“All Things New”
April 27th, 2008We have talked about reasons not to be a Christian. But, despite all of them, there is a very compelling to be a Christian. God is love. And because God has first 
loved us, we are able to love one another. It is through God’s love that we know life. No matter how many times we screw it up, God’s love is constant. And therein lies our hope.
1 John 4:7-21
1. I remember back in the days when I was a little league coach how challenging it was sometimes to teach kids some of the fundamentals of playing baseball.
A. Most of the time – kids were open to learning how to do things, and really enjoyed seeing how their game would improve.
B. One kid, in particular, absolutely refused to listen to any guidance about fielding a ground ball. He was stubborn as a mule
C. “I can do it!”
D. Back and forth we would go. One day, when the game started – he was on the bench.
E. The next time we had practice, he asked if we could work on fielding ground balls for a while…
F. O.k., perhaps some of you have guessed that I took some poetic license with that story. It is true – but, I wasn’t the coach, I was the kid.
G. One of the most difficult things for me when I was a kid was admitting that I needed help – I have made some improvement as an adult.
H. But, it is a fact of life that we all must face at one point or another; there are some things that we simply cannot do on our own.
2. When John wrote his letter to the church, it was a difficult time. Near the end of the first century, a full two generations from Jesus death and resurrection.
A. The great evangelists had done much of their work in spreading the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
B. But, there were still some birthing pangs associated with going from a grassroots movement of close-knit followers of Jesus Christ (who all knew him personally) to becoming a church, full of disciples who have come to believe based on the testimony of others.
C. Complications – there was not one set of doctrines that defined orthodoxy. Often times, Christianity was identified by what it was not just as much as what it was.
D. Life of Brian – “We are people of the gourd. We are people of the shoe.” Everyone saw part of the picture, but no one saw the whole
E. Docetism – Jesus was spirit. His flesh was an illusion. An early form of Gnosticism.
F. In such a situation, people wondered “how do we distinguish the right way?”
3. John’s letter is an effort to answer that question. And his answer is a great lesson for the church – in his time, and in ours.
A. 1 John 4:7-12.
B. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
C. What does John mean when he says the word “love.” There were four loves.
1) Storge – affection (family)
2) Phileo – friendship
3) Eros – romantic love
4) Agape – to unconditionally hold in high regard. By, its very nature cannot remain hidden. Agape is a love of intention, a choice of will, not an affectation of emotion.
D. Remember this – God has done for us what we cannot do on our own, because he chose to.
E. God’s love – revealed in Jesus. This is messy, because we are undeserving, etc.
4. We have been talking for the past few weeks about “Three Good Reasons Not to be a Christian.” They are legitimate reasons. The church has failed to live up to the vision of the kingdom of God many times in its history.
A. But, here’s the thing. There are very compelling reasons to be a Christian that we should acknowledge.
B. First – 1 John 4:7 – “love comes from God.” If we want to live lives that know love, we must know the source of love – God.
C. 1 John 7:9-10.
D. Many of you are familiar with the story of Father Damien, a catholic priest in Hawaii in the middle of the 19th century.
E. In the kingdom of Hawaii, traders had brought to the islands diseases that had not been present. One was leprosy (known today as Hansen’s Disease).
F. Highly contagious, King Kamehameha V isolated the victims of this disease on the northern portion of the island of Molokai.
G. In 1873, Father Damien began a ministry to the over 800 outcasts on the island.
H. Because he has first loved us, we can love others. Even when it is messy.
I. 1 John 4:13-16. God has sent us his spirit. Not what we have done, but what he as done for us.
J. We are not alone.
5. And finally – 1 John 4:18 – “perfect love casts out fear.” We need not interact with the world out a position of fear.
A. Confession to make. I have struggled with this series (who wouldn’t). But, I think it is important to examine our own behavior.
B. I really wanted to “wow” everyone with this deep, intellectual, persuasive argument.
C. Thursday at Corran’s spring program, older kids sang a song. God is love. God is love, all ye little children, serve God. God is love.”
D. And it hit me – that’s it. Why be a Christian? Because God is love, and those that know God, know love.
E. And because He loved us, we are able to love others in His name.
F. It’s not that complicated. It is not some great mystery. It is as simple as a children’s song, and as powerful as the promise in John’s letter.
G. God is love. God is love. And no matter how many times we screw that up, the truth will always remain – God is love. Amen.
Sermon delivered 4/27/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church, Anaheim Hills.
