Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:36 — 26.5MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Android | TuneIn | RSS
John 3:14-21 – As we learn to know the love of God, it will change us.
There is condemnation talked about here, but Jesus explained to Nicodemus that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but to save it. The primary purpose of Christ coming to earth is to redeem and to save.
Genesis 1 – Let us think about the world, the creation that God made. We know the history of how God created Adam and Eve and that they had perfect fellowship. We know the story too of how this perfect fellowship was broken by sin.
God’s love is more than emotion, it is a motivation to action. It is good for us to think widely sometimes. Do we think about what it cost heaven when Christ came to the earth? The beloved son of God was being sent to earth, the loyal angels wondered and watched to see how it would unfold.
Genesis 22 – We are familiar with the story of Abraham and how God asked him to offer his son as a burnt offering. As parents, or anyone who loves children, we can imagine the anguish and the torment of this request… this likely gives us an image of God in heaven when Christ came to earth.
Luke 15 – This is a chapter that talks about lost things that illustrate God’s heart. The big message of these stories is the shepherd who searched for the lost sheep. The woman who valued the coin that was lost. In the story of the prodigal son the father is a reminder of God and how He longs for His son to return. These parables show the helplessly lost condition of man, but the incredible love and longing for man.
Isaiah 61 – If you would ask some of the people whose lives were utterly changed by Jesus… they would understand the verses from Isaiah, they experienced the healing, the liberty, the oil of joy, the beauty for ashes.
The better that we understand our sin and our need, and what God has done for us… the more we will appreciate the immense amount of love that God has for us.
Other scriptures mentioned – Psalm 78, Ephesians 3
