Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of our Sunday School preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “Love Divine” and is found in 1 Corinth 13:1-13.
The word “love” is one that is used quite often. It is used to describe one of mankind’s most intense feelings and emotions.
Love has been used to describe the emotional feelings that a person has for another person to whom he or she may be attracted to as a sexual mate or partner. It is also used to describe the emotional bond a person has toward another based upon a biological connection or friendship.
A third used of the word love is used to describe the compassion, concern and respect one human being has toward another human being. This third meaning of love is the meaning the word carries mostly in the bible and in the lesson text today.
The Apostle Paul uses this text to describe what he sees as the key ingredients of the biblical or divine love. But before he begins to describe it, he begins by saying how essential it is to salvation. He basically states that there is no substitute for this love. Nothing can replace it or make up for its absence.
Love in this context or meaning is not just a feeling or emotion, but it is more of a combination of actions and states of being. Kindness, patience and longsuffering are three words he uses to describe the action of love. Not proud or envious is two other states of being he uses. Love is respectful of others, not easily offended or provoked, not self-seeking and forgiving.
Love seeks and hopes for what is best, what is good and true and is repelled by anything harmful or evil. Love endures or last when other things fail. Paul understood that this type of love is for those who stop taking life for granted who begin to seek and understand the true meaning of and for life.
There are two other words that Paul places alongside love for their importance to Christian formation. Those words are hope and faith. Each one of these have an essential role in Christian salvation. But in terms of their impact and influence upon the Christian life, Paul concludes that love is the greatest of the three.
Well, I hope you will be able to attend SS this coming Sunday. Invite someone to come and share your thoughts with the class. Sunday School at Flag Branch will begin at 9:00 am and you are invited to join us at www.fbmbc.org and clicking the online services link. I look forward to giving the lesson highlights and addressing questions that arose during the lesson. If you have any comments or questions before then, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview and I will get back to you. So, as always remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
