Galatia New Life Church
Sunday, January 11, 2026
      • Bible Trivia
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  • Revive Us Again
  • When We All Get to Heaven
  • You Love Me Anyway
  • Love That Works
    TEXT: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJV)
    Text: 1 Corinthians 13:4a (NKJV) Big Idea: Love is not something we produce—it is Someone we receive and live from.
    I. REMEMBER
    Before we talk about what love does, we remember what God has done • Last week: Without love, I am nothing—my gifts, faith, sacrifice profit nothing • Busyness ≠ spiritual health • Christianity doesn’t begin with what we do • It begins with what Christ has done • Mercy before obedience • Root before fruit
    II. READ
    Let’s read our text.
    1 Corinthians 13:4 ESV
    Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
    “Love is patient and kind.”
    Five words.
    That’s it.
    No explanation. No illustration. No commentary.
    And here’s what most of us do with those five words.
    We turn them into a checklist.
    Be more patient Be more kind Try harder Do better
    Instead of revealing God, it becomes a measuring stick. Instead of freeing us, it weighs us down.
    But Paul is not describing how to earn love.
    He is describing what love is.
    And that difference changes everything.
    III. REVEAL
    Here’s where we struggle.
    We start asking: Am I patient enough? Am I kind enough? Am I loving enough?
    We move from resting → performing • We fail, feel guilty, try harder, burn out • Not because we don’t love God • But because we’re living by effort instead of union
    Not a checklist — a Christ-list Paul isn’t giving us something to do He’s revealing Someone to see
    Love is patient = long-tempered • Slow to anger • Slow to retaliate • Slow to give up • Strength under control • God’s nature
    Love is kind = goodness in motion • Not passive • Not conditional • Grace with hands and feet
    Jesus is the clearest picture Luke 23:34 – “Father, forgive them” (long-tempered mercy) Luke 23:43 – “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (kindness toward the undeserving)
    Luke 23:34 KJV 1900
    Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
    Luke 23:43 KJV 1900
    And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
    That’s kindness that moves toward the undeserving.
    Paul is not saying, “Try to act like Jesus.” He is saying, “This is who God is.”
    IV. RESPOND
    Now let’s walk this out. Lets look at three things Paul is trying to show us.

    1️⃣ Love is not your assignment—it is your inheritance

    The cross was not just a demonstration. It was a great exchange
    2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV 1900
    For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
    Jesus took your sin. You received His righteousness.
    You didn’t earn it. You didn’t perform for it. You received it.
    And Galatians tells us:
    Galatians 5:22–23 ESV
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love… patience… kindness…”
    Fruit is not manufactured. Fruit is grown.
    You don’t produce it. You bear it.
    You don’t love to be accepted.
    You love because you already are.

    2️⃣ Love flows from union, not effort

    John 15:5 KJV 1900
    I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
    Branches don’t perform. They remain. They receive. They bear fruit.
    Trying to live this chapter by effort is like trying to push a dead car uphill.
    You can push You can strain You can sweat
    But it won’t move the way it was designed to.
    Because it was never meant to run without an engine.
    You don’t need to push. You need to connect.

    3️⃣ Love In Real Life

    This is where Corinth missed it.
    They thought love was something you proved. Something you performed. Something you produced to look spiritual.
    So they competed. They compared. They showed off.
    And Paul says—that’s not love.
    Love doesn’t come from effort. Love comes from connection.
    Because love doesn’t show up when life is easy. Love shows up when life presses you.
    So Paul doesn’t correct Corinth by giving them more rules. He corrects them by pointing them back to the vine— JESUS
    Because love doesn’t grow through pressure. Love grows through presence.
    And that’s where this lands for us.
    V. RECEIVE
    And this is where Paul leaves us.
    Not with a list. Not with pressure. Not with a challenge.
    But with an invitation to receive.
    And that invitation is for us , right now.
    So let’s not just hear this, let receive it.
    Prayer:
    Father, For those who don’t yet know You, we ask that You reveal Yourself as You truly are— not distant, not demanding, but loving and near. Let them see Jesus clearly, and draw them to Yourself.
    And for those who already belong to You, teach us to stop striving and start abiding. Help us to live from what You’ve already done, not from what we’re trying to prove.
    In Jesus’ name, Amen.
    Be Blessed
    .

      • 1 Corinthians 13:4NKJV

      • Luke 23:34NKJV

      • Luke 23:43NKJV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21NKJV

      • Galatians 5:22–23NKJV

      • John 15:5NKJV

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Galatia New Life Church
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