1 Corinthians 13:1-8

So what's really the deal with Valentine's Day? Sarah Stirman talks about Valentine's Day and what it means to be really in love and to share love.

"Dear Father, give me love! May I one day possess fully all the qualities of love, as did your son, Jesus, the Messiah! May I be patient and kind, not..."

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can..."

"Dear Father, O God of love, If I could speak in all the languages of men and angels, and did not have love, I would be no more than a noisy gong or a..."

Inspirational illustration of 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 -- If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and i

How sloppy are you with your words for affection? We are sloppy in the way we use words for love, so why not see how the Bible does and especially see how Jesus demonstrated it and evaluate our lives based on his model?

This is how much a mother can love! Cathy Messecar shares a beautiful story about an adoptive mom and dad who have shown tenacious and beautiful love to a young man born with very challenging physical limitations.

As followers of Jesus, it is my responsibility to speak and demonstrate the language of this authentic love. Tom Norvell reminds us that as disciples of Jesus, our job is to bring the love of Jesus into every arena of life, even if the rest of the world has forgotten to do so.

When others say unkind things about people, what do you say? Max Lucado reminds us that love protects when others speak untruth, spread gossip, or destroy reputations.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps...."

"Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

"Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn't jealous. It doesn't sing its own praises. It isn't arrogant. It isn't rude. It doesn't think about itself......"

Do little gifts of remembrance actually mean a lot? Steve Brumfield writes about the way he celebrated Valentine's Day with his wife Sue.

Why not forget winning arguments and win the heart? Ron Rose talks about his adopted granddaughter, Halle Grace, a Russian lifeguard and Halle's desire to hug and be hugged.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

"Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!"

"If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move....."

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

Image of 1 Corinthians 13:7-8 and Song of Solomon 8:6 Love always protects, trusts, hopes, perserveres. Love never fails! Love is as strong as death.

Scripture image of 1 Corinthians 13:7 -- Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Scripture image of 1 Corinthians 13:5 -- It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Image of 1 Corinthians 13:4-- Love is patient, Love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

Image from 1 Corinthians 13:8 -- Love never fails.

Image of 1 Corinthians 13:6 -- Love does not delight in , but rejoices with the truth.

Before Jesus, the word 'agape' didn't mean anything special. It was a sloppy word for 'love' pretty much like our English word 'love' as we use it today. Phil Ware reminds us where the word 'agape' really gets its meaning, in what God did for us in Jesus and that we must love God first if we are to love others properly.

"Dear Precious One, Some words are simply more important than others. In the human vocabulary that We — Father, Son, and Spirit — use, one..."

Could this be the greatest love story of all? Love is unpredictable and that is the real meaning of love, that God would do the unexpected to love us and draw us to himself.

We actually exchanged real words with both of them. It was amazing. Would you believe that they are both real living, breathing human beings? Michael DeCamp shares a chapter out of his new book, "Loving Out Loud," and challenges us to use our words to bless and not hurt, to give life and not steal it from someone.

"Dear Father, O God of love! Let me possess love, for love never ends. I know that prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will pass away, for they are all....."

Is your storehouse of anger doing you any good? Are you happier? Better? More fun to be with? Max Lucado helps us deal with the hurts of the heart that lead to bitterness, anger, and depression, as we are provoked and frustrated into sullen and negative states of spirit and emotion and mind.

What happens when Mt. Momma erupts? Sarah Holley challenges us to focus on our own actions, ask for forgiveness, and prepare for the next trigger encounter after we have come to grips with the latest time we've blown it.

Can you keep running and not grow weary? Burn out seems to happen more and more frequently, but when see why it happens, we realize that folks are losing sight of the goal and are often motivated for the wrong reasons.

Are we really letting our love light shine in a world filled with so much darkness? Byron Ware reminds us that in our world of darkness, now more than ever, we need to be a people who do put love into practice every day.