Sermon

These Three Remain (Sermon & Song) - DJ Dickerson - 5/31/26

La Porte Church of Christ Podcast

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  1. Our theme this evening's these three

  2. remain. And as you see the the scripture

  3. there that's underneath the title 1

  4. Corinthians 13 and verse 13. I'm sure

  5. you already guessed that already. And

  6. which that scripture says and now abide

  7. faith, hope, love these three but the

  8. greatest of these is love. We think

  9. about the church at Corenth and uh they

  10. had many blessings. They had knowledge,

  11. they had spiritual gifts, they had

  12. ability. Uh but they also had some other

  13. things and that was division, pride,

  14. they had spiritual immaturity. Well, in

  15. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul was

    1 Corinthians 13 chapter mention

  16. reminding them that religious activity

  17. without love is empty. He would even say

  18. in verses the first three verses that

  19. though I speak uh with the tongues of

  20. men of angels but have not love I have

  21. become s sounding brass or a claim

  22. symbol and though I have the gift of

  23. prophecy and understand all mysteries

  24. and all knowledge and though I have all

  25. faith so that I could remove mountains

  26. but have not love I am nothing and

  27. though I bestow all my goods to feed the

  28. poor and though I give my body to be

  29. burned but have not love it profits me

  30. nothing.

  31. And then Paul lifts their eyes to what

  32. truly remains. Some things were

  33. temporary. Some things would cease. Some

  34. things belonged to that age and would

  35. pass away. But three things would

  36. remain.

  37. Faith, hope, and love.

  38. Faith, as we'll talk about, and hope as

  39. well as love. Faith trusts what God has

  40. spoken. Hope holds to what God has

  41. promised. And love reflects the heart of

  42. God who first loved us. So this evening

  43. we'll think about these three words

  44. briefly through scripture as well as

  45. song. And let's start with our first

  46. scripture reading. Brother Bill Rose

  47. will lead us Hebrews chapter 11 and

    Hebrews 11 chapter mention

  48. verses 1-6. And following this scripture

  49. reading, Brother Kyle Copeland will lead

  50. us in a supplement 25. I close my eyes.

  51. Now faith is the substance of things

  52. hoped for, the evidence of things not

  53. seen.

  54. For by it the elders obtained a good

  55. testimony.

  56. By faith we understand that the worlds

  57. were framed by the word of God, so that

  58. the things which are seen were not made

  59. of things which are visible.

  60. By faith, Abel offered to God a more

  61. excellent sacrifice than Cain, and

  62. through which he obtained witness that

  63. he was righteous, God testifying of his

  64. gifts, and through it he being dead

  65. still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken

  66. away, so he did not see death, and was

  67. not found because God had taken him. For

  68. before he was taken, he had his

  69. testimony that he pleased God.

  70. But without faith, it's impossible to

  71. please him. For he who comes to God must

  72. believe that he is and that he is the

  73. rewarder of those who diligently seek

  74. him.

  75. One second.

  76. Hold on a second. Hold on a second. I'm

  77. coming off a bad sinus infection. Give

  78. me just one second. I didn't kind of

  79. pops up

  80. my prayer

  81. to my

  82. reaching

  83. cry

  84. in faithful.

  85. Give ear

  86. in right.

  87. Oh God

  88. of

  89. me to do

  90. my will

  91. thy spirit

  92. meas.

  93. at

  94. still

  95. I

  96. see his

  97. I close

  98. my

  99. eyes

  100. and feel

  101. his love

  102. for me

  103. because I trust

  104. ine

  105. to

  106. the My love

  107. is free

  108. when morning.

  109. Make me to know

  110. my way

  111. in my path

  112. should be

  113. he

  114. lift up to thee.

  115. I

  116. see his

  117. I

  118. feel

  119. is

  120. for me.

  121. We talk about faith, trusting what God

  122. has spoken. As we think about faith,

  123. faith is not guesswork. Uh faith is not

  124. blind optimism. Uh biblical faith is

  125. trusting God because God has spoken.

