Beauty and the Beast: Power of Love

The theme song of the musical Beauty and the Beast reminds us that “it’s a tale as old as time." It’s a tale of beauty becoming beastly, sinlessness becoming sin-filled, and the love of a beautiful Belle transforming the lost beast. In the same way, the Gospel points us to a beautiful Savior who comes to transform darkness to light, death to life, sin-filled beasts to beautiful saints. Could it really be true, or is this just a fairy tale?

Ephesians 2:1-5
2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved.

Psalm 51:5
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Galatians 5:19-23
19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control.

Romans 7:15
15 I do not do what I want to do, and I do the things I hate.

Romans 5:8-9
8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 9 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

OUTLINE:
A Tale As Old As Time
The Beast Within Each of Us (v. 3)
The Hope of Transformation (vv. 4 - 10)