Santosh Poonen - Loving Christ's body lavishly

Santosh PoonenDecember 15, 201414mWatch on YouTube

Speaker: Santosh Poonen Title: Loving Christ's body lavishly Date: 12-14-2014 Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the son of God (Romans 8:29) We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3) We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning member of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Summary

The central message is that Christians must love lavishly, mirroring the extravagant love of God demonstrated in the parables of Luke 15. This lavish love requires us to extend grace and celebration to those who repent, and it should guide our interactions with others, including those who are judgmental or outside the immediate circle. Furthermore, the sermon challenges the congregation to be as shrewd in their generosity and care for one another as the

Outline

The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.

Christians ought to love extravagantly because God loves lavishlyThe defining characteristic of Christians should be lavish love, modeled after Jesus who loved us first without being sparing or stingy.

The lavish heart of God in the parables of Luke 15In the parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son, the shepherd, woman, and father spare no expense to find what was lost and celebrate with great joy.

Redefining repentance as the father's open armsWhile the world views repentance negatively, it is actually the father standing with open arms, drawing us back to an expansive heavenly celebration.

What is our attitude toward those outside?Chapter 16 continues the thought of Luke 15, prompting us to examine our attitude toward older brothers or legalists who remain outside the party in pride.

Learning shrewdness from the sons of this ageJesus points out that worldly people are extremely inventive and driven in their pursuit of wealth, which should put the sons of light to shame in how lavish they are.

Using Earthly wealth to build up eternal dwellingsBelievers should use their money and abilities not merely for social good, but lavishly to strengthen the church and push others toward God.

Serving the household of faith hold nothing backWhen serving brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, we must hold nothing back and do it lavishly to experience true joy.

The example of the Macedonian churchPaul holds up the church in Macedonia as an example of God's grace, despite the fact that they were very poor and under severe affliction.2 Corinthians 8:1

An abundance of joy mixed with deep povertyWhen extreme poverty is combined with the high joy of God's love, it overflows into the wealth of liberality and eager participation in giving.

Opening your heart to God's lavish loveTrue giving is not a legalistic rule about money or time, but the natural result of letting God show you how lavishly He loves you.

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