  126. Hebrews 11 verse one that brother Bill

  127. just read there for us. Now faith is a

  128. substance of things hoped for the

  129. evidence of things not seen. The point

  130. that we find from these passages the

  131. songs that we sing is that faith reaches

  132. beyond what the eye can see because it

  133. trusts the God who sees all things. Noah

  134. had faith before the rain came. Abraham

  135. had faith before he knew where the

  136. journey would lead. Moses had faith

  137. before Israel had crossed the Red Sea.

  138. Joshua had faith before the walls of

  139. Jericho failed. All of that recorded, of

  140. course, in our scriptures and even

  141. Hebrews 11 touches on those accounts

  142. that faith acts on God's word even

  143. before it sees the outcome. And what

  144. does verse six say from our reading? But

  145. without faith, it is impossible to

  146. please him. For he who comes to God must

  147. believe that he is and that he is a

  148. rewarder of those who diligently seek

  149. him. You know what that tells us? It

  150. tells us faith's not optional. Uh we

  151. cannot please God without trusting him.

  152. That second verse of that psalm, right?

  153. Trust.

  154. The one who comes to God must believe

  155. that he is and that he rewards those who

  156. diligently seek him. And that's what

  157. faith does really. Faith changes the way

  158. we worship, how we worship. It changes

  159. how we obey. It changes how we endure.

  160. It changes how we face uncertainty. We

  161. look to God's word because we're walking

  162. by what? By faith and not by sight. 2

  163. Corinthians 5 and verse 7. So that means

  164. the Christian life cannot be governed

  165. merely by what looks easy or what looks

  166. safe or what looks popular or what looks

  167. what looks convenient.

  168. We walk by faith. We live by trusting

  169. God's word. And when God commands, faith

  170. obeys. When God warns, faith listens.

  171. When God promises, faith believes. And

  172. when God leads, faith follows. That's

  173. why this next song that we're about to

  174. sing, faith is

  175. the victory.

  176. From that very verse,

  177. John wrote in 1 John 5 and verse4, for

  178. whatever is born of God overcomes the

  179. world. And this is the victory that has

  180. overcome the world. Our faith

  181. faith overcomes

  182. because faith clings to God when the

  183. world pressures us, when trials test us,

  184. and when circumstances

  185. confuse us. So as we sing this song, let

  186. us remember that victory is not found in

  187. our own strength. is not found on wisdom

  188. or in our own ability. Victory is found

  189. in trusting the Lord. Number 576,

  190. faith is the victory. Uh, brother Mike

  191. Burton will lead us in all verses of

  192. this song. And following this song, our

  193. next scripture reading will be by

  194. brother Keith Wise from Romans 8 18-2.

  195. mighty Christians

  196. below

  197. earth

  198. is Victory.

  199. We know

  200. that overstory

  201. is the victory.

  202. Oh, glor

  203. us.

  204. for the word of God.

  205. We tread the road. The saint

  206. with

  207. triath.

  208. is the victory.

  209. Oh, glorious victory

  210. that overcomes the world.

  211. in

  212. let

  213. behind and onward to the pray

  214. with truth.

  215. The earth shall

  216. be

  217. the victory.

  218. Is the victory.

  219. Oh, glorious victory

  220. that overcomes

  221. the world.

  222. For I consider that the sufferings of

  223. this present time are not worthy to be

  224. compared with the glory which shall be

  225. revealed in us. For the earnest

  226. expectation of the creation eagerly

  227. awaits for the revealing of the sons of

  228. God. For the creation was subjected to

  229. futility, not willingly, but because of

  230. him who subjected it in hope. Because

  231. the creation itself also will be

  232. delivered from the bondage of corruption

  233. into the glorious liberty of the

  234. children of God. For we know that the

  235. whole creation groans and labors with

  236. birth panges together until now. Not

  237. only that, but we also hope who have the

  238. first fruits of the spirit, even we

  239. ourselves grown within ourselves,

  240. eagerly waiting for the adoption, the

  241. redemption of our body. For we are saved

  242. in this hope, but the hope that is seen

  243. is not hope. For why does one still hope

  244. for what he sees? But if we hope for

  245. what we do not see, we eagerly wait for

  246. it with perseverance.

