KEY SCRIPTURE
1 Corinthians 13
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Learn to Love Others Because That’s the Most Important Thing
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
“Character was a significant contributor: avoidance of issues; triangulation and talking to third parties rather than with the people involved…”
“Our Lead Pastor resigned without warning and started a church five minutes up the road. It split the church and we were left with no leadership.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love Others Well So You Can Exhibit the Character of Christ to a Dark and Hurting World
1 Corinthians 13:8-13
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Lovingly Invest in the Lives of Others Because It Will Last Forever
Spiritual Gifts are Given to Edify the Body of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:7
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
You Have at Least One Spiritual Gift
1 Corinthians 7:7
I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
While Spiritual Gifts Are Extremely Valuable, Without Love, They Are Just Noise
Your Spiritual Gifts: How to Identify and Effectively Use Them