Highlights and Message Notes from our Sub30 group “What Is Love?! Baby, Don’t Hurt Me”.
It always amazes me how young people flock to challenging messages on the cross and love and selflessness. Sometimes we assume that you can’t want “too deep” with young people, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. This generation seems more hungry than ever for substance and truth.
Last week, Christina and I began our Sub30 group called “What Is Love?! Baby, Don’t Hurt Me” for our church, Celebration Church.
I thank God for my church!
I thank God that He has a plan for our lives. He knows what we need more than we do! Almost ten months ago, God spoke to my wife in prayer that we should go to Celebration Church. We’ve been so blessed by the grace that is on this house!!
Message Notes “What Is Love?! Baby, Don’t Hurt Me” Wk 1
Who has ever heard the song, “What is Love?!”
Let me quote the great 90’s poet, Haddaway,
“What is love?! Baby, Don’t hurt me. Don’t hurt me. No more.
What is love?
I don’t know why you’re not fair. I give you my love, but you don’t care
So what is right and what is wrong? Gimme a sign
What is love?!
Okay, we’re being funny. But the guy asks a great question. What is love?!
Culture throws this word around all the time. It’s like people’s favorite word today. Bumper stickers and songs and movies and slogans. “Eat, laugh, love”. ” All you need is love”
It seems “deep” if you use the word. Simply say “we just gotta love, man” to any of the world’s problem, you sound real deep!!
But what does that really mean???
And maybe more importantly, what does it look like in our lives? How do we actually walk out love? Here’s what love looks like,
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. [love never fails]
Okay, so in this passage, we see the scope of love is bigger than we generally think.
Love is more than a feeling. It’s not some elusive good vibe out there. This stuff deals with the NITTY GRITTY of our lives.
But what’s the common denominator between all these virtues listed in 1 Corinthians?
Christina and I sat down and tried to pull together different things we’ve heard and come up with a “working definition” for love and this is what we came up with.
LOVE IS SELFLESSNESS, GUIDED BY WISDOM, FUELED BY FAITH.
SELFLESSNESS
Ultimately, love is a selflessness towards others. Love is a pure selflessness.
But it’s a SELFLESSNESS, GUIDED BY WISDOM.
Because there’s a selflessness NOT guided by wisdom in the world.
Example: Girl dating a guy who is not good for her. Friends are trying to talk some sense into her. “Girl, he’s walking all over you. He’s going out and doing things that are not good!”
“But I love him!!”
This is NOT the Biblical kind of Love.
LOVE IS FUELED BY FAITH
or you could say it like this,
REAL LOVE COMES FROM RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS.
1 JOHN 4:17 says it simply: “WE LOVE, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US”
This is the “How”. WE are able to LOVE. WE CAN LOVE. BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.
Jesus loved us with a PURE love. He loved, and gave His life on the cross.
Jesus loves us with a love free of control and selfishness of any kind!
AND BECAUSE WE KNOW HE LOVES US, WE CAN TRUST HIM WITH OUR NEEDS.
We can give our “SELF” over to God.
And this is HOW we love. We give our needs over to God, so we can be selfless to others.
AJ Hall Design 