Good Words from God’s Word
 
The Bible says, “Little children, let us not love with word of with tongue, but in deed and in truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him” (1 John 3: 18-19). Loving others is something that little children do very well. Here are ten different ways children look at love:
 

• If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long (Glenn, age 7).
• Love is like and avalanche where you have to run for your life (John, age 9).
• I think you have to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it is not that painful (Manuel, age 8).
• No one is sure how it happens, but I think it has to do with the way you smell. That’s the reason perfume and deodorant is so popular (Mae, age 9).
• Love is the most important thing in the world other than baseball (Greg, age 8).
• Once I’m done with kindergarten, I’ll find me a wife (Tom, age 5).
• My mother tells me to look for a man who is kind. That’s what I’ll do, one who is kinda tall and kinda good looking (Carolyn, age 8).
• One of you needs to know how to write a check, because even if you have a lot of love, there is going to be a whole lot of bills (Ava, age 8).
• Never kiss in front of other people. It’s embarrassing. But if nobody sees you, it’s worth trying with a handsome boy. But, only for a few hours (Kelly, age 9).
• Being single is best…for the simple reason that I wouldn’t want to change no diapers. If I did get married, I’d figure something out. I’d invite mom to come over for some coffee and diaper changing (Kirsten, age 10).

 
John may be saying to all of us that children love better than we do. Children have to be taught how not to love. They love innocently. They love completely. They love without reservation. That’s why the Bible first calls us “Children” before it tells us how we should love others. Put a picture of a children before you and then love someone like a child would love that person.
 
There is so much that children can teach us to do. Children teach us about faith. Children teach us how to obey. And here, children teach us about the depth of love. No wonder Jesus said, “Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). When it comes to love, learn how to by watching the way children practice the art.

Good Words from God’s Word
 
Today we celebrate the completion of preaching our way through the New Testament. As you may recall, we began our Walk Through the Bible Series on September 14th, 2014. Wow, that is 84 weeks ago. We have had special Sundays interrupt the schedule due to holidays, vacations and special events, but today we celebrate getting to the book of Revelation. With today’s sermon, we have completed preaching all the way through the New Testament consistently covering one sermon per book.  
 
We now have 12 sermons to go before we complete the Old Testament. I want to stay in the book of Revelation for a while in order to preach through the 7 Beatitudes of Revelation. We are living in the days of growing doubt and fear about the future. It is becoming harder to see where our world is headed except to recognize that unless God intervenes things are going get progressively worse. These 7 Beatitudes provide assurance and hope for hard times. Nothing we encounter today comes anywhere near the persecution and pressure God’s people endured when John wrote Revelation. You will see today when I preach about the word “BLESSED” and the number “SEVEN” that God has a powerful word for all of us during difficult times like these. So, in between the weeks that I preach from the Old Testament, I will preach sermons based on the 7 BEATITUDES of Revelation. You will not want to miss a single one.
 
Here are the top ten reasons why you think you may not be reading your Bible enough:
 
10) The preacher announces that the sermon is from Galatians…and you have to check the Table of Contents to discover if it is in the Old or New Testament.
 
9) You think Abraham, Isaac and Jacob played in a rock band in the 60’s.
 
8) You open your Bible to Luke and a WWII savings bond drops out.
 
7) Your favorite Old Testament patriarch is Hercules.
 
6)  A small band of woodchucks has made a nest in Psalms.
 
5) You become frustrated because you cannot find Charlton Heston in either the Concordance or Index of your Bible.
 
4) You discover that the Song of Solomon is not a hit tune.
 
3)  You think the Minor Prophets worked underground.
 
2)  You thought the pastor said, “Turn to first condominiums.”
 
And the number 1 reason you know that you have not been reading your Bible enough is:
 
1) Your kids get tired of you telling your favorite bedtime story from the Bible: “Jonah the Shepherd Boy and his Ark of Many Colors.”   

Good Words from God’s Word
              
There is a word in the Epistle of Jude that is worth our time today, BELOVED. Jude uses this word to address his letter and identify those to whom he is sending his advice. The word is written in the perfect tense which indicates that these believers are positioned well within the circle of God’s love. Jude says that these believers are “CALLED” beloved because that is their identity. When you are saved and become a follower of Jesus, you are identified as BELOVED and positioned within the safe harbor of God’s great love. What better circle within which to be included? We are anchored to the secure pillar of God’s love.
 
Jude also says that we are “KEPT” within God’s love for Jesus’ sake. God’s people are not only “kept” by Jesus, but “kept” for Jesus. Jesus prayed, “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished, but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled” (John 17:12). Not only are we “called” into God’s circle of love, but we are “kept” there safe in the strong hands of our savior. Jesus holds on. The Bible says, “…no one will snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
 
Billy Graham said, “God proved His love for us on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’” We are introduced and held inside God’s great circle of love by Jesus himself. We should be able to worship today in great assurance that we do so as the BELOVED who are called and kept as the people of God.
 
A man went to church one Sunday and was asked by his pastor how he was doing. The man replied, “Pastor, I need you to pray for my hearing.” The pastor immediately put his hands on the man’s ears and prayed. When he was finished the pastor asked, “So, how’s your hearing?” “I don’t know,” the man responded, “It’s not until next Thursday.”
 
The jury has come in. The verdict is recorded. You can worship this morning in the amazing truth that you are part of the BELOVED family of God. The Bible says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesian 2:13). Let the nearness of God’s love and the blessing of His amazing grace hold you safe and secure in the arms of Jesus today.