Pst. Silas: Agape Dinner-Love is Patient.

Love is patient, GAEC AGAPE DINNER Feb 15th, 2025. 

1 Corinthians 13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For us know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

This is Valentine weekend. And because I'm not sure of much about Valentine, at GAEC we will call it GAEC AGAPE Dinner. 

This lady my client 

I was once a tax preparer, and I had this lady who had been my client for many years. One late night a little past midnight she sent me a text message, “I love you” This text was out of nowhere, I had not talked with her for a while and I didn’t think much about it thereafter. I’d planned to text back,” Thank you and God bless you. But I thought since I had not talked with her, let me buy a little time before I responded, maybe she had more information following the text message. She didn’t text anymore. 

She called me in the morning with urgency in her voice, “Did you see the text message,” she asked, “ I’m so sorry, That message was meant for my daughter. " Then I jokingly told her,” It’s okay, so you don’t love me?” 

Has love been redefined? 

Have we handed over the most beautiful expression of humanity to be guided by others? 

• Has the world taken the word that is supposed to describe us and made us shy of it? 

• The word that is supposed to guide our actions and define who we are. 

• The word that is supposed to guide our freedoms and restraints. 

• To guide our limitations and boundaries. 

• Everything that we do must be guided by our love for one another. 

Innocent minds describing love. 

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds: "What does love mean?" 

The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think... 

_____ 

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." 

Rebecca - age 8 

_____ 

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." 

Billy - age 4 

_____ 

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." 

Terri - age 4 

_____ 

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." 

Danny - age 7 

_____ 

"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." 

Emily - age 8 

_____ 

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." 

Bobby - age 7 (Wow!) 

_____ 

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." 

Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet) 

_____ 

"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day." 

Noelle - age 7 

_____ 

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." 

Tommy - age 6 

_____ 

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. 

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." 

Cindy - age 8 

_____ 

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." 

Elaine - age 5 

_____ 

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." 

Chris - age 7 

_____ 

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." 

Mary Ann - age 4 

_____ 

"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." (Now THIS is love!) 

Lauren - age 4 

_____ 

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image!) 

Karen - age 7 

_____ 

"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." 

Mark - age 6 

_____ 

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." 

Jessica - age 8 

_____ 

WHO WON THE CONTEXT... 

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. 

The winner was a four-year-old child whose next-door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. 

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. 

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 

"Nothing, I just helped him cry." 

My kids: 

I have three kids, 18,16 and 12. I asked them what comes in their minds when they hear love.

Nehemiah 16yrs: Selflessness and sacrifice. 

Dora 18yrs: She said she is not sure.

Nate 12yrs: Caring. 

I listened to Jake's daughter [Sarah] describe her challenges and she said,” I thank God for my family, when I was going through all kinds of challenges, everyone was talking about the bishop’s daughter and how she had failed in her spiritual life. Everyone was pointing fingers at me. So much so that I changed my last name from Jake just to find a hiding place. Every day I would come home to open arms. The whole family welcomed me without blame or condemnation. [To me that is love] 

There is No condemnation to them is in Christ Jesus-love does not condemn. 

LOVE IS PATIENT 

“Love…is not easily angered.” 1 Corinthians 13:5 

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry…” James 1:19 

“When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, ‘Let the children come to me…’” Mark 10:14  

THE TOP FIVE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO NOT BE EASILY ANGERED: 

#5. BREAK THE PATTERN OF ANGER 

“A fool gives full vent to anger, but a wise person quietly holds it back.” Proverbs 29:11 (NLT) 

“If you cannot control your anger, you are as helpless as a city without walls, open to attack.” Proverbs 25:28 (TEV) 

“‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV) 

#4. GUARD YOUR RELATIONSHIPS 

“Don't hang out with angry people; don't keep company with hotheads. Bad temper is contagious— don't get infected.” Proverbs 22:24-25 (MSG) 

“…wicked ambition ends in angry frustration.” Proverbs 11:23 (MSG) 

“A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a fire.” Proverbs 15:1 (MSG) 

#3. RELEASE YOUR WORRIES TO GOD 

“Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don't fret and worry--it only leads to harm.” Psalm 37:8 (TLB) 

“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace…” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT) 

#2. GET SOME REST 

Elijah in 1 Kings 19 

“Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’” 1 Kings 19:5 (NIV) 

#1. CHANGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS 

“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” Proverbs 4:23 (NCV) 

“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.” Philippians 4:8 (TLB) 

“I am the Lord, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness.” Exodus 34:6. 

I want to hear a testimony or two where someone touched you with actions of love so much that you would’ve done the same to them but you were left challenged. 

Exodus 33:19 – “And He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.’” 

Exodus 34:6 – “Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.’” 

God proclaimed His name to Moses in response to his request to see God’s glory. When we get a glimpse of God’s glory, we see2 

 N  mHis attributes on display. How comforting to read that God defines Himself as compassionate. His very essence is one of compassion, moved to act because of the suffering of humanity. 

Psalm 103:8, 13 – “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. … Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.”