—Psalm 103:8, 13-14, 17-18, NRSV, God's Will For Our Lives: Galatians 5:13-26, Hymn of Dedication: "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" #545, God Speaks Through His Word and Spirit You are missing the core component if you don't have this love. The church can be abandoned. There are all sorts of wild and weird images of beasts, dragons, angels and plagues. For he knows how we were made; This is the love that captures your heart and colors every moment of every day. We can so easily develop issues between one another. he remembers that we are dust. We are going to turn to this book because it is Jesus' last word to the church. Unitarian Universalist Association So Jesus says "get on with it now;" Repent. You can imagine some of pressures that the people would face trying to be Christians. It attracts and frightens us at the same time. for your love is more delightful than wine. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Jeremiah 2 says, "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness… Can a girl forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? First a little bit more about first love. So how do we turn this around? Only Jesus makes this kind of love possible. This is really where it begins. We are called to practice the love of 1 Corinthians 13. First: we "do." What will true community look like? All of us know there will be times of frustration working in the church and in God's kingdom. We work hard on programs and projects that we think are important. H. Allon, Sermons at the Dedication of Union Chapel, Islington, p. 175. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;there is no end to his greatness. "Do the works you did at first.". that you might use them for your purpose. But something was wrong. It's powerful, scary, and yet inspiring. You asked for my eyes Sermons at the Dedication of Union Chapel, Islington. It energizes me. Jesus is not simply being critical; Jesus is ready to help us to be better Christians, better churches. When this happens we think to ourselves things like: If this church were only more traditional it would be better. "I've Come to Tell" #250. This kind of love defines the church. Then comes the second thing: Repent. The minister does not speak in his own name, or work in his own strength. I think we deal with some of the same issues today. This vision brings hope and excitement into my life. Closing Hymn: "Let All Things Now Living" #453. The letters are directed to the angel of each church. I know you've been faced with false teachers and you have found them out. Nicolas might have been an early deacon who taught that idolatry was ok, possibly immorality too. If this love doesn't exist, can a church even be a living church? To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. You've talked to them, you tested them. No wonder the young women love you! What will cities look like? to speak out against injustice. (Worship Sourcebook, Faith Alive Christian Resources), Words of Assurance What would that kind of company be like; how will it be organized where service to people and care for the environment and love for Jesus comes first? We say things we shouldn't, we do things we shouldn't; we miscalculate. If you'd like to submit a sermon to WorshipWeb, please select sermons that could be delivered in any UU setting, for nearly any time of the year. The temple was the most sacred of the temples in the Mediterranean world. So around (probably) 95 AD this book was written to encourage the believers. They had small groups. I. What would Jesus say about our church? We can have great programs, we can have great services, we can have great insights, but if we have not love we are nothing. Today we look at the church in Ephesus. Slowly we become resentful. So what does Jesus think? There is going to be a showdown between God and Satan, between good and evil so hang in there. The crowning achievement of King Solomon's reign was the erection of the magnificent Temple (Hebrew- Beit haMikdash) in the capital city of ancient Israel - Jerusalem.His father, King David, had wanted to build the great Temple a generation earlier, as a permanent resting place for the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Ten Commandments. It's like we get to read over the shoulder. Prayer for Illumination, We Respond and his righteousness to children's children, Or if this church was more relevant it would be better. Second: Very promising, Jesus says, "Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. and only with those who make it easy to do so. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. How wonderful it will be when the Holy Spirit, who has already been given to us as a deposit for what is to come, changes us into the people God means us to be. That love is best described in 1 Corinthians 13 where Paul writes: "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. You fulfill your calling in many ways as you dedicate your life to the service of God. We can let things go, and we can work with a lighter hearts. (617) 742-2100 | info@uua.org. Privacy Policy. The teacher went on describing how Christ's love touches all of life. There's war between heaven and earth. "I know your hard work, your patient endurance." We let go of the joy and the connection to Jesus. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from Can we even do it? In the meantime, you discover gifts and things about yourself you never knew before. Jeremiah pictures God as a lover who has been spurned. Includes case studies, songs, and more. Our vision of the church in our mind becomes more important than our love for Jesus and our love for fellow church members. In the church we can easily lose that first love. So resume. The street was edged with marble pillars some of which still stand today. You get involved in things where you know you can help and where you see the needs. At the time Revelation was written, the cult of emperor worship was growing in Rome. Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number." that I might take seriously may you know the hope to which God has called you, Our allegiance belongs to Jesus, the head of the church who has made room for us and is bringing all things together for us. It was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. He sought out people to preach to; he had a love for the people of Israel who were as sheep without a shepherd. John Pasma, Edmonton, Alberta. Two years later, 1889, we were able to identify "mycoplasmas", a transmissible agent, that is now found at the heart of human diseases, including (AIDS) HIV. Lord, forgive my calculated efforts to serve you— We each have our own responsibility to put it into practice in our lives and in our church. In this first letter to the seven churches, Jesus zeroes in on the first love the people had for God and for his church. What will I look like? only in those places where it is safe to do so, I gave them for a moment, then withdrew them, He says, "You have abandoned the love you had at first"--the love that caused you to drop everything and to follow me into the desert. Jesus gives us the answer: "Remember then from what you have fallen; Repent; and do the things you did at first." In chapters 2 and 3 Jesus himself addresses seven churches in Asia Minor (Turkey). Or sometimes our work in the church makes us resentful and we build barriers. That gave me an exciting picture as I began to envision the city I lived in reflecting Jesus' love. Or another verse from John 16 reads, "Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. I gave a small part that I might not get too involved. You get a sense of this love in other parts of the Bible too. Take me away with you—let us hurry! The Great Tribulation: Part 4 of The Coming Tribulation: a History of the Apocalypse. And already now we are to work at this. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. to see the pain of poverty. Parting Blessing And that's why they hated the Nicolaitans. He becomes so resentful of his younger brother who discovers what he lost. to those who keep his covenant You asked for my mouth Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; We see that first love in Jesus. God is going to win. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord:Let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Ephesus was a bustling commercial center of western Asia when the church was founded there around 60 AD. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Every church shares characteristics of what goes on in them. He calls on John to write to the churches—Jesus has some messages for them. Next › 2039 › Train Up A Child A Christian Guide To Help Fight Against Bullying Experience an exotic holiday to India with the beautiful architectural gems combined with the extravagant camel fair of Pushkar. Amen. So we are called to focus not on our hurts, not on whatever it is that has sapped away our love; we are called to walk with Jesus, to journey with him, to let his presence and his vision and his work fill us with all sorts of excitement and energy. The Song of Solomon celebrates the love between a man and a woman. He would not put up with hypocrisy. What will the Alberta Tar Sands look like when they are developed from a 1 Corinthians 13 perspective? And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien. For more information contact worshipweb@uua.org.