Love Is…

Several people have requested the list of Love Is… from my sermon at NorthStar Church on the weekends of Oct. 26th and Nov. 2nd.  Here is the Paul Tripp definition of love and the list I used during my sermon.  The list is a combination of concepts from Paul Tripp’s writing and teaching and my own thoughts on love.  Ultimately – the best definition is: “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10.

“Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving” – Paul Tripp

• LOVE IS… being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of others without impatience or anger.
• LOVE IS… being more committed to unity and understanding than you are to winning and being right.
• LOVE IS… being unwilling to do what is wrong when you have been wronged, but looking for concrete and specific ways to overcome evil with good.
• LOVE IS… being willing to always ask for forgiveness and always being committed to grant forgiveness when it is asked of you.
• LOVE IS… speaking kindly and gently, even in moments of disagreement, refusing to attack the other person’s character or assault their intelligence.
• LOVE IS… the willingness to have less free time, less sleep, and a busier schedule in order to be faithful to what God has called you to be and to do as a spouse, parent, neighbor, etc.
• LOVE IS… staying faithful to your commitment to treat another with appreciation, respect, and grace, even in moments when the other person doesn’t seem deserving or is unwilling to reciprocate.
• LOVE IS… the willingness to make regular and costly sacrifices for the sake of a relationship without asking for anything in return or using your sacrifices to place the other person in your debt.
• LOVE IS… a single man who has a job, a place to live, but has been dating/stringing a woman on for a considerable amount of time committing to love her forever in marriage or doing the honorable thing and ending the relationship.
• LOVE IS… a dad that refuses to text his wife asking when she is coming home because he’s tired and the kids are annoying him. Because a dad isn’t a baby sitter, but a father who is called to love his children…even when they cry and poop.
• LOVE is showing up to LifeGroup even when you’re tired and just want a night to yourself, because the way you love your group is by showing up.
• LOVE IS… daily admitting to yourself, the other person, and God that you are unable to be driven by Christ-like love without God’s protecting, providing, forgiving, rescuing, and delivering grace.

You can watch the sermon below: