Series: PAUSE
Today’s Message: Pause for Love
Text: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
Pastor Tom Cogle
Sunday, February 15, 2026
- Love is the OXYGEN that sustains our relationships.
1 Corinthians 13:1 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.
- Without love, all I SAY is ineffective.
1 Corinthians 13:2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge . . . but didn’t love others, I would be nothing
- Without love, all I KNOW is incomplete.
1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV “…Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.”
1 Corinthians 13:2 . . . and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
- Without love, all that I BELIEVE is insufficient.
Galatians 5:6 What is important is faith expressing itself in love.
1 Corinthians 13:3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
- Without love, all I GIVE is insignificant.
1 Corinthians 13:3 If I even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
- Without love, all I ACCOMPLISH is inadequate.
1 Corinthians 13:7-8 PHILLIPS “Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. Love never fails.”
Romans 13:8a Pay all your debts except the debt of love for others—never finish paying that!
- Genuine love is based upon the GIVER and not the recipient.
John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
- “You can give without loving, but you cannot LOVE without giving.”
Romans 5:6-8 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
- Our CAPACITY to love correlates with our INTAKE of God’s love.
1 John 4:7-11 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
Ephesians 3:16-19 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
- Love is the ANTIDOTE to a distressed relationship.
1 John 3:16-18 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
PAUSE FOR LOVE
- We pause to ask QUESTIONS.
Proverbs 20:5 NIV The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.
- We pause (take a breath) to LISTEN.
James 1:19 You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak.
- We pause to show AFFECTION.
Romans 12:10 NLT Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
4. We pause to make TIME for them.
James 4:13-14 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.
5. We pause to ask ADVICE.
Proverbs 15:31 ESV The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
6. We pause to share a GIFT.
2 Corinthians 9:11 Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.
7. We pause before we SPEAK.
James 1:19 You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak.
- We pause to forgive and wipe the slate clean.
Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
9. We pause to SERVE and help.
Galatians 5:13 use your freedom to serve one another in love.
- We pause to ENCOURAGE.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 So encourage each other and build each other up.
- We pause to be SPONTANEOUS. (Galatians 5:1 MSG)