The Love Of Jesus Series

(based on a sermon series by Tom Ellsworth)

SERIES: “DISCOVER JESUS: The Other 3:16’s)

TEXT: 1 JOHN 3:11-18

TITLE: “THE LOVE OF JESUS”

OPEN: A. Today is a very exciting day

1. Last Sunday, we began our 10 Week Spiritual Adventure

a. I pray that you have been encouraged and uplifted in that adventure and that Satan’s attempts

to derail you in this quest have been unsuccessful

b. Even if he has been successful, this is a 10 Week challenge

--As the old song says: “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again”

c. We don’t do these spiritual disciplines to be saved

--We do them because we are saved and seek to honor Jesus Christ and grow to be more like

Him

2. We also start a new journey in our Sunday morning worship

a. After discussion with the eldership and much prayer, I’ve chosen a theme for our worship

--“2008: Days of Discovery”

b. The themes for worship and study on Sunday mornings will all have the main thrust of

discovering something that will cause us to grow deeper in our relationships with Christ and

with each other

B. This morning we start the sermon series: “Discovering Jesus: The Other 3:16’s”

1. I’m sure that every one of us is familiar with John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he

gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

2. That’s a very important message

--it sums up what God was doing through His Son

3. But there are some other 3:16 passages that teach us about Jesus

--We’ll be looking at each one of these passages over the next several weeks

a. Lk. 3:16 – The Power of Jesus

b, Acts 3:16 – The Name of Jesus

c. Col. 3:16 – The Encouragement of Jesus

d. 1 Tim. 3:16 – The Uniqueness of Jesus

e. Rev. 3:16 – The Challenge of Jesus

4. This morning we start with a close cousin to John 3:16

a. 1 John 3:16 – “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.”

b. It teaches us about the love of Jesus

C. You might not recall the name Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme but she is famous. Or better yet, she

is infamous. On Sept, 5, 1977, she pushed her way through a crowd in Sacramento, CA and

pointed a .45 caliber pistol at then President of the United States Gerald Ford. Secret Service

agents quickly subdued her. She had been a follower of Charles Manson and was one of the few

who were not involved or at least were never implicated in the killing sprees that sent Manson and

several of his followers to prison.

Fromme’s childhood was tragic. Her father was distant and cold and she always felt like a

misfit in her hometown. She became involved in drugs and alcohol. She left home while still a

teenager just out of high school and wandered around California until she met Manson who

promised that he’d take care of her. She went with him and was willing to kill or die for him.

Reporters wanted to know, “why would you give your life to a man like Charles Manson?” She

explained that she had made a choice early in here teenage years. Here it is: “Whoever loves me

first can have my life.”

1. Love is something that we all desire

--No matter how much money we have, how many possessions we own, how much prestige

have, or how much power we wield, we still desire to be loved

2. So many people are looking for love in all the wrong places

--Waylon Jennings wrote the words to a country song by that name. Listen to the words of the

chorus:

I was looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what.. I’m dreaming of...

Hopin’ to find a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discover

Another heart, lookin’ for love

3. I think those words sum up the search by so many to fill their need for love with the wrong

things found in the wrong places

4. How do we know what true love is and where to find it?

--We look to Jesus. He exemplifies everything we need to know about love

5. To understand Jesus’ love, we have to look at 1 Jn. 3:16 in context

--1 Jn. 3:11-18 – “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one

another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And