NOTHING CAN MAKE ME LOVE YOU LESS

Sermon Notes, August 26, 2012

Pastor Jessie Kearns

Pastor Jessie’s message was titled “Nothing Can Make Me Love You Less.”  She started her sermon by giving a brief sketch of her life, from childhood church attendance to her internship this summer as a hospital chaplain.  She told of one of the patients she ministered to, a girl who was giving birth as a result of date rape.  The girl felt as though she was unforgiveable because of what had happened to her.  Jessie told her the story of Bathsheba, who had experienced something similar. 

God’s love is not based on what you’ve done.  Even when He is not happy with something we’ve done, it doesn’t mean that God stops loving us.  God uses all things that happen to us. (Romans 8:28)

In 2 Samuel 11, we see that King David, who was supposed to lead his army, had stayed home instead.  Verse 3 tells us that David saw a beautiful woman bathing according to the purification customs of the time.  He sent someone to find out about her: she was the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.  In those days, the king was very powerful, and people did what he asked.  In verse 4, David sent messengers to go get Bathsheba.  She came to him and David slept with her.  Verse 5 explains that she was bathing.  When she found out she was pregnant, she sent word to David.

In verses 6-8, we see that David sent for Uriah and told him to go home, hoping he’d sleep with his wife.  But Uriah slept at the palace gate with the other servants, and when David asked him why, he said that when all the army was camping in tents in the field, he couldn’t go to his house and lie with his wife.   Then David told Uriah to stay in Jerusalem another day and got him drunk, but Uriah still didn’t go home to his wife, but sleeps with the servants again.  In verse 15 David writes a letter to Joab, the commander of the army, telling him to put Uriah on the front lines where he will be sure to be killed, and sends the letter to Joab by Uriah!  In verses 16-25, Bathsheba mourns the death of her husband, Uriah, and at the end of the mourning period, she becomes David’s wife and bears him a son.  But God is displeased with what David has done.

In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet comes to David and tells him a story about a poor man with one dearly loved sheep.  When a traveler came to the rich man’s house, instead of killing one of his own sheep for a meal, he killed the poor man’s sheep.  The story makes David angry and he tells Nathan the rich man should be killed for doing such a thing.  Nathan tells him, “You are the man!” In verse 13 David admits he has sinned against God, and Nathan tells him God has taken away his sin.  But there are consequences to sin, and Nathan tells David the consequences of his sin in verses 7-14.

God’s love is not based on what you’ve done.  God loved Bathsheba even though all this happened to her.  God loved David even though he made some bad choices.  God loved Nathan and used him to bring a powerful king to repentance.  God loved Solomon, the son who was later born to David and Bathsheba.  And God loves us:  “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)