“Live in My Love!”
by Pastor Edwin Lehmann on May 8, 2021 in 17, John 15:9-12
The Sixth Sunday of Easter – “Rogate” May 9, 2021
Text: John 15:9-12,17 ILCW – B 21:2260
Theme: “Live in My Love!”
A neighbor stopped by with a box under her arm. She received it in the mail. “They fooled me,” she told her friend. “They said that they would send me a box of perfect glue. Look what I got!”
Her friend opened the box. Inside she found a piece of paper on which was written one word – Love. Still angry she complained, “They said it would mend almost anything.”
“Well, in a way, what they said is true,” replied her friend with a chuckle. “Love will mend almost anything, even broken hearts. No glue can do that.” After a moment, they both laughed and agreed that the neighbor had gotten exactly what the ad said. The most perfect glue is love; it will mend almost anything.
People spend a lot of money on a nice house, a big screen TV, the latest electronic devices, a new car, and the like. But if they don’t put love into their house, it will never be a happy home. If they could buy love for as much as a new car costs, what a bargain that would be. But love can’t be bought. It is given – freely.
Isn’t that what God does? He loves and reveals His love in giving it for free. The best known verse of the Bible says that: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” And that Son of God encouraged in our lesson here: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Remain in my love.” Literally, Live in It! Dwell in It! Abide in It.
I. Love and comforted.
He said these words to His disciples at a very difficult time for them. It was Maundy Thursday evening, the night before He was crucified. Within hours they would watch their Friend betrayed by one of them, seized by soldiers, tried in court, and hung from a cross like a murderous rebel. He would soon be gone, and it would be their duty to carry on with His work. They needed to fill His shoes and take over with the spreading of the Gospel.
When all these things would happen, waves of terrible emotions would sweep over them – distress, sorrow, confusion, anger, terror, despair, loneliness. They would be tempted to give up and run away. So Jesus prepared them ahead of time for the emotional storm with this comforting promise: “The Father loves me, and I love you. So, if I love you and the Father loves me, the Father also loves you. We both love you and will never take that love from you. No matter what lies ahead of you, Live in My Love, comforted, knowing that you are loved.” He wanted them to be sure of His love. Why was that so important?
There is nothing that the human heart craves more deeply than love. The little child finds its assurance in the love of its mother. The mother finds her joy in the love of her children. The husband finds inspiration in the love of his wife. And the wife finds security in the love of her husband. All of us hunger and thirst for the deep and abiding satisfaction of knowing that we are loved.
Yet, how often don’t we feel that it eludes us. It eludes the entire world. Look at all the strife and dissension, pride, prejudice, and hostility that is boiling over in our country today. Love eludes so many.
And it can elude each one of us, for there come those moments in life when in weakness we do not reach out in understanding, concern, and love for others. We do not always love our neighbor as ourselves, nor do we always feel loved by them. Who has not known at times the piercing pangs which come with the feeling that we are unnoticed, unneeded, unwanted, unloved? People hunger and thirst for the deep satisfaction of knowing that they are loved, for there is nothing that the human heart craves more deeply than the comfort of love.
So it is that Jesus assured us in our text, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now live in my love, comforted, knowing you are loved.”
Do you feel it? If it is true that God never lies nor changes, then His redeeming love is always yours. Live in it by faith.
One Sunday a 4 year-old girl was sitting in church next to her mother. Her eyes were intently focused on the picture of Jesus from her Sunday school lesson. Looking up at her mother and pointing to the picture of the Savior, she whispered with a joy that lit up her face, “He loved me!” And she settled back, content.
If only we who are older could always remember with the simple faith and joyful gratitude of a young child the love which Jesus has in His heart for us! If only we would recall the Savior’s assurance, “Greater love has no one than this that one lay down His life for his friends.” If only we would repeat with the same fervency and affection the words of Paul, “He loved me and gave Himself for me” (Ga.2:20).
