Sermon Date: 2009/3/22

DATE: 2009/3/22
SCRIPTURE READING: I Corinthians 13:1-6
SERMON: Do What the Word Says
講道題目: 聽道行道
The Bible said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”(James 1:22) God’s word is for us to do. Not for us to hear only. Paul said, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”(I Corinthians 13: 1-3) We heed what the word says by doing what love demands.
I. Paul tells us that love is faithful to the end. “Love is patient, long suffering and is kind.” It never gives up. It is the eternal spirit brooding over life’s brokenness, bringing light out of darkness, reducing chaos to order. Paul does not say that love is never discouraged, never makes mistakes; he simply says, “Love never ends.” It is deathless.
(a) During the excavations of the ruins of Pompeii it is reported that the workers came upon the skeletal remains of a mother and her child, with the mother’s arm under the child. There in the darkness and the dust, through centuries and centuries they lay, symbolic of the unending love of a good mother. “Ah, the terrible burden of love!”
(b) In the story of the prodigal son the father knew the dreadful burden of love. After months and months of wandering in a foreign environment, spending his resources foolishly against his father’s wishes, the lad came to himself. We are told that in the travail of his soul he decided to go back home, and hopefully he might be accepted as one of his father’s servants. What happened upon his return? The father saw him at a distance and went out to meet him. The love that had suffered long was patient and kind. What an opportunity to have chastised the lad! But there was not a word of bitterness. “Love keeps no score of wrongs.” For love it was a time to rejoice. “This is my son who was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” The family once broken was made whole again. And that which made it whole again was the endless love of a good father who had suffered long and was patient and kind. “Ah, the terrible burden of love!”
II. Let us note another dimension of love: “Love believes all things.” To some this may seem like credulity. The person who literally believes all things must be confused; a weak mind that is easily exploited. In the original Greek it helps us to a clearer understanding of Paul’s thinking. “Love is always eager to believe the best.” That makes sense.
(a) Admittedly this is a difficult standard to embrace. Psychologists have shown us that there is something within our nature which makes it easy for us to believe the worst. We have an appetite for bad news. At worst we may become scandalmongers and gossipers, dispensers of half- truths. There is something within human nature that makes it easy for us to rejoice in the failure of another human being. It was against such temptation that Jesus directed his warning, “Judge not lest you be judged.”
(b) This tendency to believe the worst has more than individual application. There are some who look at the whole of life in this manner. It is a destructive approach to life. But love, not blind to the failures and weaknesses of man, is always eager to believe the best. This is the creative force in life. Love begets love; it evokes good will and trust. Jesus was aware of the creative nature of love. He encouraged his disciples to take the tiny seeds of love and faith and hope and to nurture them so that they could multiply and conquer the evils of hate and discord.
(c) When Jesus selected those who would be most closely associated with him in kingdom work, he looked for people with obvious weaknesses as well as strength. Peter, a rough, impulsive man, under the love and teachings of the master blossomed into greatness of character. Love that is eager to believe the best is the redemptive force that often saves us from surrendering to the beast that is within us. We draw strength from those about us who are eager to believe the best about us.
A good and genuine Christian is distinguished from a bad and false one not by how much word he listened but by how much love he practiced. God’s word is not just knowledge that comes out from our mind. It is love from within that comes out through faith and through help from the power of the Holy Spirit. One day when we come before God, he will ask us not how much word we have heard but how much love we have practiced. Amen
Sermon Synopsis:
The Bible said, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”(James 1:22) Paul said, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal。” We heed what the word says by doing what love demands.
I. Love is patient, long suffering and is kind.
(a) Symbol of the unending love of a good mother.
(b) In the story of the prodigal son the father knew the dreadful burden of love.
II. Love believes all things.
(a) It is easy for us to believe the worst
(b) Love, not blind to the failures and weaknesses of man, is always eager to believe the best.
(c) We draw strength from those about us who are eager to believe the best about us.
One day when we come before God, he will ask us not how much word we have heard but how much love we have practiced.
讲道大纲
圣经上说，"只是你们要行道，不要单单听道，自己欺哄自己。"（雅1：22）保罗说，"我若能说万人的方言，并天使的话语，却没有爱，我就成了鸣的锣，响的钹一般。"（林前13：1）我们听道後，是要用爱把它行出来的。
I. 爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈。
甲． 母亲的爱永不止息。
乙． 浪子的父亲忍耐到底。
II. 爱是凡事相信。
甲． 我们都喜欢信最坏的事情。
乙． 爱不是盲目的不看人类的失败和弱点，而是凡事相信人的好处。
丙． 我们是在相信我们的人面前得到力量的。
有一天我们站在上帝面前，上帝不会问我们听了多少道，却会问我们行了多少爱！
Pastoral Prayer:
O almighty God, from whom every good prayer comes, and who pours out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and supplication, deliver us, when we draw nigh to you, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thought and kindled affections we may worship you in spirit and in truth.
In this time of global economic recession we pray for patience of endurance. Experts predict that the recovery time may take months to a year or two. This is scary and we pray for your peace that can drive away fear. As more and more people are being laid off, and more and more people are desperately looking for jobs, we pray Lord that you would open up the resources so that they can find what they look for. We know many of our parishioners are seeking jobs. Give them guidance and directions that they know where to get hold of their opportunity. And when it takes time for them to see results, let them not be in despair but fill their hearts with hope and perseverance.
O Lord, open our eyes, that we may see the needs of others. Open our hearts, that they need not be without help. Let us not be afraid to defend the weak because of the strong, not afraid to defend the poor because of the rich. Show us where love and hope are needed, and use us to bring them to those places. Open our eyes and ears, that this day we may do some work of peace for you.
We pray for the new leadership of this church. We are thankful that new council is formed, and new ministries are starting out. We pray for the new Sunday school English adult class led by Brother Miguel Stack. We look forward to the young adults having more opportunity of receiving spiritual nourishment in this new program. We pray for the new series of home fellowship, where upon a systematic Bible study and discipleship training course will be launched. We are thankful that younger Sunday School children are having good religious training and they are presenting what they’ve learned and share with us through their songs in the service. We are excited about all these and many other programs and ask that God will bless our leaders to continue equipping our members in this meaningful way.
We are thankful Lord for keeping our parishioners safe during their travel. We are happy that the family of Joe Wong and Xu Dunqi have finished their vacation and are worshipping with us again in the service. As we travel in a world that sometimes seems a trackless, hostile wilderness, we ask that your Spirit sustain, encourage, and enable us to go on.
Let us recite the Lord’s Prayer now…
Amen.