Collierville First Baptist Church

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But we're in a series entitled Experiencing the Gifts of Christmas. Last week we looked at the gift of hope. This week we're going to look at the gift of love. I love Christmas, don't you? I love the colorful light. I love the Christmas parades. I love the joy and the excitement of boys and girls. I love the food.

00;00;32;01 - 00;01;16;13
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I love the music that fills the airwaves when we're in a car and we're listening to Christmas music. I love to go around and see houses that are decorated beautifully. It's a day overflowing with cozy, warm feelings, sweet reunions, and yes, lots of love to others. However, Christmas is a day that brings up painful memories for some. That empty chair around the table is a potent reminder of a spouse, a child, or a grandparent who has stepped into eternity.

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For others, Christmas is overshadowed by strained family relationships. Everybody seems to have a crazy uncle. Everybody.

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For others, It's the burdens of a difficult year. Financial burdens. Relationship burdens. It's hard. So how can one celebrate Christmas in light of all that's going on? Well, listen, I want to say something to both groups. Maybe you're absolutely on a Christmas high. Or maybe you're on a Christmas low. And I tell you on the authority of God's Word.

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No matter how you feel this Christmas season, God's Word provides a reason for you to rejoice and celebrate. You can celebrate the gift of love. Now, the gift of God's love is a Christmas gift that just keeps on giving. It's a gift like no other. You see, God's love is an unconditional love. That means that it's selfless.

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God's love is given without merit or obligation. It's an unfathomable love. We examine the love of God and see it for what it really is. It stuns us. It staggers us. God's love can never be repaid by us. But it's also an unprejudiced love. God loves those who are poor. God loves those who are rich. God love those loves.

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Those who have it all together. And he loves those whose lives are coming apart at the same like an old baseball. God loves people. He loves everyone. And God's love is an unrestrained love. God's love permeates every aspect of our lives, our relationships, our finances, our careers, our leisure, our hurts, and our victories. But it's also an unrelenting love.

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The love of God will never be canceled. There's a lot of canceling going on in our culture today. But the love of God will never be canceled by circumstances. But the powers by human government, or even by death itself. And it's finally an unsurpassed love. There's no love that can compare to the love of God. His love is for here and now.

00;04;07;29 - 00;04;37;09
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And here. His love is for all of eternity. The gifts of God's love is one that you must unwrap this Christmas season. I'm sure that already you've got gifts under the Christmas tree, and at some point in time, maybe it's Christmas Eve. Maybe it's Christmas Day. You will unwrap those gifts and will enjoy the gifts that God has provided for you and your family.

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Here's my challenge you. Accept the gift of God's love. Accept it regardless of your circumstances. Accept it. Well, let's dig a little deeper. I want you to stand. Everybody stand with me. Just a moment. I want us to repeat a verse of Scripture together. It's John 316. I know you know it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

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Do you believe that? That's God's love. It is for everybody in this room. It's for everybody watching live stream. Whether you're far away from God, whether you've never even acknowledge God, it's for you. God loves you. Thank you. You can be seated. Now, I want to point out four things for truths about this gift of God's love that I think will mean a lot to you today.

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Number one, I want to point out to you the reality of God's love. The Bible says, For God so loved the world. That includes you. That includes everybody on the face of this planet. For God so loved the world. I could go to every single person in this room, and I could look you square and I and tell you that God loves you.

00;06;17;06 - 00;06;46;26
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He loves you. That's his character and that's his nature. He loves every person. It matters not if they are popular or unpopular. It matters not if they're good looking or not so good looking. It matters not if they're blessed with money or they don't have a dime to their name. It matters not if they're healthy or unhealthy. It matters not if they're from a good family or from a broken, messed up family.

00;06;46;28 - 00;07;13;27
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He loves them. He loves all kinds of people. I want you to take your Bible and turn to First John chapter four. Sort of keep your finger there. In fact, you've already memorized John 316. So just turn and keep your Bible there first. John chapter four. We're going to be looking at that passage also in first John chapter four, verses seven and eight, and then verse 16.

00;07;13;28 - 00;07;51;21
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I want you to hear the word of God. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God. For God is love. It's quite a statement, isn't it? God is love. The Bible says God is holy. The Bible says that God is love.

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And it's it's a it's who he is. The one who does not love does not know God. For God is love. Verse 16. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love. It's a second, second time in this passage that he says those same three words God is love. You remember I've told you over and over again that when you study the Bible, when you hear a message from God's Word, when something is repeated, it's there for a purpose.