All that we need to know for time and for eternity is summed up in the simple sweetness of those words. Does the world hate me (v.18)? He loved me! Do I find the way hard, the path dark, the night lonely, the surroundings friendless? He loved me! Does the shadow of tomorrow’s burden haunt my step and cause my feet to falter? He loved me, and His love will never change. It’s eternal.
Do my sins cause me alarm? My conscience disturb me? I need not fear. “He gave Himself for me.” On Calvary He drowned them in the depths of His unending love. He bore my guilt, paid my debt, endured my punishment, and suffered my sentence. He laid down His life for me! The result? Every year, every morning, every hour of my life is filled with the comforting assurance: I am forgiven! Truly, I am loved!
Dear friends, live in that constant awareness of Jesus’ saving love – loved and comforted.
II. Loving and comforting.
Live in it. What a neat phrase! Live in it. Abide in it. Remain in it. The words conjure up pictures of home life, putting down my roots, staying for a while in a place I call home. Home is where my thoughts are; home is where my heart lies; home is where I’d rather be. Jesus uses words that picture His love in terms of my home. How comfortable I am there.
As we live in that house of His love, loved, we will be enabled by Him to be loving to others. He said, “As the Father has loved me…and I have loved you, love one another.”
How much our world is desperately in need of such love. You can’t listen to the news without hearing acts of hatred and strife. Even within our own circles of family, friends, and acquaintances, how much spite and bitterness remain. But why? Why should we, for whom the Savior laid down His life, harbor ill will toward anyone? The same Savior who loved us loved him, no matter the color or language. The same Savior who gave Himself for us gave Himself for him, no matter who he is or where he lives. Can we hate any man whom our Savior loved and for whom He died?
No, for the cross of Christ is the melting pot of the ages. It is the place where smoldering hatred, blind prejudice, destructive strife, and life-long enmity is placed. There they melt away in the all-embracing love of Him who first loved us. There we are empowered to love. He said, “As I have loved you, love one another.” What kind of love did He have that we should imitate?
His was a love of insight and will. It saw us in our time of utmost helplessness and need and determined that nothing would stop Him “from laying down his life for his friends.” His love had motive, purpose, and reached out in activity. His love overlooked weakness and inability in others and went to the furthest extent possible without complaint or second thoughts. His love was self-sacrificing, self-excluding, all-providing. Can we do this?
It’s not easy to be as loving and comforting as Christ is to us. Here is the importance of His words: Live in My Love.
Love towards one another cannot be added to our lives apart from the love that flows to us from Him. It cannot be added at will like an ornament to a tree. Rather, love, genuine Christian love breaks out like fruit from a tree. It is the natural outgrowth of the faith in Christ that is alive within. Like an apple tree, alive within will bear apples on the outside, so Christians who live in His love will be loving. It’s a natural outgrowth of the faith in Christ that is alive within.
When we live in His love through the Gospel, take part in Him more intimately through His Sacrament, listen to Him more attentively through His Word, we will reflect the power of His love more radiantly and gloriously. We are loved to be loving.
And what better day to start then a day like today. Any day is good, but Mother’s Day ought to be something special to us when we consider the gift God has given us in our mothers. Others can tell what kind of people we really are by the way we act at home. If we love the Lord Jesus as the One who saved us eternally, we will want to be kind also to our family in our home, for we have been shown love to love. And when we live in love, then it could be said that God’s redeeming love has reached its goal in us. God grant it in our lives of faith for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Zion Lutheran Church of Springfield
(A member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod)
4717 S Farm Rd 135 (Golden Avenue)
Church phone: 417.887.0886 Pastor’s cell phone: 417.693.3244
www.zionluthchurch.com email: revelehmann@gmail.com
The Sixth Sunday of Easter: Rogate (“Pray”) May 9, 2021
“As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you.…Love one another as I have loved you….And the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” John 15:9,12,16
F o r O u r V i s i t o r s
The family of Zion welcomes you as we worship the Lord today. We encourage children to worship with us. However, if you need to leave with your child, there is a nursery room to the right as you exit the sanctuary. The rest rooms are located in the hallway between the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. Visitors, please sign our guest book to the right, just outside the sanctuary. We’re glad that you are here and pray that through our worship the Lord grants you peace.
