BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
SUNDAY 14Feb10
This is what the Sunday School groups were learning the hour prior to the sermon. 
None of the content of the Lifeway materials are quoted in the sermon text.

From: LifeTruths (Holman) & LifeWords (KJV)
Romans 8:5-8, 2 Cor. 4:3-4, 1Cor 2:12-16
CHANGE YOUR MIND
Don't Depend On Your Resume
Get To Know Jesus
Pursue A Mature Way Of Thinking
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From: Explore The Bible
Mark 12:13-17, 28-34
WHEN YOU FEEL OVERWHELMED
Prepare By Trusting The Spirit
Prepare By Staying With The Truth
Prepare By Rejoicing
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Today's Sermon

Testify To Love (by Avalon)

All the colors of the rainbow
All of voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation lives to testify

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the Hope in every heart will,speak what love has done

O-Oh Ohhh

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

Colors of the rainbow
Voices of the wind
Heaven reaches out where love begins
Word of every story
Star in every sky
All creation testify

Mountains to the valleys
Rivers to the sea
Heaven reaches out to offer peace
Simple act of mercy
Kingdom come
Every heart will speak what love has done

Colors of the rainbow
Voices of the wind
Heaven reaches out where love begins
Word of every story
Star in every sky
All creation testify

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will test------------------ify

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

For as long as I shall live 
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love!

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Salvation = Love from Sacrifice

Fellowship = Love from Sacrifice

Christian Marriage = Love from Sacrifice

Salvation = Love from Sacrifice

	God's desire, since the moment of the Fall back in the Garden of Eden, is to restore the 
	intimate relationship with His Creation.

Oh Lord Your Love (Caedmon's Call)
	 
Oh Lord I give you all I have
But it seems so little
When you have given me so much
I come to you with empty hands
And a heart that's fragile
You come to me with a wealth of love

Oh Lord Your love
Is new with every morning
Your faithfulness
It gets me through the night
You bid me come
You know that I am weary
Your yoke is easy
Your burden is light

And now I sing you songs of praise
But your greatness is beyond me
I know I can not comprehend
How You, Ancient of Days
Stoop Yourself to call me
To be Your son
To be Your friend

	It was for LOVE that Jesus went through the suffering of The Cross.

	It was for LOVE that God sent His Holy Spirit to live inside of every believer.

	It is LOVE that draws us to the salvation which provides fellowship with God for 
	eternity.

	It is LOVE that must guide our every thought and deed.

Fellowship = Love from Sacrifice

	We gather together in fellowship, even when it is inconvenient,  because the sacrifice of 
	shared learning and praise is a small thing for God to ask for His incredible gift of eternal 
	life.

	We LOVE the little children not only because they are innocent and adorable, but also 
	because Jesus says that they represent the kind and trusting hearts that He desires us to 
	to offer to Him – and because He has trusted His little ones to us for a while.

	We LOVE our children, even when they test our patience, because He still LOVES us 
	even though we should know better but daily test His patience.

	We LOVE one another, regardless of age, color, gender, physical health, race, or social 
	status because Jesus said that we are never allowed to consider those things when we 
	deal with fellow Created beings.

	READ:  OPENING THE WORD by Haddon Robinson

	It is LOVE among believers that draws the unsaved.

	It is LOVE that motivates us to care for one another in every need.

	It is LOVE that draws us together to celebrate our fellowship in Christ.

	It is LOVE that draws us to support evangelistic-missions across town and across the 
	world.

	It is LOVE that causes us to pray that our enemies will accept Christ and become our 
	brothers and sisters for eternity.

Christian Marriage = Love from Sacrifice

	Since the world makes such a big thing of romantic relationship at this time of year it is 
	only appropriate that we address some of that this morning.

	For those who are single, at any age, and are involved in or seeking romantic relationship
	let me ask “Who's in charge?”

