The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
Mr. Gary Woodford
June 28, 2026
“The Love of God"
Good morning!
I want to thank Pastor Mike for giving me this opportunity to share with you. And, also, Dr. Morrison for all the work she’s doing with all our screens.
This morning I want to share with you a message on the love of God; how wide and how deep it is. A number of years ago, one of our missionaries from my former church gave a teaching on The Father Heart of God. It was very life changing for me. I’ve included a few pieces of his teaching this morning, but most of it is what God has put on my heart to share with you today.
I don’t think anyone person can plumb the depth of God’s love. But this morning I would like for us to get a picture of it by looking at some examples in the Old Testament. I used to think the God of the Old Testament was this angry, wrathful God, and that Jesus—He’s the gentle, loving one. But, that’s not what Jesus said. In John 14:8-9.
Philip said to Him, “Lord show us the Father, … Jesus said to him, “Philip … he who has seen me has seen the Father.”
And, as I prepared this message, I saw a picture of a loving Father, grieving at times over what sin has done to His creation, but all the while working toward restoring and redeeming all things back to the way He created them. And, yes, bringing judgment at times as we’ll see. I think God’s Holy character obligates Him to bring judgment when man’s sin crosses that line without repentance.
So, I have a few examples for us to look at this morning. As we go through them, I think you will see God’s heart; His love for both His people and His creation, His compassion and mercy, and His long-suffering nature or patience.
CREATION
As we read through the first chapter of Genesis, we see this refrain, over-andover again, during the six days of creation. God looked upon what He had made each day, and the Bible says, “God saw that it was good.” Then on the sixth day, after He was finished, Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”
So there is this refrain, good, good, good and then very good. At the very heart of creation we see the goodness of God. Out of His love, all was made perfect for us to enjoy and to sustain life. I’ve been thinking recently of how the earth rotates perfectly on its own axis every 24 hours, as it in turn rotates around the sun each year for our seasons.
One of the lies Satan tries to perpetrate is that God is not good. What about this problem, or the violence we see each day? Or, perhaps this sickness I’m struggling with is from God. We know that nothing could be further from the truth. We live in a fallen world which we’ll look at in just a minute. Yet, despite those things, God is always there to comfort us and carry us through our struggles. We’re reminded in Hebrews 13:5 He promises, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” Always there to walk with us.
MAN
Looking now at the account of God creating man, and when I say “man” I mean both male and female.
One question you may have heard or wondered about is, “why did God create man?” Was it because He needed someone to worship Him, or because he enjoys giving commandments to people? I don’t think so. God is self-sufficient and eternal. He didn’t need us, and the Bible teaches that God’s commandments are for our benefit, not His.
The only answer that makes sense to me is that He created us out of His love. In Gen. 1:26 it says, “Then God said, let us make man in Our image, according to our likeness.” To me this represents a time when the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit decided to expand their eternal circle of love to include us. I think it can be likened to when a husband and wife decide to expand their love for each other to include children.
I think the Bible, being a love letter to God’s people, makes it clear, cover-to cover, that we were created out of His love to have intimate relationship with 2
Him. The Bible says that God delights in His people. Listen to how the Apostle Peter describes it in 2 Peter 3:9,
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
That’s us! Created to walk with Him in intimate fellowship every day.
THE FALL
Adam and Eve had that intimate relationship with God. Everything was made perfect; their environment, their relationship with each other, and their relationship with God. But then something went wrong. We know the story. Tempted by the serpent or Satan, they disobeyed God and ate from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” And when they did, sin immediately entered man and they became separated from God.
And because of God’s Holy character, He brought judgment on their sin. The ground and the serpent were cursed, man was now destined to toil for his food, and the woman would have pain in child birth.
But the important thing I want us to see here is that God did not abandon them. We see the first picture of His loving plan to restore and redeem all things in Genesis 3:15, where God, referring to Satan, said,
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
In other words there will come a day when Jesus Christ will defeat Satan for all eternity. God, out of His love, putting into motion the redemption and restoration of all things through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In commentary Charles Spurgeon refers to this as the first gospel sermon ever preached on earth, with God as the preacher, and the whole human race and the prince of darkness as the audience.
THE FLOOD
Turning now to the the days of Noah, man had multiplied on the earth. But again there was a problem. And again, I think we all know the story. In Genesis 6:5 it says, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Every person, every thought, evil all the time. The Bible says that God was “grieved in His heart” and that the earth was filled with violence.
So as we know, He brought judgment by way of the flood. But again, we still see God working toward restoration and redemption by having Noah build the ark through which a remnant could survive. Noah and his wife, his sons and their wives, and a remnant of the birds and animals God had created. And as in the days of Adam, he commanded them to multiply and fill the earth. This was God’s reset, clearing the slate and starting over.
There are two important points here I want us to see. First, there appears to have been a delay before God brought the flood. In Genesis 6:3, God says “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever … his days shall be 120 years.” Some commentators believe that this represents a delay, during which God waited for man to repent. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. So, it seems Noah would have warned the people.
