Used with written permission from the artist with our deepest thanks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icytvqn8h3o
Love Each Other, by Graham Kendrick
God’s Love Is Indispensable
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but does not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Faith Hope and Love
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love is Action
We have explored the vows to love, honor, and obey. Love is ACTION! Not just words written on a page said before a group of witnesses, and quickly forgotten. Love is expressed in thought, word, and deed. For mankind to flourish, LOVE IS INDISPENSABLE!
Behavior of Love
I Corinthians 13, often called the Love Chapter, is a synopsis of how love behaves. It is all of Proverbs and James in a nutshell. Actions filtered down, concentrated, and refined into ten (number of ordinal completion) verses. Love is seen, heard, and experienced in the thousand little things that happen in a day. The huge accomplishments of life amount to nothing if we are not expressing love along the way. Love and its expression were what made Jesus, our Bridegroom, stand out. His love is indispensable to us.
Love Forgives
Jesus never said an unkind word to anyone, and never snapped back when insulted; Jesus knew big accomplishments don’t mean a thing if they are attained by failing to care for others along the way. Love forgives everything before it is even needed. Love hopes. Faith produces more love. And love is permanent when it is real. The love of Jesus is indispensable. We can act like we love someone, but if our actions are not based on the willingness to put others first, then our actions are worthless
Love Never Quits
Love never gives up, never quits,it is tough and tenacious. There is a saying about a watch I think really fits. Love “takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” Time is of no consequence and does not keep track of offenses. Love “forgives seventy times seven.” The love of our Bridegroom is indispensable! We absolutely cannot live without it! Love is revealed in our actions. What is truly in the heart comes out of the mouth! (Matthew 15:18)
How we Love will be Remembered
We must remember, that our hearts are a battlefield: (Ephesians 6:12) Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Jesus was a master at making people feel special and He was the difference! Are we this kind of expression of love? Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another.” John 13:35
In marriage, we often, over time, become more and more like our spouse. This is the goal of Christ, our Bridegroom, that as His Bride we become more conformed to His image. (Romans 8:29) Love is indispensable because it is faithful and true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9zoq3k-3K0
By Our Love by King and Country
Yvonne H. Jones
Dear Father, Lord of all,
Forgive us for being less than honoring, loving, forgiving, and helpful to those made in Your image. Lord, give us the grace to see others through Your eyes. Make us into the image of Your Son that our lives would be loving enough for those around us to ask, “Tell me about the joy that you have.”
Lord, life is hard and our world is on a banana peel into hell on earth. Help us lift each other up with our prayers, our time, our talents, our finances, our voices, and by extending arms to embrace each other in genuine love. This is not accepting sin, it is accepting the person. May we leave the judgment to You alone.
In Jesus name,
