God's Great Love

Romans 5

- Read Romans 5:1-11

As we study this passage together, I’d like you think first about the love of God. Turn to someone near you and tell them, “God loves you.”

I. GOD LOVES YOU

Tom and I have been friends for a long time. As a matter-of-fact, the only folks here who have known me longer than Tom are Bobby and Julia. We went to high school together.

Anyway, Tom and I have been friends since shortly after I came back from college in 85. We used to go on visitation together every Monday night. Then we’d go to the Shake Shack in Sanford, where we’d get footlong fries and he’d order a disgusting milkshake.

We were part of the same single’s group at the church we attended. Tom broke his ankle on my parents’ trampoline over there in the playground area during a single’s outing here. It was while he was in the hospital recovering from surgery for that ankle, that his now wife, Alex, played nurse good body, and they fell in love.

I remember when he picked out the ring that he gave her when he asked her to marry him. Speaking of which, aren’t engaged people just sickening, all of that lovey dove stuff. Hanging on each other, talking about how great the other person is, and all of that. It’s enough to make you sick.

Speaking of which. we want to say congratulations to Hannah and Drake. Last Sunday morning, at 6 am, at the beach, Drake proposed, and Hannah said yes! And then, they were here at church at 9!

Speaking of lovey dovey, yesterday morning we started roofing the admin building at 7. Was my wife here with me? No. Was Jason’s wife here with him? No. Was Daniel’s wife here with him? No. Was Russ’s wife here with him? No. But Hannah was here with Drake.

I later complained to Gladys about it, and she waved me off. She said, “They’re still at the stage where they’ll do anything to spend time together. She’ll get over it.” Drake, Hannah, when it’s time for pre-marital counseling, ya’ll come see me, don’t see Gladys. I’m still a hopeless romantic. She’ll burst your bubble.

As I was saying, I still remember when Tom picked out the ring he gave Alex when he proposed. I had to hear all about it. He didn’t pick it up at a local jewelry store. No, this one was special, with no flaws, extra clarity, and all of that stuff. It was a really nice ring. He was going all in.

When I asked Gladys to marry me, I was a poor country preacher, and the ring I was able to offer her reflected my financial condition. I didn’t have to buy her a big fancy ring to get her to agree to marry me.

George, on the other hand, had to offer Kit, the Hope diamond to get her to agree to marry him. You know, the more I’ve worked with George this year, the more I’ve wondered how in the world he ever got sweet Kit to agree to marry him. Then the other day I noticed her wedding ring and I figured it out. He bribed her.

Isn’t it amazing the things we will do to show our love, to demonstrate our love for another person?

Well, think about what God did to demonstrate His love for us.

- Read Romans 5:6-8

\’In 1861, a wild gambler and drinker named Harry Moorhouse rushed into a revival meeting in Manchester, England, looking for a fight. But instead he got saved. Six years later, the famous evangelist, D. L. Moody, was preaching in Dublin when Moorhouse came up and told Moody he would like to come to America and preach the gospel. Moody guessed Moorhouse to be about 17 (although he was older). He didn’t know if Moorhouse could preach, so he brushed him off.

But after Moody got back to Chicago, he got a letter from Moorhouse saying that he had landed in New York and he would come and preach. Moody wrote a cold reply, saying that if he came west to call on him. A few days later, Moody got a letter saying that Moorhouse would be in Chicago the next Thursday. Moody didn’t know what to do with him, so he told his deacons, “There is a man coming from England who wants to preach. I’m going to be gone Thursday and Friday. If you let him preach those days, I’ll be back Saturday and take him off your hands.”

On Saturday Moody returned and asked his wife how the young Englishman had gotten along. Did the people like him? She said they liked him very much. “Did you like him?” “Yes,” she said, “very much. He preached two sermons from John 3:16. I think you’ll like him, but he preaches a little different than you do.”