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God is emphasizing the fact that he is love. That's who he is. That's his character, and that's his nature. That's his attribute. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. So the question before us today is never Is God willing to love us? He does the question is simply this.

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Are we willing to receive his love? I think there are people in our world today who have gone through difficulties. They they've seen, a wife and mother developed breast cancer, and they watched her her life slowly and painfully fade away. And when you mentioned the love of God, some time to them, they bucket, they say, how do you say God loves me when he allows her wife, my mom, my wife or or the mother of my kids to go through this?

00;09;36;03 - 00;10;15;15
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And for others, it's a financial difficulty. And they say, how do you say God loves me? When we struggle from day to day and week to week and month to month, to make it on the salaries we have. Listen, I wish we didn't live in a fallen, broken world, but we do. And I can tell you this, regardless of what you're going through, regardless of the pain that you've experienced, I can tell you this God loves you.

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God loves you. And I'm going to show you in just a minute how I know that to be true. So the question is simply this are you willing to receive the gift of God's love? God's love is not a fairy tale. It's real. It's robust. Here's a second truth I want to drop in your heart today. Not only the reality of God's love, but the record of God's love.

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For God so loved the world. Look at this. That he gave his only begotten son. How can we know for sure that God loves us? How can the one who's stood before a freshly dug grave know that God loves them? How can the one who has experienced trauma like you couldn't even imagine? How can they know that God loves them?

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Is there proof? There he is. God sent his unique, only begotten son into this rebellious and broken world. 2000 years ago. The incarnation of Christ is one of the great truths of the Christian faith. Jesus, the Son of God, became a human being. Why? Because God loves you and God knows that you need help in knowing him. You need help dealing with the the massive problem that you have in your life.

00;12;02;03 - 00;12;29;22
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The problem of sin and evil. I'm tell you something. When Jesus was born 2000 years ago and Mary and Joseph were in the the stable, they're in Bethlehem and I want you to imagine that moment after she gave birth to the son of the living God. When she reached down and she held him close to her, and she kissed his cheeks.

00;12;29;25 - 00;13;04;29
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I tell you, friend, she was kissing the face of God. She was kissing the face of God Almighty, the creator of the universe. Couldn't God have sent an angel to straighten out our mess? Couldn't Gabriel or Michael handle the problems that we face? The brokenness of our world, the sinfulness of our hearts? No, they couldn't. No way they could do it.

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So what did God do to prove that he loves you? I'll tell you what it did. He sent his only begotten son to this planet, and Jesus, a son of God, became human. He was fully human, and he was fully God. At the same time. And Jesus went to the cross of Calvary to handle your sin problem and my sin problem.

00;13;34;29 - 00;14;04;25
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Romans chapter five, verse eight. The Bible says that God demonstrates his own love, love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see those last four words Christ died for us. You could take your name and you could write your name above that pronoun. Us, and it would be legitimate. Christ died for you.

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He died for the the dear lady who is dying with, with, with breast cancer. He died for for the parent who lost a child. He died for the couple that's dealing with a loss of a job, a loss of revenue and the pain and the the persistent pressure of paying bills. He died for them just as much as he died for anybody in this room.

00;14;33;28 - 00;15;05;10
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First John chapter four, verses nine and ten. Look at it by this, the love of God was manifested to us, that God has sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

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The English word propitiate means to appease and to render favorable God's anger is his settled opposition of his holy nature to everything that is sinful and evil in our lives and in the world today. Such opposition to sin cannot be removed or handled simply by the the wink of an eye or by the wave of a hand. It requires something substantial for God to release his anger and opposition to the sin and evil in our hearts and in the world today.

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What is it? Well, the Bible states that only the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary could accomplish the remove evil in the appeasement of God's wrath, so that we could be forgiven of our sins and have new life in Christ. Jesus was mocked. His flesh was ripped from his body by the Roman scourge. He was paraded through the streets of Jerusalem like a criminal.

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His hands and feet were fastened to the cross with Roman spikes. He endured the wrath of God for us. That's how much God loves you. That's why I can say to anybody on the face of the planet, no matter what they're going through, you can count on the love of God. It is a recorded fact. God loves you.

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And he proved it by sacrificing his son for your sake. Here's a question. It's only one question today. Question not. Does God love you? The question is, will you accept the love of God? Will you accept the love of God? Are we seeing the reality of God's love? The record of God's love. Now I want you to see the response to God's love.

00;17;20;29 - 00;17;58;02
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Notice. For God so loved the world. The reality of God's love that he gave his only begotten son. The record of God's love. That whoever believes in him. That's the response to God's love. Boys and girls. Christmas is not just about the cradle. It's also about the cross. Jesus, God's son, died for our sins on the cross. He was raised from the dead on the third day.

00;17;58;04 - 00;18;25;01
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And I can say to everybody in this room and everybody watching live stream, and if the whole world could watch it, I could tell you with authority that Jesus is alive. He's alive. And he makes all the difference in the world, in the lives of those who put their faith and trust in him alone. The proper response to God's gift of love.

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According to the Bible here, is to believe in him, to put your faith and trust in Christ. Say, I want you to know there's absolutely nothing you can do to save yourself. There's nothing you can do to appease the wrath of Almighty Holy God. The only way that you can be forgiven. The only way that your sins can be separated from you as far as East is from the West, is for you to put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who loved you and went and took your place on the cross of Calvary and died for your sins.

00;19;04;25 - 00;19;27;25
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That's what God expects out of everybody in this room. So the proper response to God's love gift of love is to believe that Jesus is God's Son. Do you believe that? Do you believe He's God's Son and that he died on the cross for your sins, and that he was raised from the dead on the third day? For your justification?

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The Bible says in Romans 1013, for whoever believes, excuse me, for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. I'm praying that there are people in this room. There are people watching live stream, and you can fall to your knees on your couch, or you'll come to the altar here and in just a few moments, and you will receive and accept the love, the gift of God's love through Jesus Christ.

00;19;56;08 - 00;20;31;09
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And you'll put your faith and trust in him alone. I tell you, if you truly believe in Jesus, he will forgive your sins. You will never have to fear the wrath of God or the judgment of God. Don't ignore this God given opportunity. And whatever you do, do not procrastinate. Accept the gift of God's love. Okay, now we've seen the reality of God's love, the record of God's love, and now the response of God's love.

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Now, finally, I want you to see the result of God's love for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him hears the result shall not perish but have eternal life. Well, you can't get any better than that. According to John, our greatest need is to be saved from perishing. What does it mean to perish?

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It means to die physically and spiritually. It means to die in your sin. Jesus warned the Pharisees. He said to he, look them straight now you're going to die in your sins. Why? Because they refuse to believe in him. I tell you, dear friend, the Bible says that God didn't send His son and expose him to the harsh cruelty and the agony of the cross in order to condemn the human race.

00;21;39;15 - 00;22;09;06
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God sent His Son to save us from our sins. To change our lives here and now and forever. If we believe in Jesus, he gives us. Get this now. The gift, the gift of God's love produces the gift of eternal life. Have you ever seen those little Russian doll things? You know? And there's. You look like you get one gift, but.

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But you pull this one out and there's another one in there. That's why that's what God's provided for us. He's giving you the gift of his love. And inside, the gift of his love is the gift of eternal life. Forgiveness. Living with him forever. Jesus told his disciples, do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God.

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Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. For I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. That where I am, there you may be also. Oh, do you see how wonderful that is?

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Not only does God say, look, you won't perish in your sins. I'll give you eternal life. But listen to me very carefully. He says that we can live forever with him in heaven. I tell you, it's the most wonderful gift imaginable. It's a gift within the gift. In John chapter ten, verse ten, Jesus said, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

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Listen to what Jesus said. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Not only does Jesus provide through this gift of love provide eternal life for us, but he also provides abundant life here and now so we can experience a love of God on a daily, ongoing basis. Do you realize every time that you wake up in the morning, you are experiencing the love of God because he's provided breath for your lungs?

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He he's allowed you to see the beautiful sunsets and the sun sunrises. Oh, what a gift from God. He loves you and you can experience his love for all of eternity. And you can experience his love right this moment. Accept the gift of God's love. You may be wondering what I'm doing with this little stuffed animal. I want to introduce you to this little stuffed animal.

00;24;35;02 - 00;25;00;20
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This little stuffed animal is like an stuffed animal. She received this little stuffed animal when she was born. Right after she was born. It's a polar bear. Might not look like a polar bear, but it's a polar bear. And. And she couldn't call. She could say the word polar bear. So she named him Paw Paw. So this is Paul.

