Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues,
they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
9For we know in part and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
became a man, I put away childish things.
12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall
know just as I also am known.
13And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Thursday is Valentines Day.
For those who arent aware f it
Brother Gene has a tradition for the special days in a year.
So this Thursday Gene will take his wife Evalyn to Wal-Mart
they will stand together in the Greeting cards section
and Gene will read the Valentine Cards to her.
Now, that seems to work fine for Gene
But I doubt that many men could get away with that.
I asked Pat what she wanted for Valentines Day
And she said nothing.
I suppose Ill find out Friday if she was telling the truth!
Have you ever wondered how Valentines Day got started?
Heres the story:
Approximately 250 years after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was a priest by the name of
Valentine. He lived in Rome. At that time, Claudius was the Emperor of Rome. Some people called
him Claudius the Cruel. St. Valentine didnt like Emperor Claudius, and he wasnt the only one!
Many people felt the same way. Claudius wanted a big army. He thought men should volunteer to
join. Many men just did not want to leave home and go off to fight in wars. They did not want to
leave their girlfriends and wives. So, not many men volunteered for the Roman army. This made
Emperor Claudius very angry. He had a crazy idea that if men were not married, they would be
more inclined to join his army. So Claudius decreed that there would be no more marriages.
Young people thought his new law was really cruel. Valentine thought it was ridiculous! One of his
favorite duties as a priest was to marry people. After Emperor Claudius passed his law, Valentine
kept on performing marriage ceremonies but secretly. He would whisper the words of the
ceremony, while listening for soldiers on the steps outside.
Well get more of the St. Valentine story a little later!
The title of todays sermon is:
How Christians Should Celebrate Valentines Day.
Point #1
Stand up for the truth and proclaim the Gospel of Gods love
Psalm 40:9-10
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
According to tradition,
all of Jesus disciples except John
died horrible deaths rather than deny their Lord.
They all went out under dangerous conditions
flowers and notes up to his window. They wanted him to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit
him in his cell. They often sat and talked for hours. She believed he did the right thing by
ignoring the Emperor and performing marriage ceremonies.
Lets move on now to the next point of this message!
Point #3
Give your life to Jesus
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
O.K. We claim to believe in Jesus and so we are saved!
But are we loving people?
1 John 4:8-9 says:
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was
manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him.
If we are truly living through Him then we will walk in love!
1 John 4:16
And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in
love abides in God, and God in him.
If we have given our lives to Jesus then we will abide in Him!
To give your life to Jesus means becoming a new creature!
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new.
A truly born again Christian wants to please Jesus!
1 John 5:3 says:
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not
burdensome.
And what commandments is this talking about?
1 John 3:23
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and
love one another, as He gave us So, we believe in Jesus as the Son of God
who came to save us through His death on the cross
and we choose to love one another!
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Love is the greatest thing we can possess as Christians!
It is the thing that will last!