365 Sermon Illustrations on Love

One of the most pathetic scenes in history is the execution of Sir Thomas Moore. As he was passing between soldiers from his cell in the tower to the beheading block in the court, a woman was seen to rush from the crowd, and as the soldiers saw her sad face, they instinctively parted, and let her pass through. Hanging upon the neck of the condemned man, she could simply cry with the tears, "My father, my father."

After several minutes of affectionate embrace she tore herself away, and started out of the court, but soon dashed back, and hung again upon the neck of her beloved father. The rough soldiers stood silent and wept. Everybody felt that such a demonstration of love was appropriate, that there was no fanaticism in it. It was just how an affectionate daughter ought to feel towards her beloved but now disgraced father.

And if such enthusiasm of love may exist towards an earthly father how much greater the enthusiasm toward the Father in Heaven, who gave his only begotten Son that we may be saved from death, and toward the Son who sacrificed himself for us.

(Compare story of Rizpath, daughter of Aiah, who kept the birds from her executed sons.)

Judge Joseph Wapner, of "People's Court" and a Jew, finds that many American legal principles go back to the Bible, especially the book of Leviticus.

19:13 Fair Employment laws.

19:14 Concern for handicapped.

19:15 Evenhanded justice (rare in ancient world, and even rare today).

Comparison made with King John of England, who was so cruel and

arbitrary his nobles forced him to sign the Magna Carta.

Trial by jury prefigured in this verse.

19:16 Slander.

25:37 Unfair interest.

19:19 Do not deal falsely. Officer said he clocked car going 60, man said it

couldn't go over 30. Wapner drove car. Bad transmission, wouldn't

go over 35. Declared "not guilty."

19:18 Love neighbor as yourself. Jesus repeated this. Many people do not,

and sue at the drop of a hat. Divorces.

"I see the links between families, friends and neighbors dissolving. Silly quarrels that shouldn't last five minutes get into state courts. Neighbors arguing over a spare parking space have to get a judge to settle the matter; children need a court to patch up arguments with their parents. Men, women and children are alone. Without the healing power of love, we are becoming a nation of lonely people. Neither the law nor a thousand judges can retie the bonds between people. Each person will have to start doing that himself. And I know a good place to start - with Leviticus 19:18: Love thy neighbor as thyself."

#460

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Allyson had an adoptive brother, Brad. Very close. In college he found out he had a natural sister. He called his mother, who was subdued, and she told "Lally" about his "real" sister. This ticked her off. Brad brought sister home. Grandpa had taught Allyson to trust God when facing things that were too big, and she did. She pushed Brad's sister in pool to make her feel accepted. Brad told her in private, "Lally, she can't take one minute of what we have 'cause we spent a lifetime getting there."

#518

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"Revenge."

1. Revenge fantasies inhibit constructive action.

2. They can perpetuate difficult relationships.

3. They can harm successful relationships.

4. Revenge fantasies only stifle anger for a while.

5. Rage can hurt innocent bystanders.

Some of worst revenge fantasies involve unrequited love.

Revenge fantasies can be channeled into organizations that seek justice rather than vengeance - MADD, Missing Children groups, etc.

#563

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Events to raise money for the poor are popular now. Christians have been doing it for centuries. One person can make a difference.

Pascal was a university professor who was thrown into prison in Madagascar after a Marxist coup. There he became a Christian. When he was released he started a small export company, but returned to prison to preach. On one visit he saw fifty corpses and was told there was an epidemic going on. Instead of an epidemic it turned out to be malnutrition. Pascal tried to get others to help and ended up cooking meals in his own kitchen for the prison. "Without benefit of a government agency or even a theme song, this little platoon makes all the difference for seven hundred prisoners in Madagascar."

________

Colson met Pascal in Nairobi, Kenya, at a Prison Fellowship International conference. The above is taken from "Kingdoms in Conflict."

One person can make a difference. Colson calls them, "little platoons."

Frieda Weststeyn, in the course of her volunteer work in a California prison, noticed the number of pregnant inmates in the visiting room. Curious, she asked how the women would care for their babies. The answer jolted her. Most of the children would go into foster homes, be put up for adoption, or farmed out to the inmates' families. The mothers would rarely, if ever, see their babies once they were born.

Frieda went home, talked with her husband, prayed, and decided to do something practical to help these imprisoned mothers. Soon she was caring for five babies in her own home. (The state, which had no such program of its own, did enter at that point - ironically - to restrict Frieda to care for only three children at a time.) She kept Ryan (2 mo), Amber (8 mo), and Petey (17 mo). Three days a week she takes them to see their mothers in prison.

