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?
What is religion? Acts 26:5 (Mt. 22:37-39) Js. 1:26-27
What is love? Mt. 22:37-39; 1 Cor. 13; 1 Jn. 5:3
friend-love (phileo) Jn. 11:3
self-sacrificial love (agapao) Jn. 11:5
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?

6. 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?
Do You Belong to God?
Does Love Belong to Any Religion?