	If anyone other than God is deciding if you should be in a romantic relationship (and it 
	must always with the goal of marriage or else it is sin), and if so with whom, and when 
	then you are doomed to failure.  If God is not Lord of your life before marriage He is not  
	likely to be after you are married.  If God was not welcomed as the Lord of your 
	courtship then He is unlikely to bless your wedding.  If God did not choose your mate 
	then guess who probably had a big hand in the choice … Hint:  You and your momma or 
	your buddies only think you made all of the decisions.  Remember the Prince of this 
	World who is the only alternative to God?

	I can only address heterosexual Christian couples, as a counselor it would be malpractice 
	for me to pretend to understand any other type of “couple”, and as a pastor I know that 
	the joining of a Christian with a non-Christian is neither Biblical nor healthy.

	For those here who are not married, please do not hear these words as somehow raising 
	the status of married above any other status; the Bible does not.  The Apostle Paul 
	recommended singleness - with undistracted service to God.  Marriage is a compromise 
	which necessarily draws attention away from God to serve the needs of a spouse, the 
	same as the does the raising of children – it sounds odd given our traditional notions 
	but that hard-teaching is clearly Biblical.

	I can state without fear of successful contradiction that I have taught the same Biblical 
	principle when I was single, after I married, and after God trusted us with children.

	Youth and unmarried brothers and sisters, please pray for those who are married, because 
	they (we) really need your prayers!  We promise to return prayers for you.

	Those who claim the name of Christ, who also are married, have accepted a considerable
	challenge before both God and man.  You (we) must strike a delicate balance between 
	our service to God and to our spouses.

	Christian Marriage is LOVE from Sacrifice because we must surrender ourselves to 
	another again, first to God, then to our spouse.

	The Biblically false notion that a Christian wife exists only to serve her husband is an 
	abomination to God, it does not represent His description of marriage, He says that a 
	husband *must* be willing to lay down his life for his wife as Jesus laid down His life 
	for the Church (the body of believers).

	So men, genuine Biblical Christian men, you (we) must not only sacrifice for our God, 
	but also for our wives (one each).  :-)  Honor does not come to the dishonorable, respect 
	does not come to the disrespectful, trust does not belong to the bully, and righteous love 
	is not generated by unrighteous leadership.  God says so – read His Book!  We have no 
	right to expect our wives to be any more forgiving or loving or righteous than we are, 
	since we are supposed to lead - by example!

	And women, genuine Biblical Christian women, when you serve your husband it is not 
	as a serf to a master or as a reluctant lesser Creation but for same responding-to-love 
	reason that you serve God.  We men are as imperfect as you, despite our efforts to 
	persuade you otherwise, God sees us clearly and chastises us regularly – but we remain 
	a proud and stubborn lot – in need of your (and His) patience and forgiveness.  God does 
	ask that you honor Him in all that you do, on our good days and yours, and on our bad 
	days and yours – everything either of us does or says is known to Him and judged by His 
	standards alone.

	So, now that I have shared so many hard teachings in a single morning how about if we 
	finish as we started with a sweet song of love to God.  Close your eyes, if you will, and  
	reflect upon what God has spoken into your heart this morning as you listen to the song - 
	Testify To Love (by Avalon)

CONCLUSION & PRAYER

Dear Lord,

	Please help us to learn and to apply Your example of a life that serves as a testimony to love.  Help us to see that it was love that brought Jesus to accept the suffering of the Cross, it was love that sent the Holy Spirit to live in every believer, and it is love that draws us to the salvation which provides fellowship with God for eternity.

	It is love that draws us together to celebrate our fellowship in Christ, it is love that draws us to support evangelistic-missions across town and across the world, and it is love that draws us to pray that our enemies will accept Christ and become our brothers and sisters for eternity.

	It is love that must guide our every thought and deed, it is love among believers that draws the unsaved, it is love that causes us to do all things as if we are doing them for you – because we are, it is love that binds friendships together, it is love that holds our marriages together, and it is love that motivates us to care for one another in every need.

	Father move in us now, and as we go out into the world, that what we have just shared 
be not mere words but that your life-changing power is already surging through us for lives that are daily testimonies of love!

	We are excited as we look ahead to this week – knowing that You will do great things!

Amen

Invitation

Prayer of Dismissal