What is True Love? Part 3 - How to Love Others (Message Outline - February 17, 2019)

Sermon outline by Raymund Tamayo

Intro – The Theme of Love

There are 66 books in the Bible, 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament, and perhaps the running theme among all theme is Love.

· As mentioned in our previous messages, God not only has love… He is Love (1 John 4:8).

· Love is what drove Christ to sacrifice Himself on the cross (John 3:16).

· The greatest commandments are loving God with all of us and loving others as much as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).

How do we apply this in our own lives? What are some examples in Scripture showing us how to love others even though it is difficult?

4 Ways How to Love Others Biblically

1. Encourage the heartbroken, lift up the downtrodden

· Encourage and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

· Bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2)

· Encouragement comes in many forms: a willing ear to listen, an arm around your shoulder, a gift, a note, an act of service, a word of appreciation.

· The main thing is to communicate that you love them and care about them.

· Don’t encourage from a position of superiority. Encourage them as someone who in due time may also need encouragement from them.

· Remind them of the truth. God’s promises through His Word.

2. Have patience with each other

· Bear with each other and forgive one another (Colossians 3:12-13)

· We have the freedom to have different personality types, but all of us are commanded to bear and forgive each other

· Christ is our example of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness

· Patience is not a natural part of human nature

· We must ask God The Holy Spirit for it – Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

· Patience in the midst of frustrations and trials is one of the best examples of biblical love

3. Don’t withhold forgiveness

· It’s tempting to withhold forgiveness when we are hurting

· Even after apologies were exchanged, there is still a tendency to hold on to the hurts

· It becomes bitterness

· According to the Bible, there are only two things in life that can grow roots: love of money and bitterness

· Forgiveness is not simply accepting an apology, it is not to ignore sin, it is not just “moving on” or “letting go”, it is not avoiding someone instead of getting back at them

· Forgiveness is about forgetting

· Forgiving is one of the Bible’s commands that tells we are emulating God (Colossians 3:13, Mark 11:25)

4. Keep your promises

· Living in the truth is the best way to show God’s love inside of you

· It requires more than just honesty. It requires keeping your word (Psalm 15:4)

· Our consistency in our word brings honor and glory to God

· It builds trust in any kind of relationship

· So it is important to examine our words before we speak them

· God is not just a promise-making God, He is a promise-keeping God. He doesn’t only make promises, He also keeps his promises. We should be the same