00;25;00;22 - 00;25;32;22
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Let me tell you something. That little girl has played with this stuffed animal her whole life. Every time she goes to Tina's mom and dad, every time she comes to our house to spend the night, guess who comes with her? Paul. And you know what? I had to sleep upstairs. And Paul and all the stuffed animals we have in our house, they pile into my side of the bed, and I go to bed the next, next night.

00;25;32;22 - 00;25;59;25
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And there's popcorn kernels and everything on my side of the bed. But Paul has been in my bed. Now Paul is a little one. Looks a little rough. Paul has been handled a lot. Laken plays with Paul. She talks to Paul. She carries Paul with her. And I called her this morning. I said like and can I borrow Paul?

00;25;59;28 - 00;26;26;24
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And she was hesitant. I think she thought I was going to keep Paul. I'm not keeping Paul like. And I promise you, I'm giving Paul back to you. Okay? But I got to thinking about this. You know, the gift of God's love is not the kind of gift you accept. And you unwrap and you put up on a shelf.

00;26;26;26 - 00;27;13;00
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Oh, the gift of God's love is more like Paul, a favorite stuffed animal that you embrace and you carry and you hold and you love till its ears fall off. That's why God's love is. God forbid that anybody in this room. Accept God's love on a superficial, superficial basis. And you accept it. And and you just put it up on a shelf and and you don't ever take it down, and you don't ever allow God's love to do what it's intended to do in your life.

00;27;13;02 - 00;27;40;18
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Now, let me tell you something very carefully. God has offered you the gift of love so that you would believe in His Son, and that you would receive the gift of eternal life and abundant life here and now. And that gift is yours. If you take it off the ship. But how do you take it off the shelf?

00;27;40;19 - 00;28;03;23
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You believe in Jesus. You believe in Jesus. You put your faith in Jesus. Listen, there's not a person within. The sound of my voice says, don't go to heaven. Based on your works, your record, you're not going to do it all the way to go to heaven. Through Jesus, Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life.

00;28;03;25 - 00;28;35;13
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No one comes to the father, but through me. So I'm asking you this morning, are you willing to accept God's gift of love by believing in Jesus with all your heart? I hope and pray you are. I'm going to ask our staff to come. I'm going to ask our worship team to come, and I want to give you the opportunity.

00;28;35;16 - 00;29;14;04
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To receive and accept the gift of God's love. In just a moment, we're going to sing. We're going to worship. And if you want to believe in Jesus today, just like the Scripture said, I want you to come to one of our staff members and just tell them, I'm ready to accept God's gift of love. Not not in a superficial way, but I'm willing to accept God's gift of love, not put him up on a shelf Jesus up on a shelf, but make him the Lord of my life from this moment forward.

00;29;14;07 - 00;29;51;21
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Come to Christ today, but you may be a believer in this room and unfortunately, there was a time when when you receive the gift of love and that gift of God's love through Christ was like Paul. You carried it everywhere. You wind it. It influenced every part of your life. But somewhere along the way, you took God's gift of love and you put it up on a shelf and you're missing out on experiencing the love of God in your daily life.

00;29;51;23 - 00;30;23;20
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Oh, I encourage you. Come here to this altar and just bow and say, Lord Jesus, forgive me. Lord, I love you, but I've let my love grow cold. And just ask Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to set you on fire for him, and take that gift of love that he's given you in Christ, and take it off the shelf and hold it close to your heart.

00;30;23;23 - 00;30;53;08
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You see, God's love is something you have to accept. It's something that you get to experience. But give this now. It's also something that you share with others. You share it with others. I'll tell you when you've taken the love of God off the shelf and you hold it close to you, and it influences every part of your life, you want other people to know about it.

00;30;53;10 - 00;31;21;23
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That's why we have some some tickets to our our our experience Christmas presentation next Sunday night. And I want you to take those tickets, and I want you to invite somebody to come with you to that special presentation. And you also, I promise you, they will be blessed. They will hear the gospel. They will hear about the love of God, the gift of God's love.

00;31;21;25 - 00;31;59;22
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Take those tickets and invite somebody. They come with you. I tell you, you can't really embrace the love of God without. Share it with others. Amen. Let me pray. And you come, and you do as God leads you to do this morning. Heavenly father, I thank you so much for the gift of love. I thank you that you so love this world, that you are willing to give your only begotten son, so that we would not perish but have eternal life.

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Oh Lord, thank you that you make that available to everyone who believes in Jesus or we love you. Have your way in our hearts this morning in Jesus name. Amen.