We don’t know the exact time that God waited, but I have no doubt that He did wait. In 2 Peter 3:9 it says God is “… not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” God’s long-suffering nature, and His compassion and mercy; waiting for man to repent before bringing judgment.
Second, it is clear that by saving the remnant through the flood, God was preserving the seed of the woman, the one who will defeat Satan for eternity. This is because Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, who in turn was a descendant of one of Noah’s sons on the ark.
COVENANTS
So, let’s look next at the covenants God made with Abraham, Moses, and David. In them we will see God again working to restore and redeem all things.
Abraham
In the covenant with Abraham God promised to make many nations of him and that kings would come forth from him. And, we know King Jesus was the ultimate King. Second, the covenant would be everlasting between God and Abraham and his descendants, and that God would be their God. We are among those many descendants because we are one with Jesus. Finally, God promised to give them the land of Canaan, and again, He said would be their God.
To me this is the most important covenant of all, because it sets in motion the blessings that will come forth to the whole world through King Jesus. And, twice God says to Abraham I will be God to you and your descendants. He knows it’s best for His people when He is God.
Moses
The covenant with Moses is often referred to as the Old Covenant, being a shadow of our New Covenant. God made this covenant with His people as they journeyed toward the promised land of Canaan. Here we see God moving toward having a closer presence with His people. He gave them the ten commandments and other laws by which to live and be a witness to other nations. He also instituted the sacrifice of animals, providing atonement for their sins, thus making it possible for Him to be with them. Likewise, He had them construct a tabernacle for His presence on their journey, guiding them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
David
The covenant with David is similar and straightforward. God promised to establish his kingdom forever through David’s descendant, the Messiah; Jesus being a descendant of both David and Abraham.
NEW COVENANT
As we move on to the New Covenant there are two scriptures I want to share where we see God’s heart. In the first one we hear God reminding His people through Moses to keep His commandments so that it will go well with them when they enter the promised land. Exodus 19:4,
“You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.”
The second one is more of a scolding by Moses. Deuteronomy 1:30-32,
“The Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, … But for all this you did not trust the Lord your God.”
As we move through the rest of the Old Testament, we see where God’s people often did not keep His commandments. Because of their sin God allowed other nations to take them captive and scatter them. He sent prophet-afterprophet warning them, calling them back to Himself, desiring to restore that intimate fellowship that was broken in the beginning.
There are many Old Testament scriptures where we see into God’s heart; where He says, “I will be their God and they will be my people.” A perfect example is Jeremiah 31:33, where he prophesied,
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people.”
Here we see God speaking through Jeremiah of the New covenant under which we are blessed to live. God has written His laws upon our heart with intimate fellowship through the Holy Spirit.
Whatever God wants or sets in motion to happen; will always happen in His time. That’s why we know Jesus will return. And when He does, all things will be restored and made perfect.
SUMMARY
As we look back, there is a common thread running through the examples we’ve seen this morning. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. God preserving from the very beginning the promised seed of the woman for fulfillment in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, what should our response be to this kind of love from God? I think the answer lies in what we hear read every Sunday morning; the Summary of the Law. Matthew 22:37 & 39,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” “The second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
But how do we love God with our whole being, and our neighbor as ourself? After thinking about this, I’ve come up with five ways that I think can help us. These are not necessarily all encompassing:
1. Holy Spirit. Recognizing the Holy Spirit within us. Too often the Holy Spirit has been and still is the forgotten God among many Christians. Yet, it’s the Holy Spirit that gives us the desire and ability to worship God and keep His commandments. We were incapable of this before we were saved.
2. Knowing God’s Word. Regularly spending time in God’s Word. In Revelation 19:13, referring to Jesus, it says, “And He was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God.” The more time we spend in God’s word, the more we will desire to keep His commandments.
3. Prayer. Regular prayer, during our quiet time with the Lord. Praying for others first and then our own needs. Praying consistent with God’s word so that we know He hears us. Drawing close to Him as we see answered prayers. We may not always like His timing or the answer, but that’s where we must trust Him with the outcome.
4. Fellowship. Fourth, having regular fellowship with other Christians; being part of a local church or fellowship. This helps us avoid doctrinal error. God never intended for any of His people to be “Lone Rangers.”
5. Be Ready. Last, think and be proactive. Lead a life of service to others using the spiritual gifts God has given each of us. And, always be ready to share with others what Jesus has done in our lives, and the hope we have within us.
Before I close in prayer, I want to leave you with this one scripture, which I think is a powerful example of God’s love. It’s in Romans 5:7-8,
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
In other words there was nothing about us that would make anyone want to die on our behalf other than God Himself out of His love.
If you are here this morning and have not given your life to Christ, please come up for prayer after the service. Important decision anyone will ever make. It’s the difference between life and death. Or if you have other needs, please come for prayer.
(Prayer)
©2026 Mr. Gary Woodford