"I stepped out in faith," Frieda says. "I had no money to jump into a full-fledged ministry, but I knew this was a need I could help with."

NBC news featured her in 1986 and the government gives her milk products. Many have sent donations.

________

The above is taken from "Kingdoms in Conflict."

Man sits next to good-looking woman on airplane, makes moves on her. She unexpectedly pulled out a Bible and read him verses on salvation. Upon landing at Philadelphia airport, Campolo saw them bowed in prayer as man accepted Christ as his Savior.

[see sermon for different layout]

Mothers' Day sermon in Romans series.

1. Human love.

2. Love in Romans 12.

a. Sincere.

b. Choice.

c. Limits.

3. Spiritual love.

4. Love and relationships.

a. Revenge and "coals of fire".

b. Overcome evil with good.

#881

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Anyone can love their own (though often we don't), but Christian love does not have limits. We can even love our enemies. Christian love involves both actions and feelings.

Written by a third grade girl:

"A Grandmother is a lady who has no children of her own, so she likes other peoples' little girls. A grandfather is a man grandmother. He goes for walks with the boys and they talk about fishing and things like that. Grandmas don't have anything to do except be there. It is enough. If they take us for walks, they should slow down past pretty leaves and caterpillars. They should never say, "Hurry up!" Usually they are fat but not too fat to tie kids' shoes. They wear funny glasses and funny underwear. They can take their teeth and gums off. They don't have to be smart - only answer questions like why dogs hate cats and how come God isn't married. When they read to us they don't skip or mind if it is the same story again. Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because grandmas are the only grownups who have time."

Discusses lifestyle evangelism. We must earn the right to speak to people

about spiritual things. We are imperfect vessels but God can still use us.

*1197

In January of 1982, Air Florida's flight 90 crashed into the Potomac River. Initially six people survived the crash; they were seen in the water, clinging to the tail section of the airplane. A helicopter was brought in and hovered over the survivors, lowering a lifeline and flotation ring.

The craft could only handle one person at a time. Each time the helicopter returned and lowered the line, one of those in the water -- a man described as balding, probably in his 50's, and with an extravagant mustache -- passed the line on to one of the others in the water with him. (We later learned that this man's name was Arland Williams.)

When the other five had been rescued and the chopper returned for him, the man had gone under the water, another victim of the crash. One of the rescuers in the helicopter later said, "In a mass casualty, you'll find people like him. But I've never seen one with the commitment."

The man in the water could not have anticipated this tragedy, nor the role he would play in it, but there must have been some earlier commitments in his life -- to such things as caring and selflessness -- that equipped him to keep passing the lifeline to others when his own terror had to be crying out for him to cling to the line himself.

Garrison Keillor talks about his grandmother dying in Lake Wobegon’s hospital. She was shown love but the people were not profound; instead, they sat around talking about cars and farm combines. “I can forgive them for wanting to get back onto familiar ground. Sumus quod sumus. [We are what we are.] She was eighty-two. Her life was in all of us in the room. Nobody needed to be told that, except me, and now I’ve told myself.”

Our culture confuses love with romance (or even more basic drives).

1) Movies and songs glorify romantic love.

2) On way to mission conference, two of the most spiritual women

in our church (who shall remain unnamed) admitted they watch

soap operas.

I doubt a single episode of any of them forgets to put in a

steamy romantic love scene.

3) Personal experiences.

Autumn, 1978.

Crowded lunchroom at my seminary.

I didn't realize a Sunday School convention was being held.

I wasn't even supposed to be in line.

I sat down at the only empty space at a table.

One young lady sat across from me.

She had on a Jolly Green Giant green dress and green leotards.

Not love at first sight, but I was desperate for a date.

I forgot her name, so had to pull some strings down at the

registration office.

I called up Celeste Triehy (with my light conversation written

down word-for-word on paper) and set up a time to visit her.

When I arrived, she had forgotten who I was.

God works in mysterious ways!

1 John 4:7-10 portrays the beauty and vulnerability of love. Jesus gave us who he was without needing anything at all from us in return. Most who received him wanted him to be something he was not. Most people are afraid to offer themselves to others in true love. We hide behind masks.

1. Fleeing fear by performing.

2. Fleeing fear by manipulating.

3. Fleeing fear by controlling.

Conquering fear.

