For a long time I have used a slight variation of a definition of love that I read many years ago in Tim Kimmel’s Little House on the Freeway. After the message this morning, I am modifying it again: “Love is a commitment of my love and affections to your needs and best interests regardless […]
Read More Love definedIn Ephesians 5:1-2, Paul refers to the security of our love from God the Father as the basis of our love for others. We can love others because we have been loved by Him. That principle then begs the question, “What are the qualities of a loved child, and how will those qualities impact his/her […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (9/26/10)May I ask a straight-forward question? Why do you do what you do for Christ? That is, what is the motive for your actions? What drives you and compels you? Specifically, when you think about how you serve God, can you also determine why you serve God? Some serve God from a sense of “holy […]
Read More Why do you serve Christ?In his book, What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage (a really fine book), Paul Tripp offers the following definition for love: Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving. From that definition, he draws two dozen implications for […]
Read More Love and marriageI can think of few condemnations worse than this one — you have been faithful to Christ, but you don’t love Christ. This is the condemnation of the Ephesian church by Christ. You might say it this way — they were rock solid for Christ; He just took no pleasure in it. For Christ there […]
Read More They were “rock solid”It was a church with an incredibly rich history. Founded by the apostle Paul along with Priscilla and Aquilla, it was first pastored by Timothy. And Jesus’ beloved disciple John was probably its “Pastor Emeritus.” It was the recipient of a letter from the apostle Paul that was rich in elegance and theology (and her […]
Read More It left its first loveYesterday was the day for candy, card, and flower shops. Today is the day for lovers. Yesterday the retailers made their money. Today marriage partners make their marriages. Call me fussy. Call me a curmudgeon. Call me a spoil sport. I just don’t like being told by business and industry when is the best time […]
Read More The day after Valentine’s Day – now what?Today, on the day when the rest of the world celebrates the human love, what better time is there to remember the divine love of God for man. What follow are some reflections of men who have “said it better than me” about God’s love: When Karl Barth, the famed German theologian, visited the Untied […]
Read More Valentine’s Day and the love of GodTitle: Love or Die: Christ’s Wake-Up Call to the Church Author: Alexander Strauch Publisher: Lewis & Roth, 2008; 99 pp. $9.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): A few weeks ago I preached a message on Revelation 2:1-7 — the Ephesian church’s loss of love for Christ. A couple days after the message, a friend said to […]
Read More Book Review: Love or DieA list of collected resources, interesting articles, and even an opportunity or two from the last week: Allister Begg’s conference for pastors is always interesting and helpful. I’ve listened to the audio for the last two or three years, and this year one of the speakers is a guy named Piper. Hmmm. I won’t be […]
Read More Grab BagMichael Wilkins, In His Image: Love is an unconditional commitment to an imperfect person, a commitment I give myself to in order to bring the relationship to God’s intended purpose.
Read More Today’s Quote (10/13/08)John Norman, “Bringing in the Outcast” (Discipleship Journal): We all have “lepers” in our lives—people we don’t want to touch because we’re repelled by their personalities, social skills, or emotional problems. Too often, we exclude certain people even from the Body of Christ because they don’t seem to fit in—another church would be better for […]
Read More Today’s Quote (10/11/08)John Piper, Desiring God: Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others. The overflow is experienced consciously as the pursuit of our joy in the joy of another. We double our delight in God as we expand it in the lives of others. If our ultimate goal were anything […]
Read More Today’s Quote (10/10/08)Do you ever wonder how to love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you (Mt. 5:44)? John Piper, contemplating that command of Christ, relates it to the familiar pattern for prayer that follows in Mt. 6 — It would be unwarranted to think that the loving prayer for our enemy should ask for […]
Read More How to love your enemyA fundamental means of surviving — no, thriving — in marriage is by cultivating love in that marriage. Husbands are called to love their wives (Eph. 5:25-30). Wives are called to love their husbands (Titus 2:4). In the classic passage on love, all believers (including both husbands and wives) are called to a life of […]
Read More Sunday Leftovers (6/3/07)
