Being Charitable
Sermon Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Faith, Hope & Love
1 John 2:15-17; 3:11-24 (ESV)
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
3:11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
Sermon Outline
When you love the world rightly (with God’s ‘agape’) then your actions will reveal a charitable disposition.
1. A Corrupted Process
What do you have? “the world’s goods”
What do you see? “his brother in need”
What do you do? “yet closes his heart against him”
2. A Productive Process
v16 “by this we know love”
God’s love (v17) —> he laid down his life for us (v16) —> love in deed and in truth (v18)
3. A Process Towards Being Charitable
v17 “how does God’s love abide in him?”
v16 “we ought to lay down our lives”
Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we admit we love as the world loves: out of the desires of our flesh, the desires of our eyes and the pride of life. Our corrupted love has inspired actions that have served ourselves and harmed others, and inaction where we have closed our hearts towards others. We have settled for a form of love that requires no sacrifice of us, because we have been content to be takers. We have your love, however, because Jesus laid down his life for us. Help us to see and abide in your love, so that our lives conform to the glorious pattern of Christ. We confess we are a needy people who humbly receive grace, and we long to be a charitable people who show forth your love in deed and in truth.
Questions for Reflection
Are you more prone to thinking and reflecting, or acting/doing? Why? What advantages are there to how you do things? What needs growth?
What keeps you from being generous? Are you consistently generous? Are you sacrificially generous?
What kinds of things do people in need do that provokes you to close your heart towards them? What are your sensitivities?
What do you deeply want and desire? How do some of your deepest desires set you up to turn against people?
What does it mean to have God’s love? How can an awareness of that help you whenever you are called to give from what you have?
What breaks down as you turn from seeing the sacrificial love of Christ for you, to turning towards others and doing it for them? What keeps you from doing it?
What should you do when you don’t know what to do? What process or prayer and reflection can help you move from word and talk to deed and truth?
What does it look like to be a charitable person?