There are countless movies, books, television shows, musicals, and about every other art form imaginable that deal with the idea of love, in one way or another. But when it comes down to it, what is love REALLY? Is it an emotion? A series of actions? A set of behaviors or commitments? The Bible talks about love from its beginning to its end. So how we answer the question, "What is love?" is one of the most important things we can discover.

#SummerLove #TheGreatestLove #LoveAlwaysCosts

Because loving our spouses can be difficult, it can be easy to, well … give up. And like we’ve talked about before, there are times when God allows for that because of the broken covenant of marriage. However, too often, we’re tempted to toss in the towel too early. Because here’s the truth: if love is love, then love does endure.*

#SummerLove #LovingAin’tEasy #LoveEndures #LoveDoesntGiveUpEasily

* It is very important to us as a church family to clarify - if you are in an abusive relationship of any kind, we’re not indicating in any way that you should simply ignore it and stay. Your safety and security (physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual) are of primary concern for us. If you are in a situation like this, please reach out to us so that we can support you and get you connected to the help that is available.

If someone were to say, “I hope my marriage will last,” you’d probably think that person was facing some relationship problems. But what if the idea had a different sense of hope in marriage - the sense that our love will paint a glorious future and create anticipation of unending good? That’s the kind of hope that’s worth hoping for!

#SummerLove #LovingAin’tEasy #LoveHopes #LoveCreatesGreatExpectations #LoveMotivatesUsForward

One of the things that virtually every wedding includes are vows - things promised to one another between the two people getting married that they agree to live by - to be faithful with. But what does it mean that love is faithful - that it BELIEVES. And what is supposed to be our response when someone behaves UNFAITHFULLY in a marriage?

#SummerLove #LovingAin’tEasy #LoveBelieves #LoveGivesTheBenefitOfTheDoubt

Marriage isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s often flat out hard. But it can be (and should be) both good and FUN. But for that to happen, to REALLY happen, we’ll need to keep in mind some very important truths. And the first one that we’re exploring together is the notion that true love always protects the other. Even if it means that we’ll get hit by those arrows ourselves.

#SummerLove #LovingAin’tEasy? #WhatLoveBears #LoveProtects

Love is many things. And many things are NOT love. But there is something that love always lifts up - truth. This doesn’t mean that love is unfiltered or unfeeling. So much more than that, love speaks truth in a way that lifts up and breathes life into others.

#SummerLove #WhatIsLove? #WhatLoveLifts

It is fairly intuitive that if someone is really being loving, then they will lean into patience and kindness. And the Bible affirms this notion. However, it may not be as intuitive to know that there are many things that love must leave behind if it truly is patient and kind. And one of the hardest is letting go of the evil that’s been done to us.

Love is a many faceted thing ... but there are also many things that love is NOT. If we're going to truly, really love, there are things we'll need to leave behind. And it might not be as easy as you think!

What are some of the core components of love? Is it affection or duty? How about inclination or obligation? There are many things that love is, but the Bible lets us know of two things that are indispensable: patience and kindness. So what about it? Are these things that you would use to describe yourself, or do you need to evaluate what it means to be a loving person?

Love is in the air. Love is all around us. Love is something we talk about all the time ... but love is also misunderstood. It is romanticized, and it is trivialized. But love - true love, real love - really does shed light on what it means that we are to be truly human.