11am Service 16 August 2020
Dear GCBC Parents:
Jason will be preaching on love from 1 John 4:7-21 this Sunday, and again I have laid out the verses for the children to find important words. There are also four digging deeper verses describing love between believers in the church.
I pray, Lord, help us parents know you better through your Word and love one another as you call us to love. Help us, Father, teach this well to our children. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless,
Mandy
Sunday, 16th August Links:
Write out 1 John 4:7-21 in large print on a piece of paper or print out the Digging Deeper worksheet
- Circle “God” and the word “love” every time you see them below
- Connect “God’ to “love” with a line where the passage talks about God’s love. How many are there?
1John 4:7-21 – “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us.Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.”
What do the following verses tell us about love as Christians?
John 13:34-35 – [Jesus said] “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.””
Colossians 3:14 – “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”
Matthew 22:37-39 – “Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
Ephesians 5:2 – “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
Family Links –
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- Bible Project video defining Agape/Love (click on “Agape/Love” once you follow this link – https://bibleproject.com/explore/the-advent-series/
- RightNow Media suggestion – Phil Vischer’s series on “1 John – What is a Christian?”