​God is Love

As I have been preparing for the upcoming sermon series I have been reminded of the beauty and simplicity of the gospel. The promise we receive from the gospel—the good news of Jesus—is that when we encounter the love of God and bring it into the core of our hearts, it changes us. The power of the gospel begins to reshape our hearts and transforms us into the likeness of Christ.

1 John 4 calls us to express this transformative love in community.

1 John 4:7-11
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Be careful not to miss an important expression of God’s love. God so loved us, that he was willing to be humble and even to be humiliated in order to save us without compelling us. He compares his love for us with the love of a shepherd for his flock, a husband for his wife, a father for his child. He knows us better than we know ourselves. His love seeks our benefit even at great cost to himself. God created us for this love.

I look forward to seeing how the gospel will continue to change lives through the influence of New Life. My prayer is that you have a hand in sharing the love of Jesus with others. You can do that through your own personal witness and community investment at New Life. This Sunday we begin a new sermon series and it is a wonderful opportunity it is to bring a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member with you to engage with the message that Jesus has for the church He loves.

Pastor Billy