True love makes us look more like Christ, and it is the key to living like children of God.
1. Thesis: True love makes us look more like Christ, and it is the key to living like children of God.
Major Point 1: God’s love empowers us to live differently.
A. 1 John 3:1-3 explains that we are children of God, and that we should strive to be like him.
B. We can only do this through the power of God’s love, which changes our hearts and minds and allows us to live in a way that is pleasing to him (Romans 5:5).
Major Point 2: Love for one another is essential to living like a child of God.
A. 1 John 3:11-16 teaches us that we must love one another in order to demonstrate that we are truly children of God.
B. God’s love for us should motivate us to love one another, even those we don’t naturally want to love (John 15:12-13).
Major Point 3: Love is a sign of maturity in our faith.
A. 1 John 3:17-18 tells us that our love for others is a sign of maturity in our faith.
B. When we love others, we show that we are growing in our faith and that our love for God is increasing (1 John 4:20-21).
Conclusion and Application:
True love is the key to living like children of God. We can only live in this way through the power of God’s love, which changes our hearts and minds and allows us to love one another. Our love for others is a sign of maturity in our faith, and it is a powerful witness of the grace of God in our lives. Let us strive to show the love of God to those around us and in turn, grow into more mature disciples of Christ.
Closing prayer:
God, please enable me to be a true child of yours. I want to love like you do. I want to be free from everything that keeps me from you and all types of interference that this world brings. I want to have a mind of Christ. God I don’t want to continually sin, I want to continually live for you, please take over my life as I surrender it to you. As a body let us support, love, and pray for each other and may your will be done in all of our lives. We ask all of this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Amen.