Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, May 6, 2018 Becoming Love Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, May 6, 2018

Not easy! Temptations to be selfish, to feel proud, to feel entitled, etc. on every side How will we become the people that are described by a passage like 1 Corinthians 13? It’s not just for weddings!

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Bernard of Clairvaux: Four Degrees of Love Pushed along by suffering . . .

Isaiah 53:2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

Karen’s message Of our ancestor, Jesse Romans 15 and 12 And Isaiah’s word: There’s the root of our ancestor Jesse,      breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! (Romans 15:12, The Message)

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life- giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! (Romans 15:13, The Message)

So how? Start to grow our belief that God is for us, loves us as we are, and wants to be more involved in our lives Give it your best shot—try to do things you think God would be proud of Hang out with people that you think are already doing this to some extent Focus on the positive rather than the negative

Simple Story Barefoot Boy Anyone can connect It all starts with “Yes”