According to 1 Corinthians 13 love is irreplaceable (vv. 1-3), love is essential (vv. 4-7), love is durable (vv. 8-12), and love is the priority (v. 13). These are at least some of the lessons we learn from Paul’s wise words about love. And by the way, this is not the “like” kind of love or the “romantic” kind of love or the “bro” or “sista” kind of love – no, this love is the never-ending, not throwing in the towel, no exit strategy, divine type of love. You know, the love that will not let me go! I want us to think about the essential nature of this love from verses 4-7. Love is…

Wow! Ouch!! And, AMEN! These are the expressions of love for which we long, and they are our “love target.” When we tell someone we love them this is what we should mean. Too often we see love last only as long as the good times roll, and sometimes those good times roll for only months or a few short years. Think about how these principles of love would revolutionize marriages, families and friendships if we put them into practice. How about our church? Yes, sometimes people don’t get along in the church. For one reason or another we may even find ourselves worshipping with a so-called “enemy.” They are on the other side of the building or they are in another Sunday school group, and we’re just fine with that. We avoid them at all costs. But honestly, is that love? Can we look through the list above and sincerely conclude that we are showing them love?

Jesus said,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

We are not always going to see eye-to-eye, we are not always going to agree, we are not always going to get along, and we are going to have differences of opinion. But that is okay, and should never be a reason to stop loving one another. Look at the list above and ask yourself, “How am I expressing this type of love to the people who surround me?”

Grace & Peace,

This has been an unusual, but expected week. Cold, snow, rain and freezing is to be expected this time of year. We never really know when it’s going to hit us, but we do know that it is coming, sooner or later. It throws our schedules off, changes our routines, but hopefully it brings some fun and joy. If you found yourself “shut-in” for a couple of days, I hope you were able to spend extra, quality time with your family. I know for some of you, it makes you a little stir crazy because “cabin fever” begins to set in. Well, by the time you read this I hope it’s over and we can return to a somewhat normal schedule.

Gather – This week we’ll be finishing up our series, Getting Calvary Back on Track. I’m excited about preaching from Acts about how the gospel is for everyone. I look forward to sharing our lives in worship as we approach a majestic God and adore Him. God is the only one worthy of our worship!

Grow – Sunday night we will have our 2^nd Sunday School Vision Casting Meeting. This is a meeting you will not want to miss as Keith Higginbotham leads us into envisioning what God has in store for the future. God is already adding to our numbers and I can’t wait to find out the next steps we need to take to make God’s vision for our Sunday school groups a reality.

Give – Calvary is indebted to so many people getting involved in volunteering and giving of their time. For example, Fankie Lyda and Pam Greene have volunteered to organize a Women’s Bible Conference on Saturday, March 28. Some men asked what we needed to do for this and I simply told them, “Stay out of their way!” People giving of themselves is the first step to seeing a harvest of fruit and I believe this conference will bring in a great harvest for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Go – Going is a reflection of our growing. We all need to do something with our spiritual growth. Growing in God’s grace will send us out in love to build relational bridges with strangers. Our goal should be to turn strangers into friends who will eventually listen to God’s story of redemptive rescue He is weaving into our lives. As you are going about your daily life who is God sovereignly and strategically placing in your path with whom you can have that Gospel conversation?

Grace & Peace,

We are a church that is seeking to glorify God through gathering, growing, giving and going. Let’s not lose sight of why God formed this body almost 100 years ago. If we lose our vision then we lose our way, and inevitably we will get in the way of what God is trying to accomplish through us. If we lose our way then we no longer have a God-driven purpose for existence. We honor God best when we do what pleases Him, not us!

This Sunday morning we will gather to take the Lord’s Supper. These worship services are special because we make the death of Jesus our focus. Remembering His sacrifice for our sins helps to put life into perspective. Our marriages, families, friendships, jobs, and fun all have a deeper purpose when laid against the backdrop of the crucifixion. Our gathering this week will help make better sense of our every day life.

We grow into Christlikeness through God’s Word, small community and circumstances. One of the reasons I love our Sunday school groups is because it provides the best outlet for this to take place. God’s Word is being taught, a sense of camaraderie is felt because they provide a smaller platform, and we’re able to be more intimate and open about our daily struggles with each other. One of my desires and prayers is to see more of these groups added. If you don’t have a group, come Sunday morning at around 9:15 for coffee and we’ll show you how you can get plugged into one of these groups.

I love to see people give, and so many of you do this beautifully. People are constantly giving of their time to help others see Christ. Even the seemingly smallest gesture of service is huge. And you know what? Your name doesn’t even have to be in a committee booklet to give! Here’s a question I want all of us to answer: “How am I giving through serving others?”

If we don’t go and make disciples I don’t think we can expect to grow. Everyone lives a busy life and God’s intention is to use that busyness to build bridges that reach into other people’s lives. God has strategically and sovereignly placed us where we are to get the gospel out. The gospel must move out of the church building and into our family gatherings, neighborhoods, playgrounds, schools, grocery stores and work places. Everywhere we go should be seen as a mission field, and we are the missionaries God is sending to share His good news of great joy.

Grace & Peace,

It is our first priority as a church to glorify God. God is our agenda; He is everything to us; and we are seeking to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the entire world. We believe God has given us four avenues through which we accomplish this God-exalting act:

We gather to worship God. Throughout the week we are left to worship on our own. That is good and necessary, but Sunday morning is where it all comes together. The early church consistently gathered together to honor God as a larger group. It was an expression of their oneness through Christ and their common goal of glorifying God in everything.

We grow in Christ-likeness through doing life together. All things happen in our lives so that we will become shaped into the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29). Our Sunday school groups meet for the purpose of teaching God’s Word, prayer, true fellowship (sharing our lives), seeking God’s will, and showing up for one another. We do life together because God never meant for us to do it alone.

We give of everything for the advancement of God’s kingdom. Everything we have and are belongs to God, we are just called to be faithful managers. We don’t see this stewardship as a duty, we see it as a delight of our lives. God created us to be givers, not takers.

We go to make disciples. In Matthew 28:19-20 we have the Great Commission and we need to reaffirm our commitment to this. Jesus is saying that as we are going about our daily lives we ought to be making disciples. In other words, we live intentionally where God has sovereignly placed us to make the greatest impact with the gospel. We don’t change anybody effectively; the gospel has the power to change people eternally. We do have influence, but our influence only goes so far and so deep. But armed with the life-rescuing story of the gospel, God can now use our influence to radically rescue lost sinners and send their lives in a new direction.

This is who we are. Our methods and programs will change and evolve over the years, but the bedrock of these principles will never change. To remove one of them would be to destroy our identity and hamper our vision of magnifying the Lord together.

Grace & Peace,