God sure is amazing, isn't he?  I know that, but sometimes it's just cool to see it.  This week, we were trying to choose music, and we really felt led to choose songs that told about the love of God.  Then the computer cratered (yes, again), I rebuilt the power point (this is much easier now as I keep a file of all the songs on all the computers, just in case), but we couldn't remember all the songs from the first one, so we had to find some different ones.  Then, all the music we'd already pulled for the week just disappeared.  And of course, I thought it had something to do with the teenager that I'd sent to fetch the box, so I groused and griped at her, definitely not showing the love of God there I know.  And God gave us some chords, and some new songs.  And then, when we got to the church, we got all set up, we'd practiced all but the last song, we noticed the music we'd had for it was no longer there.  The music we'd brought with us, pulled from the file, and put on the music stand was no longer there.  At that point, we didn't have the music box with us, so we had to play something we knew, that Paul knew on the guitar.  So we chose "Safe" by Phil Wickham, which is one of my all time favorite songs.  What better way to know that God loves you than to know that he will always be there for you and that you are "safe in His arms"?  


The message, delivered by our visiting Canadian Mission Team's pastor, was from 1 Corinthians 13, and was entitled, The Love of God.  Yes, God is awesome :).  He just puts it all together, doesn't He?  

1 Corinthians 13

King James Version (KJV)

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

⁴ Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

⁵ Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

⁶ Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

⁷ Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

⁸ Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

¹² For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Notes:

We serve a big God and He has a big plan.  He works in different lives in many different ways.

You can get lonely anywhere in this world, and the only true cure for the deep down loneliness, is God in your life.  

God is love (1 John 4:8), Jesus Christ is the only way to know God (John 3:16, John 14:6), and through our relationship with Christ, God has ripped us out of a world with sin, yanking us from a path of destruction.

If you know God and you love God, then you love each other.  If you know God and you know His love, you share it with others.  In order to do that, we need to know what God's love is, which is where 1 Corinthians 13 comes in, our road map to what love looks like.  

Background:  In Chapter 12, Paul has just told the church at Corinth that there's unity in the body of Christ in Jesus, and diversity in the gifts and abilities He's given each of us.  In Chapter 13, he gives us definition of love, and a true picture of what it should look like.

Verses 1-3(and 4-6) tell us that the love of God needs to enrich the body.  God's love should be bettering this church, and the challenge set before us is to do everything that God puts before us with love.  

Verse 7 shows that God gives us the ability and the mandate to bear all things.  He will take us through.

(8-10) We will not understand fully till Jesus returns.  All stuff will come to an end, but love will last forever.  

We also need to grow in Christian maturity.  Verse 11 says "¹¹ When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."  There are things that we do and say as children, that would not (or at least should not) come from us as adults.  We should have different answers and responses to situations or questions as an adult than we would as a child.

The illustration he used was that of a Kindergartner who was putting together puzzles at the puzzle center.  Each time he'd quickly put together a puzzle, then throw up his hands like a calf roper who's finished the last hooey.  Beau walked over and said to the young man "You sure are putting those puzzles together quickly."  The boy said "Yes.  Do you want to know why I'm so fast?"  He nodded, and the boy replied "It's these new shoes."

When we are little kids, we run faster, we jump higher, and can apparently put together puzzles more quickly in new shoes, but as adults we realize that it's deeper than that, and we would (or at least should) have a different response.  We need to be maturing in God's love every day.

Keep going.  Let God's love build this church, build this community!

We had a packed house yesterday afternoon, and when we finished the first invitation song, there were still people coming forward, so we sang another one.  Praise God!  

Here are some of the other songs from yesterday's worship service, sharing the love of God!

Please continue to pray for our church, and the ministries that God has made available in the community of Midwest and Edgerton.