Prepared for Great Sacrifice
The sermon emphasizes the importance of love and serving others, and how developing the habit of making small sacrifices can prepare us for great sacrifice when needed.
Mary Wilder Tileston emphasizes the importance of serving one another in love, highlighting how fulfilling the law is encapsulated in loving our neighbors as ourselves. She warns against the dangers of selfishness and the benefits of living for the sake of others, leading to a gracious and noble character. Tileston encourages the practice of making sacrifices in small things to prepare for greater acts of service when needed, urging the congregation to address personal weaknesses like temper, pride, and indulgence to be ready for moments of significant love and service.
Text
By love serve one another. For all the law is ful-filled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
GALATIANS 5:13,14
A MAN who habitually pleases himself will be-come continually more selfish and sordid, even among the most noble and beautiful conditions which nature, history, or art can furnish; and, on the other hand, any one who will try each day to live for the sake of others, will grow more and more gracious in thought and bearing, however dull and even squalid may be the outward circumstances of his soul's probation.
FRANCIS PAGET
It is the habit of making sacrifices in small things that enables us for making them in great, when it is asked of us. Temper, love of preeminence, bodily indulgence, the quick retort, the sharp irony,--in checking these let us find our cross and carry it. Or, when the moment comes for some really great service, the heart will be petrified for it, and the blinded eyes will not see the occasion of love.
ANTHONY W. THOROLD
Sermon Outline
- The Law of Love
- The Dangers of Selfishness
- Preparing for Great Sacrifice
- Developing the habit of making small sacrifices
- Overcoming personal weaknesses to serve others
Key Quotes
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“It is the habit of making sacrifices in small things that enables us for making them in great, when it is asked of us.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“Temper, love of preeminence, bodily indulgence, the quick retort, the sharp irony,--in checking these let us find our cross and carry it.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- Develop the habit of making small sacrifices in your daily life to prepare yourself for greater sacrifices when needed.
- Overcome personal weaknesses such as temper, love of preeminence, and bodily indulgence to serve others more effectively.
- Remember that love is the fulfillment of the law, and strive to love your neighbors as yourself.