  247. We're thinking about faith, how faith

  248. looks upward to God's word. But be

  249. because we trust what God has spoken, we

  250. can also hold firmly to what God has

  251. promised. And that brings us to what

  252. we're just reading there from Romans

    Romans 8 chapter mention

  253. chapter 8 about hope. Holding to what

  254. God has promised. You know, hope is one

  255. of the great blessings of the Christian

  256. life. Uh in everyday language, people

  257. often uh will use that word hope to mean

  258. uncertainty. Uh we say I hope it works

  259. out, right? Use that kind of language or

  260. I hope things get better. But biblical

  261. hope that we're reading about is

  262. stronger than that because biblical hope

  263. is confident expectation. That's what

  264. Paul was talking about in Romans chapter

    Romans 8 chapter mention

  265. 8, right? It's based on the promises of

  266. God. So hope does not mean well maybe

  267. God will keep his word or or you know uh

  268. maybe no God has spoken and and you know

  269. we're just not sure. Hope means God has

  270. spoken and his promises are sure.

  271. No Romans 8

  272. is honest about suffering.

  273. Paul says creation groans. That wording

  274. um we ourselves grown, you know, because

  275. we're not immune uh from that of pain or

  276. sorrow or sickness or loss or hardship.

  277. We understand that kind of that kind of

  278. wording. But Paul says, "For I consider

  279. that the sufferings of this present time

  280. are not worthy to to be compared," y'all

  281. see that with a glory which shall be

  282. revealed in us. What is that word? Hope.

  283. That's what we're seeing in that

  284. passage. Hope.

  285. Hope does not deny suffering.

  286. Hope says suffering is not final.

  287. Hope does not pretend that darkness is

  288. not real. Hope says that darkness will

  289. not overcome light.

  290. Hope does not say Christians will never

  291. weep.

  292. Hope says Christians do not weep as

  293. those who have no hope. First

  294. Thessalonians 4 talks about that.

  295. Our hope is not built on health. It's

  296. not built on on money, comfort,

  297. politics, earthly security, or human

  298. strength. Our hope is not built on those

  299. things. Because as we know, if we've

  300. lived any amount of time upon this

  301. earth, we realize that all of those

  302. things I just mentioned can change in an

  303. instant.

  304. But our hope is built on Christ.

  305. Jesus died, was buried, rose again, and

  306. reigns,

  307. and he's coming again. And because he

  308. lives, we have hope beyond the grave.

  309. Peter spoke about how God has begotten

  310. us again to a living hope through the

  311. resurrection of Jesus Christ from the

  312. dead.

  313. Well friends, our hope is living because

  314. our savior is living. That's how that

  315. works.

  316. So when we sing this next song, the

  317. solid rock,

  318. we need to remember that our hope is

  319. built on nothing less than Jesus blood

  320. and righteousness.

  321. It's not built on the shifting

  322. circumstances of life. And we need that

  323. reminder again today. 378, the solid

  324. rock. We'll sing first, third, and

  325. fourth verses of this song. Brother Kyle

  326. Copelan will lead us in this song.

  327. Brother Otis Smith will follow that song

  328. with a scripture reading from Hebrews

    Hebrews 6 chapter mention

  329. chapter 6 and verses 17- 20.

  330. My hope is built on nothingless

  331. blood and

  332. I dare not trust the sweetest

  333. but lean on Jesus name

  334. A solid

  335. rock I stand. All other ground is

  336. sinking sand. All other ground is

  337. sinking sand.

  338. His hope is

  339. not his blood.

  340. But when all around my soul gives heid

  341. rock I stand. All other ground is

  342. sinking sand. All other ground is

  343. sinking sand.

  344. He shall come with trumpet sound. Oh may

  345. I

  346. be found dress in his rightous

  347. alone. All to stand

  348. before the throne. On Christ the solid

  349. rock I stand. All other ground is

  350. sinking sand. All other ground is

  351. sinking sand.

