Love Is...
Lent Series
The Greatest
April 14, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • John 13:1–5, 1 Corinthians 13:4–13, Lamentations 3:22–26
The night before He dies, Jesus shows His disciples how great His love us by doing the work of a slave and washing His disciples’ feet. Love is so great, it moves us to do sacrificial things!
Fulfilling Promises
April 10, 2022 • Pastor Chad Ott • 1 Corinthians 13:8, Matthew 21:1–9
Jesus knows He will soon die when He rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Yet, He goes to Jerusalem anyway. Matthew says He does so, in part, to fulfill a prophecy from Zechariah. Jesus keeps this promise in the prophecy out of His love for us.
All Things
April 6, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • Romans 8:31–39, Joshua 1:1–6
The reason Paul spends a whole chapter telling us what love is is because love is such a great number of things! This makes love incredible. Jesus’ love is so incredible that it is stronger than even death. What is our love stronger than?
Forgiving
March 30, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • Luke 17:1–4
Forgiveness and love are intimately connected. You will never be able to love someone well if you are not able to forgive them for the times they do not love you well. We should seek, on the one hand, never to lead someone we love into sin while, on the other hand, forgiving others when they tempt us into sin, or sin against us.
Not Irritable
March 27, 2022 • Pastor Chad Ott • Psalm 145:8–11, Luke 18:1–7
In Jesus’ parable, a judge gives a woman what she wants because she won’t stop bothering her and it irritates him! Jesus promises that, no matter how many times we “bother” God, He will never become irritated with our pleas!
Not Rude
March 20, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • Proverbs 21:21–24, Ephesians 4:25–28, Matthew 5:21–26
It is easy to be rude when someone angers you. But rudeness only ruins relationships! When we are tempted to be rude, we should instead forgive someone for whatever it is that is tempting us toward rudeness.
Not Arrogant
March 16, 2022 • Pastor Chad Ott • Isaiah 2:5–11, 1 Corinthians 13:4
The ancient Israelites relied on themselves and their own spiritual desires rather than on God and His revealed spiritual order. Solomon reminds us, “An arrogant spirit comes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). How can we humble ourselves under God?
Not Envious
March 13, 2022 • Pastor Chad Ott • Ecclesiastes 4:4–6, Galatians 5:13–26, Mark 15:6–15
It was envy that got Jesus killed. The religious leaders were jealous that Jesus was smarter than them and had a more devoted following than them. Their envy led to death. Envy always kills – it kills joy, it kills fulfillment, and, many times, it kills achievement, because it’s so busy complaining about what it doesn’t have that it forgets to grow into what it could have.
Patient
March 6, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • 1 Samuel 13:5, 1 Samuel 13:8–13, 2 Corinthians 5:14–15
Saul was not patient in waiting for Samuel to make a burnt offering and give him a word from the Lord. Because of Saul’s lack of patience, Israel’s kingship was lost to his family. Impatience results in loss. This is why God is so patient with us – because He wants to keep us (2 Peter 3:9)!
The Better Way
March 2, 2022 • Pastor Daniel Ondov • 1 Corinthians 12:31—13:3
No matter how gifted we are and no matter how many accomplishments and accolades we may have to our name, if we don’t have love, our lives will be empty. A life that seeks accomplishments without love only leads to death. On Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that love overcomes even the death that turns us into dust.