Our Sunday morning message was brought to us by our associate pastor, Ryan Crawford.
Prayer requests were taken. Please remember to pray for friends, family and our church.
New visitors were welcomed and greeted during our handshake song, "Angels, From the Realms of Glory."
God died on the cross for our salvation, leading us to make a decision to trust Christ with our hearts. God is a Spirit. God is light. God is love. John often refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Many of us as children learned the song, "Jesus loves me." The Bible says, hundreds of times, that He loves us. These verses before us, 1 John 4:7-21, are almost like the second love chapter, the first being 1 Corinthians 13. John was overwhelmed by the love of God which caused him to love and make the right decision to love God.
Can you love God and hate your brother? In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that "God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9). He manifested His love for us by dying on the cross. God's itinerary included Jesus to be love on foot and a love letter to us.
"We love him, because he first loved us," (1 John 4:10). Human love has a limit or we have conditions placed on this love. Not God; He loves us unconditionally. We are not worthy of His love. Love is not an emotion; it is a choice, because of what God has done. When a person is not lovable, that is when He needs to love them most.
Love is the opposite of hate, like peace and war, unity and division, forgiveness and bitterness, togetherness and loneliness. If we love others as God loves us, God can be seen through us. Therefore, as we go through this week, remember, if we love God, we must love our brother.
1 John 4:20 states: "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?"
Have you read your Bible today? If not read 1 Corinthians, chapter 13.
If you do not have a home church, please come visit us at Pineville First Baptist Church, 206 East Fifth Street, Pineville, Mo. We are one of the friendliest churches in town. Remember, Sunday school is at 9 a.m., with morning worship at 10 a.m. Wednesday night is Awana from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday night church and Bible study is at 7 p.m. Friday night Bible study is at 6:30 p.m.
The Nursing Home Ministry meets every other Saturday at McDonald County Nursing Home, at 2:30 p.m.
All Bible verses are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Religion on 12/14/2017