  352. wherein God was willing more abundantly

  353. to show unto these heirs a promise the

  354. immutability

  355. of his counsel confirmed it by an oath

  356. that by two immutable things in which it

  357. was impossible for God to lie we might

  358. have a strong consolation we have fled

  359. for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set

  360. before us which hope we have as an

  361. anchor of the soul both sure and

  362. steadfast and which enterth into that

  363. within the veil, whether the forerunner

  364. is for us entered, even Jesus made his

  365. high priest forever after the order of

  366. Mazdc.

  367. Hebrews chapter 6 gives us another

    Hebrews 6 chapter mention

  368. beautiful picture. It says that hope,

  369. we had this hope as an anchor of the

  370. soul. You know, I thought about this,

  371. you know, that an anchor uh may not seem

  372. important when the water's calm. Um but

  373. when the storm rises and and the waves

  374. begin to beat against the ship, uh well,

  375. the anchor matters, doesn't it? Well,

  376. you think about the soul. The soul needs

  377. an anchor.

  378. Life has storms. Temptation can be a

  379. storm. Grief can be a storm. Uh fear can

  380. be a storm. You can list many other

  381. ones. encouragement or uncertainty.

  382. There's several.

  383. And when the storms come, the question

  384. is, what holds your soul?

  385. If our soul is anchored in comfort,

  386. guess what? Comfort can disappear. Uh if

  387. if our soul is anchored in health, well,

  388. I think we understand health can fail.

  389. Anchored in people, well, people can

  390. disappoint. uh anchored in self. Well,

  391. I'll find real quickly and you will too

  392. that I'm not strong enough and neither

  393. are you. But if our soul is anchored in

  394. Christ, we can be held in every storm.

  395. That does not mean that we won't feel

  396. the wind.

  397. It doesn't mean that we'll never see the

  398. waves,

  399. but it does mean that we are held by one

  400. greater than the storm.

  401. Because Christian hope says this world

  402. is not all that there is. Hope says God

  403. is not finished. Hope says the promises

  404. are still true. Hope says heaven heaven

  405. is worth it. And hope says be faithful

  406. unto death and he will give you a crown

  407. of life. That's what hope says.

  408. It's what the scriptures make abundantly

  409. and clear. And even as the songs

  410. speak loudly as well. 496. We have an

  411. anchor.

  412. >> Brother Mike Vernon will lead us in all

  413. verses of this psalm. Following this

  414. psalm, brother Keith Massie will lead us

  415. in our next scripture reading from 1

  416. John 4 in verses 7- 11.

  417. In the storms of life, when the clouds

  418. of

  419. when the strong

  420. and the

  421. strength will anor

  422. We have an

  423. soul

  424. steadfast and true

  425. in the Savior. Savior's love

  426. storless

  427. to drink.

  428. We have anger that keeps us soul

  429. pressed

  430. in the

  431. love

  432. when our

  433. We hold through the

  434. night the city of

  435. our heart.

  436. We shall

  437. pass by the heavenly

  438. with the storms

  439. pass forever

  440. more.

  441. We have an

  442. soul

  443. and sure while the buildior

  444. Beloved, let us love one another, for

  445. love is of God, and everyone who loves

  446. is born of God and knows God. He who

  447. does not love does not know God, for God

  448. is love. In this the love of God was

  449. manifested toward us, that God has sent

  450. his only begotten son into the world,

  451. that we might live through him. In this

  452. is love, not that we love God, but that

  453. he loved us and sent his son to be the

  454. perpetuation for our sins. Beloved, if

  455. God so loved us, we also ought to love

  456. one another.

  457. So as we started out faith, trust what

  458. God has spoken.

  459. The second word, hope holds to what God

  460. has promised.

  461. Recognizing what Paul said even 1

  462. Corinthians 13 and verse 13, he said,

  463. "The greatest of these is love."

  464. Faith is essential.

  465. Hope is powerful.

  466. But love is greatest because love most

  467. fully reflects the character of God

  468. himself.

  469. So we come to this word love

  470. living like the God who first loved us.

  471. I thought about how the world talks a

  472. lot about love.

  473. But the world often defines love in

  474. shallow type ways. Sometimes love is

  475. treated as simply an emotion. Uh It's

  476. even confused with the approval of

  477. everything.

  478. And sometimes love is reduced to just

  479. sentiments. But scripture defines love

  480. by pointing us to God.

  481. And what did John say there? 1 John 4

  482. and verse 8. God is love.

  483. That does not mean that love is whatever

  484. man wants it to be. It means true love

  485. must be understood by looking at God and

  486. looking to God. And the question that I

  487. pose in this is where has God shown his

  488. love most clearly

  489. at the cross.

