Sunday, September 28, 2025
Saturday, September 27, 2025
5 THINGS: Love in the Kingdom - September 28, 2025
5 THINGS: Love in the Kingdom - September 28, 2025
INTRODUCTION
What would you say if you only had time to tell your loved ones one thing?
In this sermon series, I will be sharing with you thoughts on these issues.
The love of God - September 14, 2025
Love according to the Word - September 21, 2025
Love in the Kingdom
Love and righteousness
Love yourself
Love is a Kingdom characteristic.
A young teenage boy and girl were setting in a swing on her parents front porch way up in the mountains of North Carolina. They spent a lot of time there away from everyone. Just them. They would talk about all kinds of things. Things about when they had grown up. What they would do: go to college which for them meant moving away from home and getting enough money to go. For him it would mean getting a job or going into the military for some good job training. Would they have a family together?
Every Friday evening it was the same. He really liked coming to see her, but her mother’s cooking was another good thing about the visit.
When he got ready to go he would hold her hand and tell her he would see her next Friday and hug her. But tonight he was feeling tender towards her so he hugged her and said at the bottom of the porch stairs: You know I love you so much I would fight the biggest man, swim the deepest ocean, climb the highest mountain because I love you so much. He kisses her for the first time and turned to leave. Looking back at her as he opened the gate to leave. I’ll see you next Friday if it don't rain.
Roy Fowler, Sermon Central, September 19, 2020.
Love in the Kingdom has no end.
Let us pray.
I. OUR FATHER
A. Love originates in God.
1 John 4:19 NIV
“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 NIV
B. Our love comes from Him.
1 John 4:8 NIV
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:8 NIV
C. Our love must permeate our lives.
1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV
“Do everything in love.”
1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV
“Whoever loves much, does much.”
Thomas a’ Kempis (author of The Imitation of Christ, devotional)
II. BROTHERS AND SISTERS
An anonymous soul has expressed it well:
Love is the spark that kindles the fires of compassion.
Compassion is the fire that flames the candle of service.
Service is the candle that ignites the torch of hope.
Hope is the torch that lights the beacon of faith.
Faith is the beacon that reflects the power of God.
God is the power that creates the miracle of love.
G. Curtis Jones. 1000 Illustrations For Preaching And Teaching. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1986, p. 223.
A. The command to love our neighbor begins in the Kingdom.
1. Love starts here and goes there.
Galatians 5:13-14 NIV
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.””
Galatians 5:13-14 NIV
2. Our change brings a change in how we love.
1 John 3:14-15 NIV
“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”
1 John 3:14-15 NIV
B. Love is always about relationship.
LOVE’S CHALLENGES
What joy to love the saints above
When I get home to glory.
To love below, the saints I know,
Well, that’s another story!
To love mankind I always find
To be a simple task.
To have love for the man next door
Is more than one should ask!
Love’s full and free when two agree;
It isn’t hard at all.
But easy it ain’t to love the saint
Who drives me up the wall!
When someone’s kind, and has Christ’s mind,
I love him with great ease.
But one who hurts with words he blurts,
Don’t make me love him, please!
If no one needs my loving deeds,
I love unstintingly.
But hungry saints with real complaints
Should stay away from me!
But Jesus said, to those He led,
This is to be the only sign –
You must love one another so that all will discover
that you are truly mine.
Anonymous
1. Love deeply
1 Peter 1:22 NIV
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.”
1 Peter 1:22 NIV
2. Love for imperfect people
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8 NIV
3. Love as humility
Romans 12:10 NIV
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10 NIV
C. Love comes with a price.
It was February 1941, Auschwitz, Poland. Maximilian Kolbe was a Franciscan priest put in the infamous death camp for helping Jews escape Nazi terrorism.
Months went by and in desperation an escape took place. The camp rule was enforced. Ten people would be rounded up randomly and herded into a cell where they would die of starvation and exposure as a lesson against future escape attempts.
Names were called. A Polish Jew Frandishek Gasovnachek was called. He cried, "Wait, I have a wife and children!" Kolbe stepped forward and said, "I will take his place." Kolbe was marched into the cell with nine others where he managed to live until August 14.
