Connections 2-8-26 by First Southern Baptist Church

February 8, 2026

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

~ 1 John 4:7-12 ~

THIS IS LOVE

This week I am reviving a blog from several years ago that I wrote for Valentines Day.As such, my mind and my heart have been focused on what it is that we celebrate on this special day. Hopefully true love!

This love thing can be a little tricky especially around this particular day of the year. Many in our church family have been in long-term committed marriages. They know that love takes lots of work, but it is always worth the effort. Some are in new relationships, at the beginning of the work ahead, wondering if they will get it right? Some of our family find themselves single or single again. In that case, they may be wondering what happened to love? Valentine’s Day may not be your favorite holiday. I get it. For a significant number in our family, Valentine's Day finds you mourning the loss of a dear husband or wife. I can only imagine that your life circumstances give you a very different perspective on this holiday.

with Pastor Terrell

Love may not always be easy to find or easy to see. Much like the heart in the picture, love can seem to remain hidden from us. However, God says that is not true when we truly understand what real love is.

Love is not an emotion. Love is not a feeling. Love is not a state only for marriage. Love is a verb. It is an action. Love is something we do. Love is a choice. In 1 John, we are told that Christians are the only ones who can truly live in and demonstrate love God’s love. John does not put any restrictions on that love. It does not matter what our marital status may presently be, we can live in God’s love.

Real love is always sacrificial. It always places the needs of others above our own. This Valentine’s season, let me encourage you to do something sacrificial for someone else. Don’t sit and wait for your life circumstances to change. Your spouse and children need you to put them first. Your friends and neighbors need for someone to tell them that they are still important. What better gift this time of year than to share the love of God. They may have never heard the story of God’s love at the cross for them. Let them see it in your acts of self-giving love.

Something amazing will happen in your life when you take action when it comes to love. You will know the love that God has for you in ways you could have never imagined. So don’t sit act in sacrificial ways.

Blessings on you as we all come to know God’s love in a deeper way this week.As always, I so look forward to seeing you on Sunday as we continue with IMMERSE. We are in the POETS of the Old Testament. This Sunday we will look at ACrash Course on Overcoming the Pursuit of Pleasure.

Pastor Terrell

P.S. I can’t help myself; let’s just blame it on John Clark’s “Bad Pun Week” which he hosted for so many years...

What did the French chef give his wife for Valentine’s Day? Ahug and a quiche!