Standing Strong on God’s Extravagant Love

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Eternal Realities

Standing Strong on God's Extravagant Love By Rick Warren — Mar 26, 2015 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love … he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 NLT, second edition)         Everything in life changes — relationships, jobs, fame. One minute you’re a hero; the next minute you’re a zero. There’s only one thing in the entire universe that won’t change: God’s love. Knowing that God still loves you, no matter what happens — your failures, your brokenness, your sin — provides a rock solid foundation in your life. Consider the small word “so” that goes before “loved” in the Bible’s most famous verse: John 3:16. The verse says, “God so loved the world …” God loves you with an extravagant, lavish love that can never be taken away. It’s beyond comprehension. He loves you on your good days and your bad days. He loves you when it’s raining and when the sun is shining.              God says he doesn’t want you to just recognize this lavish love intellectually. He wants you to recognize it emotionally. Love is God’s nature. God created the universe — and everything in it — for no other reason than so he could love it. And God created you so he could love you. In fact, in Jesus, God shows us what real love — his love — looks like: “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love … he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:9-10 NLT, second edition).          Many people say they love you. God showed you how much he loves you. He loved you so much it hurt. He sacrificed his Son. When Jesus died for you, he was saying he loved you so much he’d rather die than live without you. And the Bible says that’s what real love — the kind of love that you can build your life upon — looks like. Real love makes sacrifices. Real love endures to the end. Real love gives all. That’s the kind of love only God has for you. And he’s waiting with open arms to show you. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over How does it make you feel when you read, “God loves you with an extravagant, lavish love that can never be taken away”? When are you most likely to doubt the love of God? What does God’s self-sacrificing love demonstrated in Jesus tell you about how you should love others? Our Gift: Eternal Realities Complete Audio Series Are heaven and hell real places and what are they like? How can you be absolutely certain you’ll spend eternity in heaven?  To answer these questions and more, Pastor Rick put together an audio series called, Eternal Realities: Heaven and Hell. LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren Eternal Realities teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: The Reality of Hell Message 2: The Reality of Heaven Message 3: How To Be Certain You're Going To Heaven PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2015 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe