Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 7:36-50

 

! Introduction

            Almost 12 years ago there was considerable pressure in our family to get a cat.

I did not want a cat because I did not want the work and responsibility and cost involved in owning a pet.

I was not excited about a critter crawling into bed with me at night nor the messy surprises they sometimes leave.

But when your wife and your daughter gang up on you and agree to meet all the conditions you set out, you really don’t have much choice, so we got a cat.

Last December, that cat got sick and we had to put him down.

It was a very sad day, not only for our daughter and for Carla, but also for me.

Over the years, I had come to like the cat and when we had to put him down, I was sad.

I was sad that he was gone, but also because Carla was so sad about it.

Because I love my wife, I had come to care about the thing that she cared about.

This is the way it is when we love someone.

We will care about what they care about because we love them.

For the last two Sundays, we have looked at the love that Christ has for us and we have been encouraged to respond in love to the one who first loved us.

The question that remains is, “how do we express our love for Him?” Of course the answer to that question is to obey Him and to praise Him and to serve Him, but the answer which the Bible gives most clearly is that we need to care about the things that He loves.

The thing that Christ loves more than anything is people.

In Matthew 9:36 we read, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

In Ephesians 5:25 we are told, “…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

These and so many other verses remind us of the great love Christ has for people.

Not only is this it a logical connection to make that we should love people because Jesus does, but the Bible also teaches us this.

Listen to the words of Ephesians 5:1,2, - “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Stowell says, “Christ knows we love Him by watching what we do with our lives.

And as unsettling as it may seem, how we treat people is the first place He looks.”

!

Showing Love To Others

Who are the people Christ has put into our lives whom he wants us to love?

!! 1.

The Annoying Person

            In a church there was a person who was very annoying to a lot of people.

The pastor tried to reach out to her and whenever he did, she had things to do and it never suited.

Finally someone told him that she did not want him to visit.

She was involved in some leadership in the church, but in the course of time it became clear that she antagonized a lot of people whom she worked with.

She was very strong with her opinions and found it hard to see from another person’s point of view.

One year, some of her friends found out that she was playing VLT’s.

Although she seemed to want to change, yet she often went back to it.

One time the church she attended was bringing in some changes.

The leadership had worked through the changes and had checked with the congregation to make sure that what they were doing was in agreement with the direction they wanted to go.

When the change had been thoroughly prepared the time came for the congregation to approve it.

At this point, she mounted a significant lobby to oppose the change and succeeded.

How do you love such a person?

Sometimes in church life we encounter people who just rub us the wrong way and are very hard to get along with.

Yet if we understand that Jesus loves that person, then we need to find a way to love such a person.

May I suggest a thought pattern that will help us move in the direction of learning to love such people.

We need to need to remember that we are loved by God.

We need to understand this truth, not merely as a concept, but as a reality that touches our heart.

When the love of God touches our heart, it will naturally be our desire to respond to His love with a love for Him.

Knowing that we love Him by loving others, we can make a choice to love such a person and ask God to help us love them as an expression of our love for Him.

!! 2. The Next Door Neighbour

            When we moved to Manitou, we wanted to make an impact for Christ.

Our next door neighbours had recently moved into the community as well and did not attend church and so we thought we ought to witness to them.

Early on we invited them over for supper and visited with them and also tried to witness to them.

Over the following years, we related as neighbours.

We got along OK, but were not particularly close.

We borrowed tools back and forth, we talked sometimes.

When their son died in an accident, we visited them and expressed our concern.

There were a few minor problems, like noisy parties that they had sometimes, but mostly we got along OK.

All the years we lived there, I wondered how we could truly express love to our neighbours and I was never quite sure that we had done what we should have done.

How can we be good neighbours who share faith and bless those who live around us.

            Stowell says, “the first test of authentic love for Christ is measured by whether we treat our neighbours as though they were us.”

How can we do that?

a.

I am loved by God.

b.

In response I love Christ.

c.

I show my love for Christ by loving others.

!! 3. The Opponent

I heard about a Bible school teacher who was teaching peace and non-resistance.

One day he invited an army officer into his classroom to explain the opposing point of view.

He was so opposed to what the army officer was saying that he began to argue with him and eventually ended up mocking him and making the army officer look like a fool.

I can identify with that temptation.

When we believe strongly in some truth and believe that it is supported by what the Bible says, it becomes very tempting to use any method we can to make sure the truth, as we understand it, comes out.

Truth is very important.

How can we show love to people who do not accept the truth?

What if we find ourselves on opposite sides of an important issue?

This is a very real problem in the church because we do not agree on everything.

One of the issues that has been a problem in many churches is the issue of music.

People can become quite heated in their support of or opposition to a certain music style.

Yet the reality is that people see things differently on this issue.

How can we learn to love our opponent?

Let me suggest a pattern of thought which I believe will help us in this problem.

a.

I am loved by God.

b.

In response I love Christ.

c.

I show my love for Christ by loving others.

!! 4. The Needy Person

            Louie came to town when he was drinking.

Otherwise he trapped and worked in the little village in which he lived, but when he came to the town, he was drinking.

He often stopped in at the drop in center we had and would have a cup of coffee or a cup of soup.

Often he was friendly and we could talk a little and we talked about all kinds of things including spiritual things.

Sometimes, he was obnoxious and threatening and we had to escort him out of the building.

One time, I escorted him a little too hard and he landed on the pavement and scrapped himself.

I felt bad when I did that.

Several times when we were driving in downtown Winnipeg this winter there was a man on the boulevard begging for money.

One time we were ready to give him something, but then the traffic started moving and we didn’t get a chance.

Other times, I wondered if I should give him anything.

People at ICYA have developed a program of work education for people who have never been able to hold down a job and have been in trouble with the law as a result.

Sometimes the people who sign up don’t show up and they have to go to their place and get them out of bed.

It must be hard to continue to care about people who don’t care about themselves enough to try at least a little more.

There are a lot of needy people in the world.