Loving Well: Words of Affirmation

Various Texts

Words of Affirmation

• Words are powerful tools
  • They can build up or tear down
  • As an act of love, words are to be used to encourage, strengthen, and nurture
• Words are both what is spoken and what is written

God as the Lover

• The Bible is primarily a love letter to us from God (Songs 2:4)
• What does He say about us?
  • We are made in His image, and therefore of great value (Gen 1:26, 31)
  • He is with us and for us (Deut 31:8; Rom 8:31)

Our Response of Love (John 10:27-29)

• We need to listen to His instructions, which are for our good (Isa 48:17-18)
• Our praise is a response to God’s love (Ps 63:3; 106:1; 117:2)

Loving Words to Each Other

• Encouragement rather than criticism (1 Thess. 5:11, 14; James 5:9)
  • 20 good words are canceled out by 1 bad one!
• Concern rather than gossip (1 Cor 12:25-26; Pro 16:28)
• Correction rather than flattery (Pro. 25:12; Pro 27:6; Pro 28:23)
• Not just the words, but also the tone (Pro. 15:1; 25:11)

Words of Love to Our Community

• Sharing the Gospel is sharing God’s love
• Everything that applies to how we speak to other Christians should apply to how we show love to our neighbors
  • Except we cannot expect non-believers to live by biblical truth
    • We must model that before we can proclaim it
  • Being known for what we are for more than what we are against
    • 20 good words are canceled out by 1 bad one!

So What?

• Are we loving with our words?
  • Speaking God’s truth
  • Building others up

Meditation Verse: Ephesians 4:15

Loving Well: Love as Central

Various Texts

The Centrality of Love

• At the heart of the Gospel message is love (John 3:16)
  • Which is true because love is one of the fundamental characteristics of God Himself (1 John 4:8, 16)
• As followers of Christ, we are called to be imitators of God (Eph. 5:1)
  • And thus, should be known for our love as well (John 13:34-35)
• However, how do we love like Jesus?

What is Love?

• Biblically, love is NOT an emotion
  • God never commands us to feel a certain way
• Love is NOT condoning the sinful actions of another (Rom. 12:9; Jude 1:21-23)
• Love is a choice
  • To treat others as we would like to be treated (Luke 6:31)
  • To put the needs of others before our own desires (1 Cor. 13:4-8a)
• Love is telling each other the truth (Eph. 4:15)

How Do We Love Well?

• We must understand that our concept of love must be informed by God’s character and truth (1 John 4:19; 2 Cor. 5:14)
• We must learn to love in a way that meets people as they are
  • This is how God treats us
    • Because God knows us fully (1 Cor. 13:12)
    • Deeper knowledge à deeper love
      • Including loving ourselves as an extension of knowing God’s great love for us (Mark 12:31)
    • We are to love others in ways that fit who they are
      • ) "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov. 22:6)
        • Literally, “Train up a child in his way”: a way that fits that child
      • Which means loving in a way that the receiver can understand
        • It is about speaking their language

Love Languages

• There are 5 love languages that are generally recognized
  • “The 5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman

• Words of Affirmation
• Quality Time
• Gifts
• Acts of Service
• Physical Touch
• 6^th language?

• We all give and receive love in each of these ways
  • However, some forms are more effective for certain individuals than others
• The key is to know the languages that best speak to you and to others to love well
• A word on “dialects”

So What?

• We will spend the next 6 weeks looking at each of these languages so that we might understand:
  • How God shows love to us in each way
  • How we can love one another in each way
  • And how we can love our community in each way
• Are we ready to learn how to love well?

Meditation Verse: John 13:34-35

Nehemiah: Rebuilding A Community
The Big “So What?”

Nehemiah Recap

Prayerful & Thankful

• Throughout Nehemiah there is a focus on prayer
  • Direction (1:4, 11)
  • Wisdom (2:4; 5:7)
  • Protection (4:9)
  • Remembrance (5:19; 6:14; 13:14, 22b, 29, 31b)
  • Praise (9:5b; 11:17; 12:8, 24, 27, 31, 38, 40, 46)

Centered in the Word

• The Israelites under Nehemiah were continually returning to God’s word for instruction (8:1-3, 7-9, 13-14, 18; 9:3; 10:28, 34, 36; 12:44; 13:3)
• Their response was immediate obedience (5:12; 9:38; 13:3)
  • Even sacrificially (5:14-18; 10:32)
• Thus their work and lives were constantly being informed by God’s truth
  • Not mere human opinion

Need Driven

• Nehemiah and the people saw needs and desired to be a part of meeting them
• God gave one person a vision that was cast and shared with the faith community
• The end result was to turn the whole community to God in worship (12:43)

Partnered with the Community

• Everyone got involved
  • Not divided by background, age, or geography (3:22; 12:28)
• Did not differentiate between secular & sacred
  • The wall was as integral as the Temple
• Awareness of temptation to compromise
  • Not conformity
    • Sabbath-keeping, intermarriage, etc.
  • Set apart, but not live apart

The Big ‘So What?’

• Questions this raises for us
• Are we being prayerful?
  • Both individually and corporately
  • How can we make pray and thanksgiving more central to who we are as a church?
• Are we staying centered in the Word?
  • Are we testing everything against Scripture?
  • Are we going deeper together?
• Are we looking to meet needs in our community?
  • It shows Christ-like love, and thus fulfills the Great Commandment (Luke 10:27)
  • It gives us the right to be heard by our neighbors
    • Thus helping us fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20)
    • “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” –Teddy Roosevelt
  • Are we partnering with our community?
    • Collaborating where we can
    • While not compromising who we are called to be

Meditation Verse: Matthew 5:16