Fifty years ago today The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and continued a British influence on the American musical scene. The song “All You Need Is Love” was one of many songs that the four lads from Liverpool contributed on subsequent albums as they made their way into music history. It was written after they were asked to write a song with a message that could be understood by everyone. Some of the lyrics are below:

Nothing you can know that isn’t known
Nothing you can see that isn’t shown
Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be
It’s easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

This week many couples will give gifts for Valentine’s Day and express their love to one another. Imagine if everyone in the world decided every day, in every moment, to express love to one another — what would happen if we focused on love and saw ways to respect the divine spark in each other, that we are all created in the image of God? In the children’s sermon Love Letter, we hear how Paul sought to mend fences among quarreling Christians by giving a description of what love is. A love that doesn’t hold grudges. A love that is unconditional. Imagine that. Believe it can be. Envision a world where Love is in the heart of all people. Now take responsibility to do your part — it starts with each of us.

Knock knock. Who’s there? Love. Love who? Everyone.

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Need_Is_Love

We celebrate Thanksgiving this month and come together with family and friends to express thanks to God for our many blessings. If we approach every day with thankful hearts we receive the additional blessing of living in gratitude. The negative and dark forces in this realm try to instill constant fear by promoting endless wars and victimhood — you see it if you monitor mainstream media coverage. What a difference if you radiate love from the heart in every moment. Let Christ within you shine light in the darkness. Peace, joy, blessings abide with those who walk in love.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge, that ye might be filled will all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:17-19

Text: Ephesians 3:17-19

Prop: a eucalyptus branch

Summary: God wants us to be rooted in Jesus so we can love others.

Look at what I brought with me today. This is a branch of a eucalyptus tree. I recently had to move it from a spot near my house to the open part of the back yard. I did this so it could grow to its full height. It needed more space and sunshine. A few days later, it had “plant shock” from being moved. The leaves lost their bright green color and some fell off. It lost some of it’s sweet odor also. My wife and I had to stake it and water it to help it grow again in it’s new spot in the yard.

The apostle Paul once wrote in the Bible about being rooted and grounded in love in his letter to the Ephesians. God wants us to be rooted in Jesus. That is where we get our ability to love others. As long as we stick with Jesus, we can do great things for God, but without him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

We can help others be rooted in Jesus too. We can tell them about Jesus. We can invite them to come to church with us. We can be their friends whenever they have a move in their life. Can you think of times when you wanted to have a friend? Like when you went to a new school or class for the first time. Or when your family moved to a new city. Other people need the love that only Jesus can give through you, also. Like when a grandparent moves to a nursing home. Or a teenager goes from home to college. Or a husband changes jobs. All of these changes mean we need to care and help them just as the tree needed water and a stake to help it in it’s new spot.

Let’s remember to help others whenever they move to a new spot because when we are rooted and grounded in Jesus, we can do great things for God.

©1997 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ … I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” – Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., at the civil rights March on Washington, August 28, 1963.

Text: Luke 10:25-37; Acts 10:28,34-35

Prop: pictures of people from different races clipped from magazines or other sources

Summary: The story of the Good Samaritan teaches us to treat all people as our neighbors.

Look at these pictures I brought with me today. Each little girl is from a different race. They are Asian, African, and Indian (not Native American). Today’s lesson teaches us to treat all people as our neighbors. Have you heard someone say “He is a Good Samaritan,” and they meant he really cared about other people? That saying comes from a story Jesus told one day.

A teacher of God’s laws asked Jesus a tricky question: what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered him by asking what he thought the Bible taught. The teacher said we should love God and love our neighbor. (see Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18) Jesus said he was right. But the teacher, who wanted to prove he was a good person, asked him who is my neighbor?

(Read Luke 10:30-37) The priests and Levites were the religious leaders. They led the people in worship and taught God’s laws to the people. What a bad example the religious leaders gave in this story because they thought they were too good to get involved with the man who was beaten and robbed. They were so strict about obeying the law that they forgot that the very heart of the law was to have mercy. They thought it would make them “unclean” to touch the wounds so they kept their distance and ignored this poor man in need.

Jesus must have surprised those listening to this story when he told them the Samaritan was the hero. The Israelites hated the Samaritans. The Samaritans were a different race of people (of Israelites married to Canaanites). The Israelites looked down on the Samaritans. They despised them and wouldn’t even speak to them on the street. (Acts 10:28) If we learn to hate people because they look different from us, then we think we are better than others because of our race. This is called racism. Jesus taught that this is wrong. It must have made the teachers mad to hear Jesus make a person that they hated the “good guy” in this story.

The Samaritan didn’t think he was better than others. He didn’t think he was too good to help. He showed mercy to the beaten stranger and treated him like a neighbor. This is how Jesus turns the ways of the world upside-down. He teaches us to love our enemies, to love all people, and not just to love those that look and act and think as we do.

