Jesus' Down-to-Earth Love

I am very excited to begin our Advent series based on Mike Slaughter's and Rachel Billup's book called Down To Earth (Mike used to be the pastor at Ginghamsburg Church as lead pastor, Rachel is Ginghamsburg's Executive Pastor). This book has inspired our sermon series as we look at Jesus' down to earth qualities: love, humility, lifestyle, and obedience. This week we focus on Jesus' wonderful, world-changing love!



If I were to write the book on my expectation of who the son of God would be, that person would probably look like Alexander the Great, Augustus, or Winston Churchill. Great leaders who, according to human standards achieved great things. Yet, what they did pales in comparison to Jesus. He was born to a poor family and was a refugee from a powerful tyrant who desired his death. He walked everywhere he went and never wrote anything down. And he definitely never used force or violence to achieve his goals. Jesus saved our planet of this by world-changing, life-defining love. John 3:16 tells us that "God so love the world that he gave his one and only sone that whoever believes in him would have everlasting life." Jesus changed everything because he chose to become like us, but also to be the best version of us. Not only did Jesus save us from our sins but gave us the template to truly be human and that is to love. This Christmas season reflect on who God is calling you to love. Anyone can love their family, can you love people who dislike you? Can you love people who hate you? Can you love people who want to do you harm? It is that love,, that self-sacrificial love, that will transform the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the same love that Jesus exhibited be coming down to earth.

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