  490. Verse nine, that's what it says in this.

  491. The love of God was manifested toward us

  492. that God has sent his only begotten son

  493. into the world that we might live

  494. through him. What that tells me is love

  495. begins with God.

  496. We did not earn it. We did not deserve

  497. it. It says God loved first. I think

  498. about Romans 5 and verse eight even. But

  499. God demonstrates his own love toward us

  500. in that while we were still sinners,

  501. Christ died

  502. for us. So God's love is not merely

  503. spoken. It's demonstrated. God gave his

  504. son. That's the meaning of love.

  505. That's the very measure of love. That's

  506. the power of love.

  507. When we sing the love of God,

  508. we're singing about a love greater than

  509. we can fully measure.

  510. It's a love that reaches down to

  511. sinners.

  512. Love that offers forgiveness.

  513. It's a love that calls out

  514. of darkness.

  515. Calls us into his marvelous light.

  516. But the love of God is not only

  517. something that we receive. It's

  518. something that we also reflect.

  519. John said, "Beloved, if God so loved us,

  520. we also ought to love one another."

  521. Friends, I want us to be reminded that

  522. if we have received God's love, we must

  523. in turn show God's love. And with that,

  524. our next song that we'll be singing,

  525. number 636.

  526. We'll sing verses 1, three, and four,

  527. titled The Love of God. Brother Kyle

  528. Copelan will lead us in this song. And

  529. following this song, Brother Keith

  530. Massie will lead us in our next

  531. scripture reading from John 13:es 34 and

  532. 35. If it's convenient, would you stand

  533. for this song?

  534. >> Please sing it off the porch.

  535. The love of God is shed. Christ's

  536. blessings on my head. I am

  537. in my

  538. hide

  539. and never part

  540. of God.

  541. Soul will glow like Jesus

  542. in his tender mercy.

  543. If the heart is made,

  544. the love of God

  545. in the

  546. love of God will never

  547. fail or lose his glory

  548. till we sing

  549. to praise.

  550. He gave his love to me that I s

  551. of

  552. In the heart,

  553. the soul will glow like Jesus

  554. in his tender mercy.

  555. If the heart is made,

  556. the love of God

  557. through

  558. it is the

  559. love of God will never

  560. fail or lose it glory

  561. till we sing

  562. to

  563. his true and bright. We are walking in

  564. the light. He has shown

  565. us the world.

  566. He is glory

  567. Jes. Jesus

  568. in his tender mercy

  569. if the heart is

  570. well.

  571. The love of God

  572. like a flame.

  573. The love of God will never

  574. fail or lose it glor.

  575. And a new commandment I give to you,

  576. that you love one another as I have

  577. loved you, that you also love one

  578. another. By this all will know that you

  579. are my disciples

  580. if you have love for one another.

  581. What we were singing and reading from

  582. these passages, think about love,

  583. how love is really a mark of disciplehip

  584. on

  585. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus

  586. told his disciples about this

  587. commandment that he gives

  588. that you love one another as I have

  589. loved you. And I want you to notice the

  590. standard. It says, "As I have loved

  591. you." We got to hold to that, right?

  592. Because Jesus does not leave love

  593. undefied.

  594. He shows us what love looks like. That's

  595. what Paul was trying to impress

  596. obviously in 1 Corinthians chapter 13

    1 Corinthians 13 chapter mention

  597. about love

  598. because

  599. Jesus we know loved humbly. We know

  600. Jesus loved sacrificially. He loved

  601. truthfully. He loved patiently. He loved

  602. enough to serve. He loved enough to die.

  603. And what did he say? By this all will

  604. know that you are my disciples. If

  605. that's condition, if you have love one

  606. another.

  607. See, love is one of the identifying

  608. marks of a disciple of Christ.

  609. We shouldn't be known for bitterness,

  610. arrogance,

  611. harshness, or constant strife. That's

  612. thing Paul was trying to get through the

  613. Corinthians head. That's not the way of

  614. Christ. That's not what a Christian's to

  615. be. He says, "We're we're to be known by

  616. love."

  617. And biblical love does not abandon

  618. truth. Even as Paul said in 1

    1 Corinthians 13:6

  619. Corinthians 13:6, "Love does not rejoice

  620. in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth."

