1. Welcome to the assembly of the 160th Ave. Church of Christ!
We gather Sunday at 9 AM (class), 10 AM, 5 PM, & Wednesday at 7 PM
Check the bulletin for various announcements

2. Pray for Ben Calderon (Conway, Arkansas)
Sept. 17, 2017

3. My praise shall be of You in the great assembly; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!
(Psalms 22:25-26 NKJV)

4. Does Love Belong to Any Religion?
“Love has no labels” Campaign by The Ad Council
2015-present
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

5. Does Love Belong to Any Religion?
Love of God for man Friend (phileo) Jn. 16:27; Rev. 3:19-20; Js. 4:4 Self-sacrificial (agapao) Jn. 3:16; 14:23
II. God’s love for man
A. phileo
1. Jn. 16:27 God loved the disciples in response to their love for Jesus—this love grows by sharing things
2. Rev. 3:19-20
a. true friendship will rebuke and chasten
b. true friendship grows by dining together = a figure of closeness, openness, friendship
c. in Mt. 26:29, Jesus offers to eat with us on the Lord’s Day and His love for you grows in this---how sad when people decide “This Sunday, I’ll not eat with my Lord, I’m busy, on vacation, having a meal with family.”
3. This love has boundaries, is conditional Js. 4:4
a. God chooses His friends without favoritism but accepts no friend request from people persisting in pornography, uncontrolled anger, or any sin.
b. if I am not His friend, I am His enemy---yet, even then...
B. agape
1. Jn. 3:16 God loves all, in spite of what we have done, not because of what we have done (loves enemies)
2. Jn. 14:23 though God loves all, They will make Our home with only a few, not everyone
C. Do all religions present God as uniquely loving those who share His love for Jesus, as the disciples did?
1. Modern Judaism and all eastern religions, deny the Father sent Jesus of Nazareth.
2. This love is absent in religions that do not teach Jesus to be the primary expression of God’s love for us.
3. Do you view religion as involving God’s love for you in these ways?
4. Do you view religion as teaching boundaries to the friendship of God’s love?
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

6. Does Love Belong to Any Religion?
Love of man for God Friend (phileo) 1 Cor. 16:22; Mt. 10:37 Self-sacrificial (agapao) Mt. 22:37; Jn. 14:15, 23; 1 Pet. 1: Chron. 17:1-6
III. Man’s love for God
A. phileo
1. 1 Cor. 16:22 most passages talk of agape for Jesus but this is affectionate, friendship, developed love
2. Mt. 10:37 we must be most attached to God, not only most devoted
a. for what reasons are you attached to your family?
b. Jesus has proven His devotion to you is even stronger than your family’s—is yours?
3. Would you be married if your effort to know your spouse equaled your effort to know Jesus?
a. Would they have married you or said “You don’t talk to me every day and you listen even less often”!
b. Many of the things that make a strong, earthly friendship are true of our friendship with God (F,S,S)
i. time, learning about them, expressions of gratitude, desire to please them over please self and others
ii. The Lord’s Day may be the most visible and unique opportunity for these but it is not the only event by which God judges our lives
(A) that thinking is one reason why many people reject religion—they know people who make Sunday a special day but live no differently than they do.
(B) of all people, God’s people ought to know this and daily walk with God as a friend
B. agape
1. Mt. 22:37 God must be first in your heart, soul, mind, and strength
2. Jn. 14:15, 23 That love must be put to use inwardly and outwardly
3. 1 Peter 1:8 is it possible to love someone we have not seen, this way? Only if we really want to.
C. Sometimes, God’s people forget this is part of true religion
1. 1 Chron. 17, David and Nathan agree that God would approve of David building a temple, but God’s answer is ...have I ever spoken a word...saying ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’
a. they did not know God as well as they thought they did
b. when they learned better, their love was confirmed by doing His will and not theirs.
2. Many people try to express love for God, like David, by doing things God spoke nothing about
a. increasingly, there are churches of Christ who play songs to God (inst music)---when did He say...?
b. many religious groups will be hosting “Trunk or Treat” or “Fall Festivals”—when did He say...?
i. “Of course not, they didn’t have things like that back then...”
ii. Romans had around 60 holidays (some > 1 day), Jews had many—can you read of the church hosting a celebration or the apostles calling the church together on these occasions?
(song)
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

