A number of churches on a Sunday near Valentines Day focus on that “God Loves You,” a time to share how God loves us all!
It goes without needing to say it, but this should happen not only every Sunday, but everyday.
It is a good time to make the connection with young children that God is the ultimate when it comes to defining and understanding love.
1 John 4:7-21 New International Version (NIV) God’s Love and Ours
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Here are several audio stories on love and relationships …
Dave’s love is obvious for all that his wife Kim brings to the world to share with him and others. Listen to him tell in his own words on Passages about Kim …
Sometimes what appears to be love can be misleading and a problem. Mary is a young woman who shares about an abusive relationship and her needing to break it off to find healing. Listen to Mary share her situation on Survivors …
A college student has the experience of a lifetime in having his mom go to school at the same time that he does and at the same school. Listen to Sherry talk about this time with her son and the fun they had together. Listen to Sherry on Passages …
Rachel had a rough relationship she worked through as a teen and is now married with a child having learned about love and life. Listen to Rachel share here story on Passages …
Here is a special treat when it comes to God’s love! A half-hour of jazz music on “Friendship” by Jeff Kellam, award-winning media producer and Presbyterian minister. Enjoy!
Healthy relationships with each other and the good Lord makes for a special Valentine’s Day weekend!
God loves you and we do to at Presbyterian Media Mission. Hug a special person today!