  621. My friends, true love never celebrates

  622. sin. True love never ignores God's work.

  623. Truth must be spoken absolutely

  624. and it must be lived in the spirit of

  625. Christ.

  626. Because I can tell you it is quite

  627. possible to be doctrally correct and

  628. spiritually unkind.

  629. It's true.

  630. It's possible to speak truth without

  631. tenderness,

  632. without gentleness. It's possible to

  633. defend what is right while forgetting

  634. the heart of the Savior.

  635. That's why first Peter 13 draws us,

  636. calls us higher.

  637. How love suffers long in is kind.

  638. Does not envy. Love does not parade

  639. itself. Does not puffed up. Does not

  640. behave rudely. Does not seek its own.

  641. Does not provoke. Thinks no evil. Does

  642. not rejoice in rejoices in the truth.

  643. Bears all things. Believes all things.

  644. Hopes all things. Endures all things.

  645. Look at this. Love

  646. never

  647. fails.

  648. Love never fails.

  649. But that kind of love, that's not

  650. weakness. You know what that is? That's

  651. Christ likeness.

  652. When we sing this next song,

  653. oh to be like thee. We are not only

  654. saying we love him with our words, we

  655. are remembering that he first loved us.

  656. And if we truly love him, that love must

  657. shape the way we live.

  658. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my

  659. commandments." John 14:2.

    John 14:2

  660. His love for Jesus

  661. obeys Jesus.

  662. Love for Jesus also learns to live

  663. and to love the people that Jesus

  664. lived and died for, ones that Jesus

  665. loves.

  666. Let's sing the first three verses of Oh,

  667. to be like thee. That's from 97. Oh, to

  668. be like thee.

  669. And brother Mike Burden will lead us in

  670. this song and then we'll have our

  671. concluding remarks.

  672. Blessed

  673. is my

  674. longing and pray

  675. for

  676. Jesus

  677. to wear.

  678. ine

  679. blessed redeemer

  680. sweetness

  681. deep on my heart

  682. to I

  683. full of compass,

  684. loving, for

  685. tender and

  686. helping the

  687. cheering the

  688. seeking the

  689. s

  690. to be like

  691. blessed redeemer

  692. as thou

  693. sweetness

  694. in thy

  695. My

  696. deep

  697. heart,

  698. holy in spit,

  699. holy and

  700. patient and bravely

  701. endure.

  702. willing to

  703. others to save

  704. to be like

  705. blessed redeemer.

  706. Pure as thy

  707. sweetness.

  708. These three remain.

  709. I want to bring the three together as we

  710. close this evening.

  711. Faith trusts God's word. Hope clings to

  712. God's promises. And love reflects God's

  713. heart.

  714. I think it's quite apparent in what

  715. we've looked at briefly because this

  716. would be a long long lesson for that

  717. matter in a series.

  718. But those three belong together, don't

  719. they?

  720. Because faith without love can become

  721. cold.

  722. Hope without love can become

  723. self-focused.

  724. And love without faith and truth can

  725. become shallow.

  726. But when you put faith, hope and love,

  727. they abide together. And the Christian

  728. life becomes strong. It becomes

  729. beautiful. It becomes exactly what God

  730. wants it to be because faith says God

  731. has spoken and I will trust him. And

  732. hope says God has promised and I will

  733. wait for him. Love says God has loved me

  734. and I will live for him.

  735. And what's interesting as I was think

  736. about how to end this lesson, the sermon

  737. in song.

  738. I thought where do we see all three of

  739. these?

  740. I take us back to a point I made earlier

  741. in passage. We see all of these at the

  742. cross.

  743. At the cross, faith sees the word of God

  744. fulfilled.

  745. At the cross,

  746. hope sees salvation secured.

  747. At the cross, love sees the heart of God

  748. revealed.

  749. You know, we should also see those three

  750. in the church.

  751. faithful congregation believing the word

  752. of God, a hopeful congregation

  753. looking toward heaven, and a loving

  754. congregation caring for souls.

  755. That's exactly what Corinth needed.

  756. And that's the same thing we need today

  757. because when life is uncertain, you know

  758. what remains? Faith does. When the world

  759. is dark, hope remains. When people are

  760. difficult, love remains.