7. Love of man for man Friend (phileo) Jn. 12:25; Phil. 2:3
IV. Man’s love for man
A. phileo
1. Jn. 12:25 (love of self) we must learn to overcome the constant desire to love life by pleasing ourselves
2. Phil. 2:3 True love and true religion seeks ways to meet the needs of others
a. we live in a society obsessed by wants (entertainment, sports, hobbies, etc) neglecting needs--“Fundamentally, we’re about eliminating loneliness and boredom” (CEO of NetFlix)
b. Love (phileo) in religion is God’s plan for loneliness, boredom, and deepening mutual love by hospitality, visiting widows and orphans, considering and assembling with one another, praying for each other.
B. agape
1. Mt. 22: easy to understand, challenging to apply in our family, work, or school
2. Eph. 5:2 He is the standard for loving others =
v3-4, 7 my love for them means I will not participate in sin with them
v19 this love means I am an active participant in singing
v whether I must lead or submit myself in the home, I learn from Jesus that this is love
C. “If love has no religion” --
1. Loving self more than others is as morally good as loving others: abortion, suicide, marry whomever I want, divorce for any reason, even as a Christian I may always remarry—all without guilt.
2. Accepting all religions, regardless of their contradictions, can be good:
I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic.”
"There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ:”
Did you know you could believe this and then be declared a saint by the Catholic’s Pope? Sept “Mother Theresa” was declared a saint.
3. This is the love being pushed in parts of our society—they use the same word but it is of no more value than monopoly money.
(song)
(Wall Street Journal Oct. 25, 2016; accessed )
accessed
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

8. “Fundamentally, we’re about eliminating loneliness and boredom” (CEO of NetFlix)
Love is God’s plan for loneliness and boredom Pet. 4:9; Js. 1:27; Acts 2:42; Rom. 12:9-13

9. Does Love Belong to Any Religion?
Love of man for man Friend (phileo) Jn. 12:25; Phil. 2:3 Self-sacrificial (agapao) Mt. 22:38-39; Eph. 5:2
IV. Man’s love for man
A. phileo
1. Jn. 12:25 (love of self) we must learn to overcome the constant desire to love life by pleasing ourselves
2. Phil. 2:3 True love and true religion seeks ways to meet the needs of others
a. we live in a society obsessed by wants (entertainment, sports, hobbies, etc) neglecting needs--“Fundamentally, we’re about eliminating loneliness and boredom” (CEO of NetFlix)
b. Love (phileo) in religion is God’s plan for loneliness, boredom, and deepening mutual love by hospitality, visiting widows and orphans, considering and assembling with one another, praying for each other.
B. agape
1. Mt. 22: easy to understand, challenging to apply in our family, work, or school
2. Eph. 5:2 He is the standard for loving others =
v3-4, 7 my love for them means I will not participate in sin with them
v19 this love means I am an active participant in singing
v whether I must lead or submit myself in the home, I learn from Jesus that this is love
C. “If love has no religion” --
1. Loving self more than others is as morally good as loving others: abortion, suicide, marry whomever I want, divorce for any reason, even as a Christian I may always remarry—all without guilt.
2. Accepting all religions, regardless of their contradictions, can be good:
I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic.”
"There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ:”
Did you know you could believe this and then be declared a saint by the Catholic’s Pope? Sept “Mother Theresa” was declared a saint.
3. This is the love being pushed in parts of our society—they use the same word but it is of no more value than monopoly money.
(song)
(Wall Street Journal Oct. 25, 2016; accessed )
accessed
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

10. …When I asked her whether she converted, she answered, ‘Yes, I convert
…When I asked her whether she converted, she answered, ‘Yes, I convert. I convert you to be a better Hindu, or a better Muslim, or a better Protestant, or a better Catholic, or a better Parsee, or a better Sikh, or a better Buddhist. And after you have found God, it is for you to do what God wants you to do.’ ”

11. Does Love Belong to Any Religion?
Love of man for man Friend (phileo) Jn. 12:25; Phil. 2:3 Self-sacrificial (agapao) Mt. 22:38-39; Eph. 5:2
IV. Man’s love for man
A. phileo
1. Jn. 12:25 (love of self) we must learn to overcome the constant desire to love life by pleasing ourselves
2. Phil. 2:3 True love and true religion seeks ways to meet the needs of others
a. we live in a society obsessed by wants (entertainment, sports, hobbies, etc) neglecting needs--“Fundamentally, we’re about eliminating loneliness and boredom” (CEO of NetFlix)
b. Love (phileo) in religion is God’s plan for loneliness, boredom, and deepening mutual love by hospitality, visiting widows and orphans, considering and assembling with one another, praying for each other.
B. agape
1. Mt. 22: easy to understand, challenging to apply in our family, work, or school
2. Eph. 5:2 He is the standard for loving others =
v3-4, 7 my love for them means I will not participate in sin with them
v19 this love means I am an active participant in singing
v whether I must lead or submit myself in the home, I learn from Jesus that this is love
C. “If love has no religion” --
1. Loving self more than others is as morally good as loving others: abortion, suicide, marry whomever I want, divorce for any reason, even as a Christian I may always remarry—all without guilt.
2. Accepting all religions, regardless of their contradictions, can be good:
I’ve always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic.”
"There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ:”
Did you know you could believe this and then be declared a saint by the Catholic’s Pope? Sept “Mother Theresa” was declared a saint.
3. This is the love being pushed in parts of our society—they use the same word but it is of no more value than monopoly money.
(song)
(Wall Street Journal Oct. 25, 2016; accessed )
accessed
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

12. Love and Religion Belong to God
Do you?
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Eph. 2:13, 19 NKJV)