A few years later the disciple Peter finally understood what Jesus was trying to teach. (Read Acts 10:34-35) When Peter said God is no respecter of persons that meant God does not treat one person better than another. Our race does not matter to God. We should be willing not only to help people in need, but also learn to love all people as God does.

©2000 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also… saying that there is another king, one Jesus. – Acts 17:6,7

Text: Mark 9:33-37; 10:13-16

Props: a book and reading glasses

Summary: Jesus loves little children. To be great in God’s eyes we must be ready to trust and obey him as a little child.

Today I want to tell you a story about Jesus and little children. (Hold a book in front of you, intentionally turned upside down.) Hmmm. This is odd. Let me try my reading glasses. (Try to put on reading glasses upside down.) Hmmm. This still isn’t right. What’s wrong? (You have things upside down) Occasionally we have the wrong idea about the way things should be. Jesus turns our way of thinking upside down so we can understand the way God sees things.

The disciples (followers of Jesus) had an argument one day. They were ashamed to admit it but they argued about which one of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Would it be the one who memorized the most verses in the Bible? Would it be the one that preached the best? Would it be the best leader? Would it be the one with the biggest church building? They thought being great was having the best talent or ability. Jesus called a child over to them. He explained that whoever wanted to be great had to be humble like a child. We must be ready to trust and obey as a little child and be willing to serve others.

(Read Mark 9:35) In our world people want to be first. Jesus turns our way of thinking upside down. Jesus says serve others. Let them go first and be willing to be last in line. Jesus taught that the last shall be first. What matters to God is not so much our ability but our willingness to serve others.

The disciples had the wrong idea about little children and babies also. One day some parents were bringing infants and toddlers to Jesus. The disciples knew Jesus was tired. They thought he was much too important to take time for little children. So they told the parents to go away and leave Jesus alone.

(Read Mark 10:14-15) Jesus told the disciples to let the children come to him. Jesus loves children. Jesus loves you! Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is made up of people who are ready to trust and obey him with a simple faith, like a child. The disciples didn’t think children were important but Jesus turned their idea upside down. He very gently took the babies in his arms and blessed them. You are important to Jesus and he loves you very much!

©2000 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. – John 3:16

Text: John 14:15-21; 15:12

Prop: a poster of Jesus hugging a child

Summary: We show our love to God by obeying him. The Holy Spirit lives in and helps believers.

Your parents love you very much. How do they show their love to you? They may tell you “I love you” or “I’m proud of you.” They may give you a kiss on the cheek or a big hug. I like hugs myself. It makes me feel warm and good all over. God loves you too! He loves you so much he sent his Son, Jesus, into the world. God wants us to love him and each other. But how can we show God that we love him? Jesus tells us how in the Bible.

(Read John 14:15,21.)

Jesus says if you love him, you will keep his commandments. One of the ways you show that you love God is to obey your parents. When God gave Moses the ten commandments the fifth rule was to honor your parents. Another way we show our love to God is by loving each other. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. – John 15:21 Jesus loves us no matter what. He does not put any conditions on his love. He wants us to love others that way also.

I don’t know about you, but that is hard for me. How can I love someone that is mean to me? I need help! Jesus knows we need lots of help. So he did something for us that no one else could do. He gave us the Holy Spirit, a helper that lives inside everyone that believes in him.

(Read John 14:16-18.)

The Holy Spirit is God’s way of hugging us. I like a hug from God! He is our best friend. He teaches us about Jesus (John 15:26). He helps us pray (Romans 8:26). He teaches us what is right. He will never leave us. And the Holy Spirit in us is proof that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). Let’s pray right now. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I love you and want to obey you. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me. Amen.

I hope you will remember the hug from God and go back and tell your parents that you love them and give them a great big hug!

©2002 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. – John 15:13

Text: Romans 8:26-39

Prop: a metal ring or wedding band

Summary: Jesus has a love so strong for us that nothing can separate us from it.

Have you ever wondered why your mother (or father) wears her wedding band all the time? It is because that ring reminds her of the wedding vow she made at her wedding. She made a promise to be committed to her husband no matter what, for better or for worse. Take a look at this ring. It forms a circle. It has no beginning and no end. Feel how strong it is. Try to pull it apart. It cannot be broken easily.

The love Jesus has for us is like this ring. It is very strong because he loves us no matter what. Let’s read about Christ’s love for us from the Bible.

(Read Romans 8:35, 37-39.)

Wow! The apostle Paul was convinced that nothing in this world or in the future would be able to separate us from the love of God. Even if you rode a space shuttle to the moon, or a submarine to the bottom of the ocean, you would still be within God’s circle of love. It is never-ending and it has no bounds. My daughter gave me a little note one day that I keep on my desk. It was a simple poem she must have heard and wrote down for me. It says “Loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.” That is the way Jesus loves you. Jesus has the strongest love in the world. And as much as your parents love you, God loves you even more. He loves us so much that Jesus laid down his life for us and rose again that we might have the hope of eternal life.

Let’s pray. Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for loving me with the strongest love there is. Amen.

©2002 by Jim Kerlin. All rights reserved.