  761. When earthly things pass away, these

  762. three remain.

  763. But the greatest of these is love.

  764. These three meet in Christ.

  765. I want us to gather these three words

  766. around one place and that again the

  767. cross of Christ and now abide faith hope

  768. love these three but the greatest of

  769. these is love.

  770. These words are not abstract words.

  771. They're not merely religious qualities

  772. to admire from a distance. They are seen

  773. most clearly in Christ.

  774. Because at the cross,

  775. faith sees that God keeps his word.

  776. Every promise, every prophecy, every

  777. shadow, every sacrifice, every picture

  778. of redemption finds its meaning in

  779. Christ.

  780. at the cross. Hope with Jesus death and

  781. resurrection. The Christian has hope

  782. beyond guilt, beyond suffering, beyond

  783. the grave itself and beyond this present

  784. world.

  785. At the cross, love.

  786. God demonstrated his own love toward us

  787. and that while we were yet sinners,

  788. Christ died for us. Friends, that's why

  789. at the cross, I believe, is such a

  790. fitting song

  791. to be the invitation.

  792. The hymn brings us to the place where

  793. mercy was great and grace was free.

  794. It reminds us that the burden of sin can

  795. be lifted, that darkness of guilt can be

  796. removed, and the soul can find peace in

  797. the crucified savior.

  798. So this evening, we don't close by

  799. simply remembering three words.

  800. We close by looking to the Savior who

  801. gives those words their actual meaning.

  802. If you're not a disciple of Christ, a

  803. Christian, the cross tonight calls you

  804. to respond.

  805. I think the Psalms and the scriptures

  806. make it abundantly clear what those

  807. words mean.

  808. you repent of your sins,

  809. confess Christ to be the son of God, and

  810. be baptized to rise and walk in his life

  811. as Romans 6 3 and 4 says,

  812. because Jesus did not merely, he did not

  813. die just for us to remember some type of

  814. story. He died to save sinners. He shed

  815. his blood so that we can have

  816. forgiveness. He rose from the dead so we

  817. can have life.

  818. the gospel calls you tonight.

  819. Maybe you're a Christian.

  820. Perhaps this even you need to return to

  821. the cross.

  822. Maybe your faith has grown weak. Maybe

  823. your hope has grown dim. And maybe your

  824. love,

  825. you need to remember and be restored.

  826. So as we sing the song at the cross,

  827. sing verse one, two, and four where the

  828. cow hill will lead us in this invitation

  829. song that we remind ourselves tonight

  830. where our salvation begins, where our

  831. confidence rest, and where the love of

  832. God is most clearly seen. your sub

  833. invitation. Paul, why won't you come as

  834. we stand and sing this song as selected?

  835. >> My

  836. God,

  837. would he

  838. hold that

  839. for such a

  840. At the cross, at the crossaw

  841. and the burden of my heart roll away.

  842. It was there.

  843. I receive my sight and now I am happy

  844. all the

  845. for

  846. the Amazing.

  847. Grab

  848. at the cross. at the cross where I first

  849. saw the light and the

  850. heart roll away.

  851. It was there by faith. I receive my

  852. amay.

  853. Dear Lord,

  854. I give myself

  855. away.

  856. All that I can do

  857. at the cross at the cross where I saw

  858. the light and the burden of my heart.

  859. Roll away. Go away. It was there by

  860. my

  861. >> Please

  862. this evening 164 death of the gospel.

  863. for the death and the riches of God

  864. for me

  865. by the

  866. paid

  867. Calary

  868. of such wonderful loveless

  869. and full and free

  870. on

  871. marvelous mercy

  872. What

  873. I see

  874. by his blood I am. I am happy and free

  875. through the suffering on Calary

  876. and such wonderful loveless

  877. and

  878. free

  879. on Calary.

  880. We have any in the audience this evening

  881. need to take the Lord's supper?

  882. I don't see

  883. Again,

  884. it's wonderful that we could be here on

  885. this Lord's Day evening. Always

  886. appreciate those that that help out with

  887. the uh song service. Obviously, all of

  888. y'all singing out, but of course, the

  889. men who write their names down there to

  890. lead us in the songs as well as the

  891. scripture readings. Uh so, I certainly

  892. do appreciate participation there. It

  893. helps it go a lot smoother. Um, just a

  894. reminder and thankful for our visitors

  895. for coming and being with us and joining

  896. us in this time of worship this evening.