U p o n E n t e r i n g G o d’ s H o u s e
“Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.” (Psalm 66)
W h a t T h i s S u n d a y i s A b o u t
Loved by God to be Loving. For years the Christian Church directed itself to prayer on this Sunday after Easter. In a normal season, these days came when the seed in the fields was springing to life and the people prayed for God’s blessings upon the fruit of the earth. That emphasis on prayer is still true in the Gospel Lesson today where Jesus urges us to “ask anything in His name and it will be given by the Father.”
But the main focus in our lessons is on the topic of Christ-like love. The crucified, now risen Savior’s love to us motivates us to love each other. In such love we pray for the needs of those who are His.
So today, on a day that is also celebrated in our land as Mother’s Day, we come before Him and pray: O God from who all good things come, grant to Your humble servants that we may think those things that are right and by Your merciful guidance may perform the same; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
– T h e W o r d o f G o d f o r T o d a y –
The First Lesson: Acts 11:19-26
After the first persecution of Christians in Jerusalem, the Word of the Lod spread as the disciples were forced to flee. They spread out, taking the message of Christ’s redeeming love with them. In Antioch they were first called “Christians.”
The Epistle Lesson: 1 John 4:1-11
John urges us to “test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” The Spirit of God is recognized in the words and deeds of those who love the Lord Jesus. The same is true of false prophets who lack His love. Mark them and avoid them as you continue to live in the true love of God in Christ.
The Gospel Lesson: John 15:9-17
There is a connection between love and obedience. As Christ obeyed His Father and carried out His saving love for us, we are moved in love to hold to His commands and obey them. By grace God dwells among believers in His Son and joins us together in a fellowship of love.
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The Organist: Jane Rips The Preacher: Pastor Edwin Lehmann
Points to Ponder: “There is nothing that the human heart craves more deeply than the comfort of understanding love. The child finds its assurance in the love of its mother. The mother finds her joy in the love of her children. The husband finds inspiration in the love of his wife, and the wife finds security in the love of her husband. All of us hunger and thirst for the deep and abiding satisfaction of knowing that we are loved….We are loved by the Son of God Himself! He says, ‘As my Father has loved Me, so have I loved you.’ What a measure of love that is!”
– Herman Gockel on The Measure of His Love
A Prayer for Mother’s Day: “Lord, I thank You for the gift of life and love You granted me through my mother. Bless mothers everywhere with love, patience, understanding, and strength to carry out their special work. Lead children everywhere to be thankful for their mothers and keep them faithful to Your Word; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Outline of Our Worship
Lord, Hear Us
Opening Thoughts on the Service
Entrance Hymn: #409
Order of Worship: Hymnal page 38, “Service of the Word”
Lord, Feed Us
Acts 11:19-26
Psalm of the Day: #66 Hymnal page 90
1 John 4:1-11
Hymn Response: #505
John 15:9-17
Sermon Hymn: #380
Sermon Text: John 15:9-12 Live in My Love.
Lord, Accept Our Response
Apostles’ Creed: Hymnal page 41
Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer. pg.43
Hymn: #492
Lord, Bless Us
Closing Prayer & Blessing: Hymnal pages 43-44
Silent Prayer
The Sixth Sunday of Easter – Series B
The First Lesson: Acts 11:19-26 – First to Be Called Christians in Antioch
19Those who had been scattered by the persecution that took place at the time of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch and also began to speak to the Greeks, preaching the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22A report about this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas on to Antioch. 23When he arrived and saw God’s grace, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts. 24He was a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a large number of people were added to the Lord.
25Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Epistle Lesson: 1 John 4:1-11 – God is Love
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming and is already in the world. 4You are from God and you have overcome the false prophets, because the one in you is greater than the one in the world. 5They are from the world. That is why they speak from a worldly perspective and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. The one who knows God listens to us, but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we can distinguish between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
7Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love. 9This is how God’s love for us was revealed: God has sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we may live through him. 10This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Dear friends, if God loved us so much, we also should love one another.
Gospel Lesson: John 15:9-17 – Remain in My Love and Love One Another
9“As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love. 10If you hold on to my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have held on to my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you these things so that my joy would continue to be in you and that your joy would be complete. 12“This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you continue to do the things I instruct you. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another.” The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version® (EHV®) copyright © 2019 The Wartburg Project.
C a l e n d a r & A n n o u n c e m e n t s f o r Z i o n L u t h e r a n C h u r c h
| Today
May 9 |
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Tues.
May 11 |
Wed.
May 12 |
Thurs.
May 13 |
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May 14 |
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May 15 |
Next Sun.
May 16 |
| 9:00 am
Divine Worship Service on line – Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Brief Bible Study
Easter 6 |
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11 am
Midweek Bible Class 5 pm Confirmation Choir
Ascension Day |
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9:00 am
Divine Worship Service with Holy Communion on line – Facebook 10:15 am Fellowship & Brief Bible Study
Easter 7 |
A Brief Bible Study on God’s Word for Today
What one word summarizes all of God’s commands? Love. Luke tells us that the early Christians showed love for God and for others by preaching the Gospel boldly even in the face of persecution. The Apostle John teaches us that love for God and His Word compels us to carefully examine all teachings and churches in the light of Scripture. Jesus himself commands us to love one another as He has loved us.
The Gospel Lesson: John 15:9-17 (answers are found on the back side)
- The world often portrays true love as weak and God’s commands as burdensome. According to verse 11, why did Jesus command us to show love?
- What is love?
Those We Remember In Our Prayers: Dea Windsor; Clyde Johnson; Dave Ballou; Greg Miller; Lou Schulz; Bill Buchanan; Norine Richardson; Barbara Long; Jodi Milam; William Moon; Patsy Mickelson; Lance Milam; Jodi Milam; and all those affected and recovering from the virus and other illnesses.
Forward in Christ’s next edition for May has arrived. There are copies for family and friends on the credenza in the narthex. Also, the next installment of Meditations daily devotions, beginning the end of the May, will be found there.
Copies of the Daily Devotions written by pastor this past week on Psalm 66 will be found in the narthex.
Phase Yellow of Restrictions Last week the Springfield/Greene County Health Department entered its yellow phase with covid restrictions. Churches and gatherings under 500 people may resume activities safely. However, masks are still to be worn. Our understanding about social distancing is that it is encouraged but not mandated. We still should follow cautious procedures at this time, but gatherings are not under the strict restrictions as they were previously. You will find masks, disposable gloves, and sanitizer in the narthex and the fellowship hall for your use. For today we continue to not pass the offering plate during the service. You will find it at the door upon leaving the sanctuary. That may change in the weeks ahead as we return to normal worship procedures. If you have any questions or thoughts on all of this, please see Pastor.
Upcoming Dates
June 6-8 – Family Campout for area WELS and ELS congregations at Heit’s Point – see insert for more information
The Week in Review
Last Sunday’s Worship Attendance: 26; Communed: 22; Bible Class: 16; Offering: $2,213; Midweek Bible Class: 6.
Next Sunday’s Lessons:
Easter 7: Acts 1:15-26; 1 John 4:13-21; John 17:11-19 (Series B)
Answers to Today’s Gospel Lesson Brief Study:
1 So that we might have His joy and that our joy may be complete. God does not give us His commandments to make our lives boring or more difficult, but rather because He knows that it is for our good. Following His commandments makes our lives happier.
- Love is self-sacrifice in attitude and action. Love is the opposite of selfishness. Love does everything for the other person. Jesus gives us the ultimate example of love in verse 13: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
This week I am praying for……
