD gave me this message: “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” O Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” The LORD replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”

How great is our God? Author and Pastor Francis Chan gives us an idea when he writes about God's creation in his book, "Crazy Love": "Did you know that a caterpillar has 228 separate and distinct muscles in its head? That's quite a few, for a bug. The average elm tree has approximately 6 million leaves on it. And your own heart generates enough pressure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 feet. (I've never tried this, and I don't recommend it.)

Have you ever thought about how diverse and creative God is? He didn't have to make hundreds of different kinds of bananas, but He did. He didn't have to put 3,000 different species of trees within one square mile in the Amazon jungle, but He did. God didn't have to create so many kinds of laughter. Think about the different sounds of your friends' laughs—wheezes, snorts, silent, loud, obnoxious.

How about the way plants defy gravity by drawing water upward from the ground into their stems and veins? Or did you know that spiders produce three kinds of silk? When they build their webs, they create sixty feet of silk in one hour, simultaneously producing special oil on their feet that prevents them from sticking to their own web. (Most of us hate spiders, but sixty feet an hour deserves some respect!) Coral plants are so sensitive that they can die if the water temperature varies by even one or two degrees.

Did you know that when you get goose bumps, the hair in your follicles is actually helping you stay warmer by trapping body heat? Or what about the simple fact that plants take in carbon dioxide (which is harmful to us) and produce oxygen (which we need to survive)? I'm sure you knew that, but have you ever marveled at it? And these same poison- swallowing, life- giving plants came from tiny seeds that were placed in the dirt. Some were watered, some weren't; but after a few days they poked through the soil and out into the warm sunlight.

Whatever God's reasons for such diversity, creativity, and sophistication in the universe, on earth, and in our own bodies, the point of it all is His glory. God's art speaks of Himself, reflecting who He is and what He is like.
'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.' — Psalm 19:1–4"

God is indeed great and how wonderful it is to know that this great God has chosen to love you and me. This coming Sunday we will talk more about the greatness of God and His love for us as begin the sermon series, "Crazy Love." Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Feb. 3rd: Revelation 21:1-6; 22-27

Sermon Title: The New Heaven and The New Earth

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life."

"I've never been this homesick before." This is the title of a popular song that Dottie Rambo wrote and performed many years ago and I've been thinking about this song all week long as I've been researching the Scripture above. Heaven sounds so wonderful - no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, and no more pain. Regrets will be washed away, as will everything that is old. There will be no desire to sin, no temptation and no Devil and evil. This is home for the Christian - it is the place that Jesus said He would prepare for us (John 14:1-3) and it is the future of every believer. Yes, I am homesick - we live in a world plagued by sin at every corner and I long to be "home" - the place where my God will prepare for me.

But the most special thing about heaven is that Jesus will be there. He is the One that we pray to, worship and live for, and yet we have never seen Him with our physical eyes. In heaven our faith will have sight and we will not only see Jesus, but we will live forever in His presence. And it is at this time that we will experience God's love like never before - we will know God's love for us in all its fullness.

This coming Sunday we will talk more about "The New Heaven and The New Earth" as we end the sermon series, "The Remarkable Revelation." I hope to see you then! Until then, enjoy the words to this song: "See the bright light shine It's just about home time, I can see my Father at the door, This world has been a wilderness I'm ready for deliverance, Lord, I've never been this homesick before!" Amen!