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Colin Smith: Our world is becoming more angry, more hostile, more divided and the natural response to increasing division and hostility and anger in the world is an increasing hostility and division also in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord Jesus calls us to be different.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller, glad you're with us today. And Colin, it sounds like this is such a relevant message for what we see going on in our world today.

Colin Smith: Well, we're looking at growing in faith and hope and love and the apostle tells us that these are the three things that remain. Everything else is going to pass away, but these three things will remain and then he tells us that of faith, hope and love, the greatest of these is love. This is our distinct calling as Christian believers. It is the way in which we are to be recognized as the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we're going to be looking today and in these next days at what it means to grow in love. I can't think of anything that is more important or more urgent.

Steve Hiller: Well, no big surprise where we're going to be turning today. The love chapter, 1 Corinthians chapter 13, as we begin our message called, Love Is Our Distinct Calling. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: I've been thinking a great deal about these questions over these last weeks and as I've done this and sought the Lord, there's one word that has pressed into my mind and into my heart and that word is the single word love. Love is to be the distinguishing mark of the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is not an option. Notice it's a commandment.

A new commandment I give to you, the Lord Jesus says. I command you that you are to love one another, that's what he is saying, so that by this everyone, all people will know that you really are my disciples. Now, as the world becomes harsher and more divided, our calling will make us more distinct. Where else could you ever hope to find a community of people who will really love one another across all the many differences that divide people so deeply?

Now, I expect that as we come to this subject today, most of us will feel that we need to grow in love, especially when it comes to those with whom we deeply disagree. And the good news is that love can be learned. It is possible to grow in love and the Holy Spirit is given to us for this very purpose. So please open your Bible with me at 1 Corinthians and chapter 13, this marvelous passage that has been read to us on the subject of love.

Why should we seek to grow in love? Why is this so important? Well, this chapter gives us three powerful answers. We're going to look at the first answer just in the first three verses today, and then God willing, we'll look at the second and the third answers from this same chapter next week.

Why should we grow in love? Well, the first answer that Paul gives to us here is that love will enable us to use our gifts effectively. And Paul lists six highly valued gifts, each of them a gift that comes from the hand of God himself, each of them a gift that is...