Motor Racing Outreach Valentines Love
How many of you exchanged gifts with your family members @ Christmas?
Giving someone a gift they enjoy is one way to show love. In order for others to know what your interests are, you might have come up with a list of items for gifts that you wanted to receive.
If you made a Christmas list for your family, I want you to take a minute to think about what you had on your list that you would love to get.
For some of you, this might come really easily. For others, you might not remember what you asked for. Maybe it was a certain toy or a special doll, a pair of headphones, or maybe even a pony!
Now that you’ve had a chance to recreate your list, I’m wondering if you got everything that you asked for?
All that I wanted for Christmas was an Instant Pot, a new robe and my family to be together at my house. I got everything wanted and am still enjoying my gifts.
If you did, are you happy and content with what you got?
I pray you are still enjoying your gifts and not wanting anything new. If you have already started another list of things that you want, things that you think will make you even MORE happy- we have a wonderful lesson to remind us about being content and thankful.
Isn’t it interesting how quickly our hearts look for the next big thing? Why do you think this is?
Wanting new and better things in life isn’t bad. However we need to be careful not to be consumed by those things. God always deserves to be first in our lives.
I have two bags here that will hopefully help us understand this more.
This bag is going to represent our hearts without God at the center. Wonder what might be the message of this bag?
Without God at the center, our hearts can be filled with greed, envy, jealousy, pride, and selfishness. Only God can remove these from our heart. He is the One who knows what makes our hearts happy and content because He is the One who made us.
Let me ask you another question. If you didn’t get everything you asked for this past Christmas, do you think that means you are loved any less?
Of course not! Our love for each other can never be measured by things of this world. True love comes from God and He showed His great love for us by giving us the greatest gift, His Son – Jesus!
When Jesus left His throne in heaven to come to earth, He wasn’t treated like royalty. He didn’t get a comfy warm place in the inn or a chair with pillows and a snack like all of you. He was laid in a manger with the animals, a humble spot, kind of like those of you sitting on the floor.
Instead of being served, Jesus came to serve. Jesus demonstrated love that was not of this world. He was always thinking about His Father and kept Him at the center of everything He did. Even though Jesus was mocked and mistreated, His heart remained humble. We know this because of how He spoke to others.
The Bible says in Luke 6:45 that our mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Think about the people you have been in contact with this week. Have your words been encouraging and forgiving or have you been impatient and frustrated with others?
Grab a piece of paper, look deep in your heart and write down ways that you may have failed this week. Then simply ask God to forgive you, maybe you need to make right some things and commit your way back to the Lord.
Remind: God loves you and freely forgives.
Truth Bomb:
Jesus was the only One who was without sin and yet He switched places with us! The penalty for our sin is separation from God. Jesus paid that penalty for us. With His death on the cross and our belief in Him, we can be close to the Father.
Through His life on earth, Jesus shows us what His Father’s love looks like. I’m going to need some more volunteers to read what’s inside this heart, with God at the center.
Jesus showed us divine love that is perfect.
What did we do to deserve switching places with Jesus? What did we do to deserve that kind of love?
Nothing!
Romans 5:8 says,
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The type of love that is in this heart always falls short of God’s perfect divine love (point to one with the cross)! The King shed His own blood for us. Nothing compares to that kind of love!
We can only show that kind of love to others when Jesus is the King of our hearts. This is one of the battles that you will fight every day in your Christian walk. The battle to keep Jesus at the center of your heart. Other people and things will want to take His place but He is the only One worthy of your heart.
When Jesus is at the center, our hearts will know joy. Our hearts will know peace and contentment. Even though our hearts will never be fully satisfied until we are in heaven, we have been given the Holy Spirit to help us produce fruit that comes from the Father.
The Bible says that one day Jesus will return to earth. Listen carefully to what He says to those who believe in Him in the book of Revelation.
My friends, we are to guard our hearts against the enemy and anyone else who wants to take God’s place. As a follower of Christ, we must remind ourselves of the commands He gives us in Matthew 22:37-39.
Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Love is our mission today.
“We love because Christ first loved us.” John 4:19
As you head into this week, be encouraged! You are loved by the King! There is no greater love!
Check out this amazing Valentines Science Experiment about how sharing love grows!!!
Email me how your experiment goes!! melanieself@go2mro.com
https://www.creativebiblestudy.com/objectlesson-valentines.html
mrocommunitycenter 