This story was chronicled on an NBC news special several years ago. Gasovnachek, by this time 82, was shown telling this story while tears streamed down his cheeks. A mobile camera followed him around his little white house to a marble monument carefully tended with flowers. The inscription read:
IN MEMORY OF MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
HE DIED IN MY PLACE.
Every day Gasovnachek lived since 1941, he lived with the knowledge, "I live because someone died for me." Every year on August 14 he travels to Auschwitz in memory of Kolbe.
Sermon Central, February 18, 202.
John 15:13 NIV
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13 NIV
Philippians 2:1-8 NIV
“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
Philippians 2:1-8 NIV
III. STRANGERS
A. Those we do not know
Hebrews 13:1-2 NIV
“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Hebrews 13:1-2 NIV
You and I tend to offer hospitality to only a limited number of
people--persons whom we already know, mostly relatives and a few close
friends. But, in Abraham’s time, hospitality was extended to whomever needed
it--strangers and acquaintances alike. In fact, in its original form,
"hospitality" combines two separate words--one meaning friend and the other
meaning stranger. So, from the beginning of its usage, hospitality has
carried with it the idea of making friends out of strangers.
James W. Cox, The Minister’s Manual, Harper, 1994, p. 109.
B. Those who are suffering
Hebrews 13:3 NIV
“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
Hebrews 13:3 NIV
1. Those who deserve their suffering
2. Those who don’t deserve their suffering
IV. ENEMIES
Luke 6:27-36 NIV
““But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Luke 6:27-36 NIV
An Armenian nurse had been held captive along with her brother by the Turks. Her brother was slain by a Turkish soldier before her eyes. Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she was stunned to find that the same man who had killed her brother had been captured and brought wounded to the hospital where she worked. Something within her cried out "Vengeance." But a stronger voice called for her to love. She nursed the man back to health. Finally, the recuperating soldier asked her, "Why didn’t you let me die?" Her answer was, "I am a follower of Him who said, ’Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you’". Impressed with her answer, the young soldier replied, "I never heard such words before. Tell me more. I want this kind of religion."
Jeremias Fababier, “Fruitfulness Comes from the Heart”, May 29, 2012.
A. Love your enemies.
B. Do good to those who hate you.
C. Bless those who curse you.
D. Pray for those who mistreat you.
CONCLUSION
Love comes from our Father. Love must be shared with our brothers and sisters. Love must flow to those we do not know. Love belongs even to our enemies. If we cannot love everyone like God, we cannot truly love anyone. Love because God loves us.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Saturday, September 20, 2025
5 THINGS: Love according to the Word - September 21, 2025
5 THINGS: Love according to the Word - September 21, 2025
INTRODUCTION
Surgery and the things you think about
What if I don’t make it?
What should I tell my loved ones?
Will I ever feel better?
Love - staying up all night with you kid for the 5th night in a row, giving your friend your last dollar, being at your loved ones bedside at the hospital
Love is one of the most powerful emotions we have. The actress Joan Crawford once said “Love is a fire but whether it warms your heart or burns your house down, you can never tell!”
Love can motivate, give pleasure, hurt even destroy. It can make us do bold, even stupid things.
During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier’s fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell’s heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!"
Roger Whipp, Sermon Central, Dec 31, 2014.
Love seems to be missing in our world today. Love as sacrifice is rarely uplifted. There is love for those who agree with you or for those who do things for you. But is that love?
In this sermon series, I will be sharing with you thoughts on these issues.
The love of God - September 14, 2025
Love according to the Word
Love in the Kingdom
Love and righteousness
Love yourself
1 John 4:8 NIV
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
1 John 4:8 NIV
Let us pray.
1. LOVE GOD
Agape love, the highest form of love, is referenced in the New Testament 137 times as a verb and 116 times as a noun.
Charles Mallory, Sermon Central, February 9, 2001.
A. Love is a command, not a suggestion.
Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV
B. Love starts with God.
“The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing too. God does not love populations, He loves people. He loves not masses, but men.”
A. W. Tozer
1 John 4:7-12 NIV
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:7-12 NIV
C. God is love.
1 John 4:16 NIV
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
1 John 4:16 NIV
Meister Eckhart, the German theologian form the 14th century, says we are looking for something along with God, and behaving exactly as if we were making of God a candle to look for something. When we find the things we are looking for, we throw the candle away. Whatever we seek along with God is nothing. It does not matter what it is - be it an advantage or a reward or a kind of spirituality or whatever else - we are seeking a ‘nothingness’, and for this reason we find a ’nothingness’.
