Sermon Central
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Love Like Jesus Loves
Contributed by Gary Holt on Oct 27, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus calls His followers to: demonstrate genuine love, faithful obedience, and fruitful lives as His friends.
“Love like Jesus loves”
John 15:12–17
A woman once decided to bake a cake for a special occasion:
- She measured the flour, sugar, and oil perfectly.
- She mixed in the milk and vanilla,
- she poured the batter into the pan and slid it into the oven.
But after 30 minutes, when she peeked inside, her heart sank.
The cake was flat:
? dense as a brick
? It hadn’t risen at all.
Then she realized what she had done:
? She forgot the eggs.
? The very ingredient that held everything together,
? that made the cake rise, was missing.
Everything else was there—but without that one key ingredient, the whole thing failed.
In the same way, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 that:
? we can have faith that moves mountains,
? knowledge that amazes crowds, and generosity that gives away everything
? but if we do not have love, we have nothing.
Love is the “egg” that holds the Christian life together.
It’s what makes our faith rise. Without love, everything else falls flat.
That’s why Jesus said in John 15:12 (NIV):
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Love isn’t optional—it’s essential:
? Without it, we may have all the ingredients of religion, but
? We will miss the heart of Christ Himself.
Gods people are commanded to LOVE ONE ANOTHER:
- that is your marching order
- Love is the direction of your life
When we love like Jesus loves, we will change the world
Love is the visible evidence that we belong to Jesus.
Allow me to read John 15:12-17….
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
17 This is my command: Love each other.”
On the final night before His crucifixion:
? Jesus washed His disciples’ feet,
? teaching humility and service (John 13:14).
Despite betrayal by Judas:
- He promised the Holy Spirit
- to guide and comfort them
Jesus also gave them a new commandment:
“Love one another as I have loved you”
— John 13:34–35 (NIV)
Then Jesus called them:
? to abide in Him to bear lasting fruit,
? reminding them that
? “Apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5 (NIV)
True discipleship is measured by:
? love that reflects Jesus,
? enduring even after His departure.
Jesus calls His followers to:
? demonstrate genuine love,
? faithful obedience, and
? fruitful lives as His friends.
1. The COMMAND to LOVE
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
- John 15:12–13
Jesus is clear:
- we are to love one another
- and we are love to the same degree as He has loved us
- meaning we will love fully without limits
Jesus has set the example of LOVE:
- not only to love, but how to love
- He gave His ALL to us, underserving sinners
- He gave His life as a ransom for many
None of us deserve the LOVE Jesus offers:
- Jesus offers love and friendship to
- people who were once His enemies
- to people with ugly sinful conduct
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Romans 5:8 (NIV)
We are called to love as Jesus loved:
? sacrificially,
? unconditionally, and
? without limit.
We must love the undeserving:
? extend grace to the ungrateful,
? show kindness to our enemies, and above all,
? love one another with the same self-giving love that led Christ to the cross.
1 John 3:16 (NIV)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”
We need to hear this message because:
- it is not hard to love the lovely
- it is not difficult to love those who will pay us back
- it is a simple thing to show love to the deserving
But the command goes beyond that of loving those who love us back:
