The Love Connection

MCHS was quite a scene this morning, with all the girls going crazy over their Valentine's candy and stuffed animals, and the guys walking around holding balloons---You know, it is really difficult for a teenage guy to maintain an adequate level of street credibility when he's carrying around a bunch of Care Bear balloons! I did see one dude this morning, carrying an enormous pile of balloons, and he had his slow, "Yea, I'm tough...Go ahead...Say somethin' about my heart-shaped balloons"...strut going on. It was pretty funny.

Yes, it's the season of love! Delta Worship this Wednesday is going to be all about love---We've got a little activity planned for our adults that we're calling the "Love Connection", and we'll have plenty of Valentine's treats for everyone, so you'll all be good and hyper while I'm preaching! We're going to be hitting purity pretty hard this Wednesday, but don't expect to hear what you've always heard before---Not one time will you hear me say that sex is a bad thing (Gasp! I can hear the parents speed-dialing Pastor Joe even as I type!). Sex isn't bad---In fact, it's good. In fact, it's really good---As long as it's done in the right context. God created sex---He told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to be fruitful and multiply---And He wasn't talking about doing math!

We are created to have physical relationships in the context of marriage---one-on-one, for as long as we live. God wired us that way. It's pretty amazing---We are the most intelligent creatures that God made, but we can't seem to grasp the idea of having one mate for life. Orangutans get it---They only have one mate for life. So do chimpanzees, penguins, and doves. Doves have the smallest brain of any bird of flight---They are so dumb, they are the number one source of food for every bird of prey in North America---But they understand that God only made them to have one mate, for life.

Dogs don't get this. Dogs will mate with any other dog they see, as well as throw pillows and random people legs and pieces of furniture. Dogs also eat their own throw-up and poo. This should tell you something about the mindset of people who are out to have sex with as many other people as possible. We'll get more in-depth into the mind of the dog, and what the Bible says about sex and sexual immorality tomorrow night.

In First Priority today, Karen Yuhas did a great job of speaking on the importance of doing daily devotions, spending quality, intimate time with God. Christians and non-Christians alike will spend tons of money today on flowers, balloons, and candy, and then devote our time to the people we care about by taking them to dinner, going to movies, and what not. We devote our energies to showing love to the people that already know we love them. I'm reminded today that Jesus called us to even higher standard---to love God with ALL our hearts, to love our enemies, and to love our neighbors without narrowly defining who our neighbors are. Everyone has heard John 3:16---"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life." Not so many folks have memorized I John 3:16, though---"We know what love is because Jesus loved us, and gave up His life for us, so we ought to also give up our lives for others." Take time today to let Jesus know how much you appreciate what He did for you, and do something nice today for someone that you normally wouldn't be so good to, in addition to the folks that already receive your love on a daily basis. Love God, love people--those are our greatest commands.

Peace---

Pastor Lee