God's Love

Relationships Pt 2 So last week we talked about our relationship with God and what a Christian woman looks like. Today we are going to go a little deeper. What was the essential trait that must be there for a Christian woman? Love. Okay so now we are going to split into small groups for the next few minutes, and I want you to use every resource you have to find ever scripture that is referring to God/Christ’s love for us, or our love for Him. It can go either way. So we aren’t talking about brotherly love, or husband and wife love, we are going to talk about relational love, the Agape love Christ has for us, and that he desires for us to have with him. Ex. Romans 5:8-12 Christ died for us while sinners, how much more he loves us now ie. His relationship with us. Matthew 22:7 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, and with all your soul ie. our relationship with Him. Understand? Lets keep it with new testament for times sake (reference to OT is okay too!). Okay lets start putting them up on the board- no repeats. Each group goes and writes one up just do the book and verse while the other one reads it. So what do you think about all of these? The reason we are spending 2 weeks on this relationship is because it is hands down the most important relationship of your life. Yes, more important than your husband, more important than you family. This is about you and God. Every decision you make, every goal you set in life, all of it is made around this one relationship. In order for everything else to fall into place, this has to be right first. Golf Ball sand jar example- balls/rocks—pebbles- then sand—then water 24 hours: 8 hours sleeping; 1 hour get ready; 8 hours school/work; 1 hour homework; 1 hour chores; 1 hour friends; 2 hours family; 2 hours meals. Where was God in that time? Where were our prayers? Where was the study time? I know my day gets away from me before I know it. So what if We put God first, - we give God not only the biggest rock- he gets to be the base, but our time with Him, our prayers our study, that is inter woven, what if he is the water. He ties it all together. So we have our Foundation, Christ, Biggest rock. Then we have other important things, like work/school; family friends; then we add in the smaller stuff the pebbles, the clothes, the homework, then we add in the really small stuff, the sand, walking the dog, eating meals, tasking the trash out, getting new clothes, the stuff we have to do but don’t really take up time or mean anything. And then we add the water, the prayer, our time to be with God. He not only makes the foundation, the reason we live our lives the way we do, but he also is integrated into our every day lives, all the time. He is always there, He is around in everything we do. If we were to try and put our time with God in first thing in the morning to get it done, if we put our water in after the rocks, do you think it would have worked? Would it all have fit? This is your life. It isn’t your mom or your dads. Right now, yea, you are pretty much under their control, but you are you, your thoughts are yours, your time is mostly yours. You decide. Yea, they might call family time, dinner together, chore time, whatever it may be, but you are the master of your thoughts, you are the master of your life. Or are you? Is Christ your master? Is he driving everything you do? Is he your everything? Pull Our red song books and look at Pierce My Ear. During Jesus’ time, piercing your ear meant you were a servant, you belonged to someone. This means we willingly give our lives as a service for Christ. In all that we do all the time. Are you at that level? What can we all do to get to that point? Please, talk to someone, I’m always here, your parents, the elders the decans, Andy, Jamie, Kristy, there are lots people that are striving daily to be more like Christ and to live more like Him and I guarantee they will be willing to talk with you, study with you, learn and walk with you. You are not in this alone and that is such an amazing a beautiful thing!