12-20-20 Kevin Goins Advent 4 Unafraid to Love

Luke 2:15-20
We do not need a degree in psychology to realize that there are people around us who are afraid to love.  Some of these people have good reasons for their fear.  They may have loved in the past but the one to whom they gave their love did not prove faithful.  There are, in fact, many reasons why people might be afraid to take a chance on love.  Regardless of the reason, however, when fear deprives us of love, we are missing out on what God intended life to be.  But there is hope.  What do we need to do to overcome our fear to love?             

I First, we must p________________ love (2:15-16).

A. If the shepherds had not pursued, if they had waited, they would have m____________ it all.

B. To know and love anyone, including Jesus, we must i_______________ our fear, get up, and pursue.

II Second, we must a_____________________ our love (2:17-18)

A. That is what love does:  it publicizes itself; it makes itself k__________________.

B. “I love you” should not be the l___________ thing that is said, it should be the f__________ thing that is said.

III Third, we must t_______________ about our love (2:19).
  
A. It is interesting to see how Mary’s thoughts about her baby d__________________ over time.

1. She thought about what G_______________ said to her, what E_____________ said to her, and now what the s_______________ said to her. 

2. She is h______________ on to these words and now she is taking time to ponder them.

3. Even though Mary was the mother of the Messiah, her brain could not g_____________ it all.

B. Love is one of the greatest truths of life and, for that reason, we need to ponder it, because what we ponder we cannot i________________.

IV Fourth, we must c________________ our love (2:20).

 -We express our appreciation, not just by saying thanks, but by c________________ the way we live in order to glorify Jesus.