Fear is conquered through repentance. "We must first have a biblical understanding of sin. Sin is more than just a behavior or thought that does not line up with the law. Sin, according to the Scriptures, is denying our dependency on God for life and turning to walk in a direction where we ourselves have taken responsibility for finding life separately from Him."

Repentance, then, requires admitting that the whole natural direction of our lives is away from God. The heart of Jesus offers us safe haven.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will

certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of

keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.

Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all

entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

But in the casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will

not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.... The

only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the

dangers ... of love is Hell."

-- C. S. Lewis

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[see note at bottom]

To be young, wealthy and in love - all in the third century. And to be a Christian. Such was young Valentine. He would consummate his great love by taking her as his bride. Soon he would be wed.

But his pleasurable, orderly world came crashing down around him when the Roman emperor declared all Christians illegal citizens and guilty of treason. All they had to do was say, "Caesar is Lord!" But all they'd say was, "No, Jesus is Lord!" Rather than deny Christ, young Valentine was arrested in the crackdown.

In jail, awaiting execution in the arena, he wrote love letters to his girlfriend. Beautiful, passionate letters assuring her of his great love for her. But theirs would be a love not lived out. Arms never entwined in the embrace of husband and wife. On February 14, 269, young Valentine was put to death, martyred for Jesus Christ.

Since then, Christians have celebrated his fidelity to Christ and romantic love on the 14th of February by sending our own love letters to special people. And as we do so this year, let us, too, resolve to live for Christ unashamedly.

Let us recall that still in our lives, as with young Valentine, there will be unfairness, unfulfilled longings, loneliness, and yet, love. Love more powerful than a tyrant's sword, more lasting than the centuries.

For in Christ and in heaven we shall love God and one another for all eternity. And nothing can stop us.

________

Details in this article are probably incorrect (Valentine was a bishop, not a boyfriend); more accurate versions can be found at HolwickID #20321

If musicians are the popular philosophers of our time, as Ravi Zacharias has observed, perhaps they are also our psychologists. The message is hopelessness, confusion, and cynicism. The diagnosis is similar....

G. K. Chesterton once noted that people who are in love have a natural inclination to bind themselves by promises. One only has to listen to a few love songs to see this truth in human nature; we find a constant flow of promising and vowing. But think about this for a moment because we also find countless melodies reveling in casual love and promiscuity. Isn't this natural instinct “to bind” remarkably incongruous with a world dancing to the philosophy of “boundlessness” in the pursuit of pleasure?

At the risk of sounding dramatic, the diagnosis for love is understandably a message of confusion! The boundless pursuit of pleasure bombards the senses in every direction, while the natural desire to find love worthy of promise remains a contradicting cry of the heart. The idea of “true love” is met with cynicism — a concept left for Hollywood.

The Song of Solomon is the book of the Bible that speaks most explicitly about human love, with words far-reaching into the heart and heartache of this current day. In one powerful verse the bride declares to her bridegroom: “Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart. For love is as strong as death; its passion as fierce as the grave.” (Song of Solomon 8:6)

Love and passion — in and of themselves — impel us to place that seal upon our hearts, to bind ourselves to one another. Pleasure was created to be enjoyed with boundaries. This is not a Christian rule meant to be followed simply because it is a good thing to do; some moral virtue we ought to follow. Like Christianity itself, it is good because it is first true. Love is as strong as death. As Ravi Zacharias has noted, when you honor the sanctity of love, the person is exalted and pleasure ensues. But when you seek pleasure for its own sake, it is the person you profane and weariness which ensues. Promiscuity empties pleasure of the meaning for which it was created.

The cry of the human heart for love will not fall silent until it has found that for which it ultimately searches. Where meaning in life is answered, sanctity in love is exemplified and found fulfilling.

In love and by his death, Jesus Christ seeks to bind himself eternally to you. In the presence of that passionate truth I leave you with the words of a love song written by the eighteenth-century hymnist Robert Robinson.

O to Grace, how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.

Prone to wander Lord, I feel it — prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. [1]

May this be the vow that guides our hearts to love well.

____________

1. Robert Robinson, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, written 1758.

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Copyright © 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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Another version from 2005:

If musicians are the popular philosophers of our time, as many have observed, perhaps they are also our psychologists. The message of the musicians is hopelessness, confusion, and cynicism. The diagnosis is similar.

