Message summary: The gospel in a nutshell!

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“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

In the course of our chaplaincy ministry to various companies we meet a lot of different people. Some of the employees we visit are Christians so we seek to have an encouraging role in their lives. Of course we also see unbelievers and seek the opportunity to share Christ's truth with them.

Yesterday I visited for a few minutes with a man who claimed his religion was "Hades". Frankly I had never heard of this being a religion and it was very hard to follow him. I had never encountered this belief system. He actually said he was raised in a Christian church. Before I left his work site I sought to plant a seed of gospel truth followed by a challenge to follow Christ.

3:16. For those of us who deeply cherish the Bible this simple combination of numbers and punctuation stirs our hearts. Even without the book title and words to the verse many readers realize we are referring to the most famous 3:16 in the Bible, John 3:16. But actually there are 49 other books in the Bible that have a chapter 3 and verse 16. (* See below)

When this verse is quoted in a worship service most in the congregation will either lip or speak the words voluntarily since it rolls right off their lips from deep within their hearts. For many it was the first Bible verse they memorized.

John 3:16 is one of my favorite texts to preach from although there is a sense that it's a passage everyone already knows and that can be a deterrence to the preacher. But it shouldn't be!

1)  Everyone does not know it.
2)  Even those who do know need reminded and assured. For many years now sitting in the pews I can say I am blessed by familiar truths.
3) There are depths of rich meaning even in the clearest and most familiar verses.

John 3:16 is a foundational assertion of God’s love. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life”.

How often has this verse been proclaimed! It's been called the gospel in a nutshell! Each word is dripping with the honey of reassuring truth for the believer in Christ. It's probably the most memorized verse in all of God's Word. Many of you could close your eyes and recite it right now. From our earliest days as believers we came to associate this reference with the very essence of the Gospel message.

Here's an outline that I am blessed by that has often been used and God only knows who originally devised it:

In the expressive hymn "The Love of God", the hymn writer(s) extol the inexhaustible love of God. This is surely one of the most creative use of words in all hymnology.  May its text bless you today as you personally apply God's enduring love to your heart.

Today, we encourage you to rejoice in the fundamental truth of God's love!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13