LOVE

Today's topic is Love. Some Scriptures from the Old testament and the New testament to see what God and Jesus said about Love. Under each Scripture will be some study points.

The Old Testament:

Leviticus 19:18
"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."

Leviticus 19:34
"The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 6:1-5
1.These are the commands, decrees and the laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2.so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3.Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you.

4.Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

God's love for Israel did not depend on their obedience to the law. He initiated the covenant with them before they obeyed, and he still cared for them when they disobeyed. However, the blessings and the curses were dependent upon their obedience to the law.

The New Testament

Mark 12:28-34
28.One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ''Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

29."The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. 30.Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31.The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

32."Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33.To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34.When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

1 Corinthians 13:1
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.

This scripture is talking about spiritual gifts and love. Love is a fruit of the Spirit. It is love that unifies the church. The gifts of the Spirit are like the tools that accomplish the the purpose of love, building up the body. Love controls the use of gifts, they are not to divide the church, nor are they to be used to gain personal recognition. With love the gifts are a genuine service to the church.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. 6.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 John 4:7-21
7.Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8.Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9.This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10.This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son is an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11.Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12.No one has ever seen God: but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.


13.We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14.And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15.If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16.And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17.in this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18.There is no fear in love. But perfect loves drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19.We love because he first loved us. 20.If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21.And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.


To live in God is to remain in God. We are to remain in a relationship with God, like it is told through biblical love. Jesus was and is an example of a life lived and breathed love. He gave himself and calls us to do the same. True love is more than a feeling. It is a consistent attitude of giving ourselves to God and to others.

God loves us unconditional. No matter what we have done in our past he loves us the same. God wishes that all would be saved. He gave his Son to die for the worlds sins. Do you have children? Could you imagine the love you have for your own children and then imagine giving that child to be a sacrifice for the sins of others. It is a really hard thing to imagine. How many of us would? That there can tell you how powerful God's love is for us.

As long as we remember to give ourselves to God everyday and to treat our fellows as we want them to treat us, we are obeying the most important commands of our Lord. Of course we will still sin. We are all sinners, every last one, but we are forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Ask for forgiveness and change what causes you to sin. Look for ways to help someone in need. Not for personal gain, but because it is right. I love you all and hope you were able to grab onto something here today. God Bless you and your families!