2021

The Greatest

Theme Verse

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor 13:1)

The word LOVE is quite the confusing little word. If you do a quick search in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary you will find nine meanings of the word with 8 sub-meanings. And that is only when it is used as a noun! The verb form has seven more meanings. No wonder the Greeks had eight separate words to describe the different types of love. With all these definitions, the word love still has our world confused. In our society today, love has come to mean, “letting people do whatever they want” or simply “tolerance”. And when people do not show this worldly “love” to others, we have a new word that we apply to them – “Cancelled”. Now is the time to recapture the way of love that Jesus introduced. Not to tolerate people, but to value them. Not to endorse their sinful ideas or ways, but to caringly restore them to the path of life. Not to hate our opponents, but to show them compassion. Paul said it like this, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor 13:1). The true love of God is patient and kind. It is without envy, boastfulness, and pride. It honors others and doesn’t seek self-gratification first. It doesn’t get easily angered and it doesn’t keep a list of offenses. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. The true definition of love never fails. The only thing real love cancels is death. When everything in life falls apart and everything fades away there will be three realities that remain: faith, hope and love. But THE GREATEST of these is Love. This summer we will discuss the very heart of the THE GREATEST commandment and what it really looks like to love others, even those we don’t agree with, in the world in which we live. In fact, Jesus said it is by the love we show one another that outsiders will know we belong to Jesus. You might even say that love is THE GREAT TEST of authentic faith. We are Fired Up to get you here and share the Bonafide Word of God with you. So, get ready for THE GREATEST summer of your life, where we will worship THE GREATEST person in the universe at THE GREATEST place on the planet!