G.K. Chesterton once noted that people who are in love have a natural inclination to bind themselves by promises. One only has to listen to a few love songs to see this truth in human nature; we find a constant flow of promising and vowing. Yet we also find countless melodies reveling in casual love and promiscuity. But isn't this natural instinct to bind oneself with promises remarkably incongruous with a world dancing to the philosophy of boundlessness in the pursuit of pleasure?

The diagnosis for love is understandably a message of confusion. The boundless pursuit of pleasure bombards the senses in every direction, while the natural desire to find a love worthy of promise remains a contradictory cry of the heart. The idea of true love is met with cynicism — a concept left for Hollywood.

The Song of Songs is the book of the Bible that speaks most explicitly about human love, with words far-reaching into the heart and heartache of this current day. In one powerful verse the bride declares to her bridegroom: “Set me as a seal upon your arm, as a seal upon your heart. For love is as strong as death; its passion as fierce as the grave” (Song of Songs 8:6).

Love and passion impel us to place that seal upon our hearts, to bind ourselves to one another. The sheer fierceness of its nature calls for careful boundaries. Yet this is not a verdict meant to be followed simply because it is a good thing to do, a moral virtue we ought to follow. Like Christianity itself, it is good because it is first true: Love is as strong as death. Like all of the deepest questions of life, love is something to be reckoned with. As Ravi Zacharias notes, when you honor the sanctity of love, the person is exalted and pleasure ensues. But when you seek pleasure for its own sake, it is the person you profane and weariness that ensues. Promiscuity empties pleasure of the meaning for which it was created. There is more to life than pleasure itself; there must be a context for it.

The cry of the human heart for love will not fall silent until it has found that for which it ultimately searches. In the same place where the lingering questions of the meaning of life and the fierceness of the grave are answered coherently, sanctity in love is exemplified and found fulfilling. The remedy is comprehensive.

In his love and by his death, Jesus Christ seeks to bind himself eternally to your heart. At this inexplicable truth, the heartfelt response of the hymnist comes to mind:

O to Grace, how great a debtor,

daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.

Prone to wander Lord, I feel it —

prone to leave the God I love.

Here's my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.

May this be the vow that guides our hearts to love well.

________

Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #343]

Sermon series on Old Testament Heroes. (Ruth)

Ruth 1:16-17

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GOD'S KIND OF LOVE STORY

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I. Love stories have always been popular.

II. The romance's shaky start.

A. Mahlon sinned by marrying Ruth. Ezra 9 & 10, Nehemiah 13

B. Naomi's tragedy: death of husband and sons. 1:5

III. Love between Ruth and Naomi.

A. Two widows had little to offer each other but love.

B. Ruth's commitment: 1:16-17

C. Further, she commits herself to Naomi's God. 1:16-17

IV. Love between Ruth and Boaz. 2:1 ff

A. Gleaning leads to a relationship.

B. Kinsman-Redeemer. 3:1 ff

V. God's love for them is shown throughout.

A. God is concerned for poor and outcasts.

B. God accepts aliens. Acts 10:34-35

C. From Ruth, God brings the greatest king, and the Messiah (Jesus).

The great Orthodox preacher John Chrysostom (c. 347-407), although an unmarried priest, gave great advice for married couples:

We should love our wives not so much for their sake, as for Christ's sake.

What if you devote the day to your work and your friends, and the evening to your wife; but she is still not satisfied, but is jealous for more of your time? Don't be annoyed by her complaints; she loves you, she is not behaving absurdly - her complaints come from her fervent affection for you.

A wife should never nag her husband: "You lazy coward, you have no ambition! Look at our relatives and neighbors; they have plenty of money. Their wives have far more than I do." Let no wife say any such thing. "But why should she endure poverty?" some will ask. If she is poor, let her console herself by thinking of those who are much poorer still. If she really loved her husband, she would never speak to him like that, but would value having him close to her more than all the gold in the world. Her husband must never exercise his authority by insulting and abusing her. Instead, he should show true nobility of spirit, and patiently remind her that in the wisdom of heaven, poverty is no evil. Then she will stop complaining.

Remove from you lives shameful, immodest, and Satanic music, and don't associate with people who enjoy such profligate entertainment.

It never profits anyone to talk too much. Whenever you give your wife advice, always begin by telling her how much you love her. Nothing will persuade her so well to admit the wisdom of your words as her assurance that you are speaking to her with sincere affection.