  897. Uh, just a reminder that we uh have our

  898. Wednesday evening 7 o'clock. That's our

  899. singing night this week. Our first

  900. Wednesday night of the month. Uh, so uh

  901. if you have any particular songs or

  902. anything you would like to to have left,

  903. then uh send those to me. I do have a

  904. new one that I just received um from uh

  905. Sister Kathy from one of her So, I'll be

  906. sending that out in email so you can

  907. listen to that song. It's a beautiful,

  908. beautiful song. Um, and you'll and we'll

  909. have it on the screen and all sorts of

  910. things as well. So, we'll practice that

  911. before Sunday evening. So, look that

  912. look for that in your emails and also on

  913. the Facebook members group and such. All

  914. right. Uh, make sure to grab bulletin.

  915. Lots of folks to remember in there. Um,

  916. I'm hopefully not overlooking anyone in

  917. in our sickness having updates on at

  918. this time. Uh but as far as that uh

  919. let's again rejoice in our new brother

  920. in Christ, Carrie. We're so thankful for

  921. his decision and putting on the body of

  922. Christ in baptism this morning. I mean

  923. that's the best way I tell you to start

  924. off a worship service. It is um I was

  925. energized the whole rest of the rest of

  926. the service right there. U and so we're

  927. just uh thankful for him and uh let's be

  928. continually praying for him and and

  929. support him and be an encouragement to

  930. him as he as he walks uh with us. We

  931. walk in the Lord. Uh there's nothing

  932. else at this time. Then we will have our

  933. closing song number 110. My Jesus I love

  934. thee. And following this song will be

  935. led in our closing prayer for brother

  936. Wayne Weiss.

  937. My Jesus,

  938. I love

  939. thee. I know

  940. thou art mine

  941. for the

  942. all the

  943. of

  944. Ir.

  945. Myior

  946. my Jesus

  947. is

  948. I'll

  949. be in love

  950. will love

  951. in heaven

  952. and praise

  953. me as long

  954. as thouest

  955. me

  956. as

  957. the death

  958. cold

  959. on my ground.

  960. If ever

  961. I love

  962. thee, my Jesus

  963. is now

  964. in

  965. glory

  966. and

  967. he lives.

  968. I

  969. adore

  970. thee in

  971. so bright.

  972. I'll sing

  973. with the

  974. ground

  975. on my brow.

  976. I love

  977. my Jesus.

  978. Father in heaven, we thank you for this

  979. beautiful Lord's day and for all the

  980. blessings that you've given us. And we

  981. thank you for this opportunity to come

  982. together and to close the day with

  983. another worship service unto you.

  984. We thank you for the congregation that

  985. is that labors here at Leaport,

  986. for the stand that they've taken for the

  987. truth over the years, and for the

  988. congregation, this particular generation

  989. of the congregation that meets here on a

  990. regular basis. And we thank you for all

  991. these individuals that are present here

  992. this evening.

  993. We thank you for the brethren who have

  994. have participated and volunteered to

  995. participate in this service, who have

  996. led us in this way.

  997. We thank you for each and every member

  998. who has lifted up their voices in song

  999. to admonish and to teach one another.

  1000. We thank you for the message of the

  1001. truth of the gospel that you've given to

  1002. us that we can have these three things,

  1003. the faith, the hope, the love, and

  1004. realizing that these three things abide,

  1005. but the greatest of these is in fact is

  1006. in fact love. We ask that you help this

  1007. congregation to grow in love and each

  1008. congregation that we may represent

  1009. whether it's here in Leaport or in other

  1010. places that we might be a member of.

  1011. Help us all to be the kind of people

  1012. that you would have us to be so that

  1013. they can see you living through us not

  1014. only as individuals but even as a church

  1015. as the bride of Christ. May we draw all

  1016. men unto you through the body of Christ

  1017. the church. Be with this good

  1018. congregation. Be with all that are

  1019. working here and help them to to

  1020. continue to