December 25 - 1 John 3:1

Merry Christmas. What a joy it is to be with you this morning as we recognize and celebrate the birth of our savior. As this advent season comes to a close. I get to read the final passage of this advent series that Northland has shared this year. I hope you have enjoyed it as much as Randy and I have. This week, we have been reading all about love, and today we're going to look at 1st John 31. So let's see what John has to say about love. Behold what manner, the love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. There's 2 parts of this verse that really stuck out to me, and the 1st one was what manner of love that God has given to us, and also the 2nd part is that we should be called his children. Today is the ultimate example of God's love. It's a promise fulfilled in a single act. And if you don't personally know God's love or fully trust him in his love yet, this day is for you. It's all about you. John 316 tells us that for God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that you should not perish, but have eternal life. I just want to encourage you that if you want to learn more and know more about God's love. I, I, we would love to have you at Northland and come see what it's all about, what he is all about. And also as believers, I want to touch on that we are called his children, as John tells us. As someone's child, we reflect our parents' image. And I've been challenged this past year on how well I am reflecting or marrying God's image in regards to his love towards others. He is our heavenly father and creator, and I want his perfect love to be seen more in me than my broken version of love. I want to walk through this world as a better image bearer of this magnificent, tumbling love, and I want to honor his love well by doing so. 1st John 419 tells us that we love because he 1st loved us. It's only because of his love that we can love others. We cannot rely on our own strength to love our family, a stranger, or even maybe somebody that makes it harder to love. Well, without his love first. We have to rely on his love to pour out of us and not our own. And so I just want to say as we wrap up 2025 and and begin to walk into 2026. I want us to remember how much God does love us and all that he has done for us freely. And also that without this perfect love that he has shown us and given us, that we cannot love others well. Have a blessed day and Merry Christmas.