The Demonstration of an Extravagant Love
Dr. J. Gerald Harris
I John 12:2-8
It is important for us to love the Lord with all of our hearts. It is important for us to love one another. We want the very foundation and fabric of this church to be love.
I was thinking about this whole idea of love some time ago when I went into a Waffle House. As I sat there, an elderly couple drove up to the restaurant in a pickup truck. They came in the restaurant and they sat near me. After they ordered their meal, the lady went to the restroom. As I got up to leave I decided that I would talk to the old gentleman, and I said, "I'm Gerald Harris. I'm a Baptist preacher. Very soon I'm going to be preaching upon the importance of love. Am I correct in assuming that the lady that came into the restaurant with you is your wife?"
He said, "That's right."
I realized that I was getting nowhere fast, so I said to him, "Look, mister, I don't mean to pry, but this thing of love is so important to me. I just wonder if you remember the first time you ever kissed your wife?"
The old fellow turned around and looked up at me, and he said, "Preacher, I can't even remember the last time I kissed my wife."
So I came out of the Waffle House disappointed because I was not able to get an illustration of extravagant love from the old gentleman there. But I want to tell you that true love will find a way to express itself.
In our message for this morning we're going to see the demonstration of an extravagant love. Now, it's interesting that this same story we read in John 12 is also found in Matthew 26 and Mark 14. If Hollywood were to make a movie based on our text, the camera would begin to focus in on the little town of Bethany, and then zero in on the house of Simon the leper. A number of the friends of Jesus have come together to give a supper in his honor. In the text we're told that Lazarus, Mary and Martha were among those present.
We see here that Jesus loved fellowship ...
Dr. J. Gerald Harris
I John 12:2-8
It is important for us to love the Lord with all of our hearts. It is important for us to love one another. We want the very foundation and fabric of this church to be love.
I was thinking about this whole idea of love some time ago when I went into a Waffle House. As I sat there, an elderly couple drove up to the restaurant in a pickup truck. They came in the restaurant and they sat near me. After they ordered their meal, the lady went to the restroom. As I got up to leave I decided that I would talk to the old gentleman, and I said, "I'm Gerald Harris. I'm a Baptist preacher. Very soon I'm going to be preaching upon the importance of love. Am I correct in assuming that the lady that came into the restaurant with you is your wife?"
He said, "That's right."
I realized that I was getting nowhere fast, so I said to him, "Look, mister, I don't mean to pry, but this thing of love is so important to me. I just wonder if you remember the first time you ever kissed your wife?"
The old fellow turned around and looked up at me, and he said, "Preacher, I can't even remember the last time I kissed my wife."
So I came out of the Waffle House disappointed because I was not able to get an illustration of extravagant love from the old gentleman there. But I want to tell you that true love will find a way to express itself.
In our message for this morning we're going to see the demonstration of an extravagant love. Now, it's interesting that this same story we read in John 12 is also found in Matthew 26 and Mark 14. If Hollywood were to make a movie based on our text, the camera would begin to focus in on the little town of Bethany, and then zero in on the house of Simon the leper. A number of the friends of Jesus have come together to give a supper in his honor. In the text we're told that Lazarus, Mary and Martha were among those present.
We see here that Jesus loved fellowship ...
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