Show her that you value her company, and prefer being at home to being out. Esteem her in the presence of your friends and children. Praise and show admiration for her good acts; and if she ever does anything foolish, advise her patiently.

Pray together at home and go to church; when you come back home, let each ask the other the meaning of the [Scripture] readings and prayers.

Finally, never call her by her name alone, but with terms of endearment, honor, and love. If you honor her, she won't need honor from others; she won't desire praise from others if she enjoys the praise that comes from you. Prefer her before all others, both for her beauty and her discernment, and praise her.

What sort of person do you think the children of such parents will be? Will they not eventually be the recipients of countless blessings as well? For generally the children acquire the character of their parents, are formed in the mold of their parent's love, talk in the same fashion, and work for the same ends. If we order our lives in this way and diligently study the Scriptures, we will find lessons to guide us in everything we need!

"A good marriage is the union of two forgivers."

Ruth Bell Graham

Cited in The Best of BITS & PIECES

______________________________

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."

Mignon McLaughlin

Cited in BITS & PIECES

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A humanistic perspective on free will vs. determinism:

When we make a choice, such as whom we will marry, are we exercising free will? For most people with a philosophical inclination, the possible answers to the problem of free will are limited. If one has decided that there are supernatural powers, free will is generally regarded as having been granted by a supreme being and the question is settled. If one decides that there are no supernatural powers, one must look to naturalistic solutions to the question of free will.

Science is based on cause and effect, and if one is logically rigorous, one must come to the logical conclusion that there is no such thing as human free will, since all events are determined. Traditionally, there is no satisfactory way out of this dilemma.

(Authors' solution is to see human mind using fuzzy logic, where we distill past experiences and produce preferences. Some flow charts are given for illustration.) The definition of "LOVE" and other human emotions is given this way:

"Love is a human attribute. It arises out of a specific arrangement of

matter and energy. The fact that the universe is deterministic in no way

nullifies that fact that complex attributes can arise out of complex

physical systems, and humans give those attributes word labels, such as

love, hate, fear, anxiety, aggression and free will.")

Free will is the human capability of implementing a preference which is the result of the conscious brain's interpretation of a chaotic environment (in the scientific sense) using decision processes described by fuzzy logic (in the mathematical sense). The fact that the universe is deterministic or strictly dictated by cause and effect does not negate the fact that humans cut their way through the fuzzy, chaotic world to make their power and preferences known, both to themselves and others.

My neighbor, an arrogant and wealthy businessman, scorned the church for

many years. Whenever church members phoned him, he would criticize them: "You

church people are only interested in my money. You don't care for me; you

only care about my pocketbook." But then he became ill and was paralyzed.

When I went to visit him, to my utter surprise his entire room looked like a

flower shop, and cards were posted everywhere on the wall. The flowers and

cards came from church members whom he so disdained for many years. Posted on

the wall, facing his bed, was a big sheet of paper with these words on it: "I

was wrong. The church does care." Later he became a Christian, all because

of the church's willingness to risk loving vulnerability.

[see #4056 for main article]

#4057

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Sermon in 1 Peter series. Spiritual Gifts and Love. 1 Peter 4:7-11

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YOU ARE GIFTED

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I. Honor Student.

II. The end is near! 4:7

A. The motivation of the Second Coming.

B. Live like Jesus is just around the corner.

III. Love deeply. 4:8

A. We should be more outward than inward.

B. Love covers a multitude of sins.

C. Practical love: hospitality. 4:9

IV. Everyone has something to offer.

A. Spiritual gifts.

B. Received from God. 4:10

C. Purpose is to serve others.

V. Two key gifts.

A. The gift of speaking. 4:11

B. Serving, with God's strength.

C. What is your gift?

D. Refusing to exercise gifts.

VI. Goal is that God be praised in everything.

A. To him be glory.

B. Does your life bring glory to God?

Sermon in Philippians series. How Wide Is Your Love? Philippians 1:7-11

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LOVE LIKE JESUS

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I. Who is in your heart?

II. Christian love is not supposed to be one way street.

A. Paul wants them to love him back.

B. Abounding love.

C. God's love includes all people.

D. How wide is your love?

III. Knowledgable love.

A. Love isn't mindless.

B. Don't allow your heart to rule your head.

IV. Love of deep insight.

A. How much insight do you have concerning your heart?

B. Love may be blind, but agape has 20/20 vision.

V. Discernment and purity.

A. Discern what is best.

B. Morality matters.

C. Bring glory to God.