Welcome to the Church on the Rock-Nashville, Arkansas weekly sermon podcast! We're delighted to have you join us as we explore and share the teachings that guide our faith and inspire our community.

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Each episode features insightful sermons that aim to strengthen your faith and provide spiritual nourishment. We hope these messages will not only uplift you but also inspire you to share God's love with others.

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Podcast Title: The Great Rescue

Date: April 20, 2025 (Easter Sunday)

Location: Church On The Rock Nashville (COTRN), Nashville, Arkansas

Speaker: Pastor Nick Birmingham

Opening:

Enthusiastic greeting: "God's good. Yes. He is. Well, happy resurrection Sunday!"
Acknowledges those happy to be in church and playfully engages with those still deciding.
Expresses joy in celebrating the wonderful day.
Announces the scripture focus: 1 John 4:9-10.

Title of Message: The Great Rescue

Introduction:

Reflects on the core of Easter: God rescuing us from our mess.
Highlights our cultural fascination with rescue stories in books and TV shows (e.g., Tracker, Rambo, Saving Private Ryan, fairy tales).
Shares a recent real-life rescue story of a pastor in South Africa abducted at gunpoint during a prayer meeting and his subsequent rescue by an elite unit.
Emphasizes our universal desire to be rescued, even when we try to be self-sufficient.
Draws a parallel between fictional rescues (prince saving the damsel, Forrest Gump and Bubba) and the motivation behind them: love.
States that the passage in 1 John embodies this idea for Christ followers: God's love revealed through Jesus Christ as an overwhelming response to rescue us.
Highlights that as Christ followers, we are to do likewise.

The Nature of Love:

Discusses the repeated emphasis on the word "love" in 1 John 4.
Reflects on personal experiences and perceptions of love (being noticed, cared for, encouraging words, sacrificial acts).
Questions the true definition of love in our culture, noting how it can feel skewed and transactional.
Acknowledges personal struggles with loving others equally and the ease of loving some more than others.
Points to the cross and the empty tomb as the true picture of sacrificial love that comes to our rescue.

Synopsis of the Gospel Story (The Rescue Mission):

Briefly outlines Jesus' journey: coming to earth as a child, walking among humanity to save/rescue.
Mentions Jesus' ridicule, attacks, betrayal, and crucifixion by the Romans at the behest of the Jewish people.
Acknowledges Good Friday's significance for us as the day Jesus rescued us, despite it being a terrible day for Him (beatings, crucifixion).
Highlights the disciples' fear and scattering after Jesus' death.
Celebrates the Sunday resurrection: Jesus defeating death, hell, and the grave for us.
Poses the question: Why would He do that for us? The answer: Because He loved us.
Expresses concern that we may not fully grasp the depth of this redeeming love.
Notes the loose and cheap way the word "love" is often used, diminishing its value.
Emphasizes that love needs to be shown, not just said.

Three Key Points from 1 John 4:9-10:

Recognizing Real Love (Verse 9):
- "In this, the love of God was made manifest (visible) among us..."
- God is the source of all true love. It doesn't originate with our feelings but with Him.
- God's love was made visible through Jesus' actions, not just words.
- Contrasts this with deism, which suggests God is distant.
- Uses the analogy of a "grand billboard" proclaiming God's love.
- Relates to the "show-me" mentality, emphasizing that God demonstrated His love.
- Highlights that God "put his money where his mouth would be" by sending His Son.
- Implication: God's visible love serves as an example for how we should love others.
- Discusses the human desire for acceptance and validation, even within the church.
- Contrasts unstable earthly love with God's unwavering love as a solid foundation.
- Acknowledges feelings of unworthiness and the need to earn love.
- Emphasizes that God loved us even in our mess.
- Our identity should be anchored in God's love, not our actions (Romans 8:32).
- Question: Are we defining love by the world's standards or by God's? Drawing from the wrong source leads to emptiness, while God's love always fills us.
Realizing the Purpose in God's Love (Later part of Verse 9):
- "...that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him."
- The word "sent" implies authority and a specific mission: us.
- Compares it to "Mission Impossible," but emphasizes that Jesus' mission was "mission possible."
- Jesus' arrival was not accidental but a deliberate act of rescue for humanity.
- Most people are driven by purpose and desire results.
- God's heart and purpose are seen in this mission.
- "Live through him" implies more than just existing; it's about living fully and fruitfully through Christ's power.
- The verb "live" suggests that those to whom Jesus was sent were in a state of spiritual death, and His mission was to give them life.
- Challenges the equation of busyness with genuine Christian living.
- Emphasizes the need to live through Christ, not just talk about Him.
- Powerful Truth: Shifting from human effort to divine power when we capture God's purpose to live through Him (Proverbs: Commit your work to the Lord...).
- Question: Are we truly living through Him, or just going through the motions?
Reflecting on the Sacrifice True Love Requires (Verse 10):
- "In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation (sacrifice) for our sins."
- As Christ followers, God sets the standard for love.
- Highlights the awkward phrasing "not that we have loved God," emphasizing God's initiative.
- While loving God is important, it's His prior love that is the deciding factor in our salvation.
- Our love for Him didn't save us; it was the cross and the resurrection.
- The origin of love lies in God's effort and initiative, not ours.
- Without God's intervention, our natural inclination is to push away from Him (Adam and Eve).
- Explains "propitiation" as a sacrifice or redemptive sacrifice.
- Compares it to Old Testament sacrifices needing repetition, while Christ's sacrifice was ultimate.
- Defines sacrifice for Christ followers: giving up preferences, comforts, and even sanity to serve others.
- Jesus left the comfort of heaven to serve a world that hated Him.
- Shares a powerful illustration of a death row inmate being freed because someone else took his place, mirroring Jesus' sacrifice for us.
- Romans 5:8: God showed His love while we were still sinners.
- Reflects on the unfathomable nature of Jesus' love ("I don't know why Jesus loved me...").
- Emphasizes that in our justice system, this doesn't happen, but it did with Jesus' sacrifice for our salvation through grace.
- Quotes the lyrics from "In Christ Alone" highlighting the sacrifice and satisfaction of God's wrath.

Conclusion and Call to Action:

Explains why John provides this illustration: because of the preceding verses (1 John 4:7-8) emphasizing the importance of loving one another as a sign of knowing God.
Verse 11: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another."
Connects God's rescue of us to our responsibility to "put up the road sign" of love for others.
Emphasizes the need to show love, sacrifice, and serve others, mirroring God's mission to us.
Highlights the brokenness and difficulty of the world.
Challenges believers to choose to show God's love to even those we don't always like, offering hope and direction.
Warns against being passive bystanders, hoping for others' downfall, and instead urges action to prevent it.
Uses the analogy of a dangerous road and the need for Christ followers to passionately guide people to safety in Jesus.

Closing Prayer Invitation:

Invites those who haven't experienced God's love or have been hurt by the church to come forward.
Acknowledges the reality of church hurt but points to Jesus' own experience.
Reassures those feeling lost or overwhelmed that Jesus is there to rescue them.
Emphasizes the need to reach out and accept Jesus' offer of rescue.