He also says that some people want to love God in the same way as they love a cow. You love it for the milk and the cheese and for your own profit. So do those who love God for the sake of outward riches or inward consolation. But they do not love God correctly, for they merely love their own advantage.
1. LOVE HIS COMMANDS
A. Love by keeping His commands
John 14:21 NIV
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.””
John 14:21 NIV
I wish I could find out who said,
“It is not said that after keeping Gods commandments, but in keeping them, there is great reward. God has linked these two things together, and no man can separate themobedience and peace.”
Anonymous
B. Love as fulfillment of His commands
2 John 1:6 NIV
“And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.”
2 John 1:6 NIV
C. Commands as demonstration of love
John 14:15 NIV
““If you love me, keep my commands.”
John 14:15 NIV
1. LOVE OTHERS
A. Love one another
1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV
“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”
1 Thessalonians 3:12 NIV
John 13:34-35 NIV
““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””
John 13:34-35 NIV
B. Love by doing
In his book, Dad, The Family Coach, Dave Simmons tells of an act of sacrificial love that occurred in a shopping mall. One day he took his eight year old Helen and five year old Brandon to the Cloverdale Mall. He needed to buy some tools in Sears.
When they pulled into the mall parking lot, there was a big sign that said, "Petting Zoo." Immediately the kids jumped up and asked, "Can we go, Daddy? Can we go? Please." Seeing that it would be not trouble at all, and concluding that it might even make his trip quicker, Dave said, "Sure," and handed both his kids a quarter. They bolted away as he headed for Sears.
A few minutes later he was making his way down the aisle when he spotted Helen slowly walking up behind him. She looked up at him and said, "Well, Daddy, it cost fifty cents. So, I gave Brandon my quarter." then she said the most beautiful thing of all. She repeated their family motto, "Love is action!"
What do you think he did? Not what you might think. Dave finished his shopping and then took Helen back to the petting zoo. They stood by the fence watching Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and her chin resting on the fence just watching. Dave felt fifty cents in his pocket, almost burning a hole, but he never offered it, and she never asked for it. Helen was following through with the lesson.
Love is not just action. Love is sacrificial action. Love always pays a price. Love always costs something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits accrue to another’s account. Love is for you, not for me. Love gives; it doesn’t grab.
1 John 3:17 NIV
“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”
1 John 3:17 NIV
C. Love by forgiving
Matthew 5:43-48 NIV
““You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5:43-48 NIV
Proverbs 10:12 NIV
“Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.”
Proverbs 10:12 NIV
Leviticus 19:18 NIV
“ Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”
Leviticus 19:18 NIV
CONCLUSION
Several years ago, John MacArthur had the opportunity to spend several days traveling with the well-known gospel musicians, Bill and Gloria Gaither. At one point, he asked Bill what, in his estimation, were the greatest Christian lyrics ever written, aside from the inspired Psalms. Without hesitation, Gaither began quoting the words from F. M. Lehman’s “The Love of God”:
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Dr. Larry Petton, Sermon Central, June 12, 2023.
The Scriptures commend us to love God, love His commands, and love others. As we leave this place, let us love this week.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
Sunday, September 14, 2025
Saturday, September 13, 2025
5 THINGS: Love of God - September 14, 2025
5 THINGS: Love of God - September 14, 2025
INTRODUCTION
Surgery of any kind makes you think about life in a different light.
I considered sending my son a text with my life insurance information, banking info, last wishes, etc.
Remember, I was only having a small umbilical hernia repaired; imagine if it had been a serious issue.
I preach a funeral message that echoes the thought of the Apostle Paul that of the 3 most importance characteristics of humans - faith, hope, and love, the greatest is love. I say in that message that we all want to know loving. We want that for ourselves, and we want that for our children and grandchildren.
Over the next 5 weeks, I will be sharing with you thoughts on these issues.
The love of God
Love according to the Word
Love in the Kingdom
Love and righteousness
Love yourself
John 3:16 NIV
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NIV
Let us pray.
1. GOD SO LOVES THE WORLD
A. God loves
John 3:16 NIV
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NIV
Some Things about God’s Love:
- Love is not just a virtue of God. It is God Himself.
- Love is not something God begins.
- God does not “extend His energy to maintain” love.
- The love of God is as eternal as the nature of God.
- The love of God is self existing.
Towns, Elmer: Theology for Today (Belmont CA: Wadsworth: 2002) 114.
B. Jesus came so we would know God’s love
John 17:26 NIV
“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.””
John 17:26 NIV
C. Jesus died for sinners
Romans 5:8 NIV
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 NIV
1 John 4:10 NIV
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:10 NIV
2. GOD CONTINUES TO LOVE THE WORLD
One day, C.H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE. Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. "Weather vanes are changeable," he said, "but God’s love is constant."
"I don’t agree with you about those words, Charles," replied his friend. "You misunderstood the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."
Bruce Howell, "The Essence!", 2/21/2009
A. God loves us as His children
1 John 3:1a NIV
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1a NIV
B. God loves us in our imperfection
Psalm 136:23 NIV
“He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.”
Psalm 136:23 NIV
1 John 2:2 NIV
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 2:2 NIV
C. God’s love has no end
For more than 40 years, each week a shy Welshman went to his neighbor’s door and slipped a love note underneath. Because of an argument years before, she refused to speak to the man. Finally, after writing 2184 love letters with no response of any kind, the 74-year-old man went to the door, knocked, and asked the 74-year-old woman to marry him. Much to his surprise, she said yes, and they tied the knot.
This is much the same way the love of God works. He persistently shows his love for us--even in the face of rejection. It changes our lives.
Perry Greene, Sermon Central, January 12, 2004.
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
3. GOD WANTS YOU TO KNOW LOVE
A. Know love
1 John 4:9-10 NIV
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
1 John 4:9-10 NIV
B. Share love
James Moore tells about a man named George. George was a peacemaker with a big heart and wonderful sense of humor. Everyone loved George at church, and he was respected at the hospital where he worked. The reason why so many people loved George was because he was always kind and respectful to everyone he met.
George’s children clearly remember the days George spent in the hospital before his death. The administrator of the hospital paid him a visit. They spoke as though they were old friends. A few minutes later one of the janitors came to visit George. They too had a nice visit.
When the janitor left, one of George’s children said to him, "Dad, did you realize that you treated the president of the hospital and the janitor just alike?" George smiled, chuckled and then said, "Let me ask you something: If the administrator left for two weeks and the janitor left for two weeks, which one do you think would be missed the most?"
Then George called his children around his bed. "Let me show you something I carry in my pocket all the time," he told them, "even when I mow the lawn." George pulled out a pocket-sized cross and a marble with the golden rule on it. George said, "On the cross are written these words, ‘God Loves You,’ and on the marble are these words, ‘Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do unto You.’ The cross reminds me of how deeply God loves me. And the marble reminds me of how deeply God wants me to love others.”
James W. Moore, WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS . . ., (Nashville: Dimensions for Living, 1993), p. 78. Found in “Weird People Everywhere” by King Duncan - 1 Cor 12:1-11 – 2005.)
Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
1 John 3:16 NIV
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
1 John 3:16 NIV
1 John 4:11-12 NIV
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
1 John 4:11-12 NIV
We tried to visit the lepers at least once a month, when they gathered out on the grass, and we went over what they had learned and sought to make clear the way of salvation by the use of Gospel posters.
Sometimes we asked them questions, to see if they really understood what they were learning. I remember once asking the question, “Just how do you know that the Lord Jesus loves you?”
They answered, “Because of you.” This truly touched our hearts and we praised God for the privilege of being His instruments to carry the glad tidings to such as these poor lepers.
China’s Millions Mission, Bill Butsko, Sermon Central, September 9, 2007.
CONCLUSION
Do you ever wonder what God thinks about our world today? Do you ever wonder if God reconsiders His commitment to us. Listen to this.
Isaiah 54:9-10 NIV
““To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Isaiah 54:9-10 NIV
God loves the world. God continues to love us. God wants you to know love.
A water pipe was designed to carry water. I have learned that when you hook the pipe to the water, and turn on the water, the water flows through the pipe and out of the other end.
When you are connected to God’s love, it flows through you and out to others.
Stephen Smarowsky, Sermon Central, April 10, 2009.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.