For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life.

That's our text this morning and it's our text for the next

four Sundays counting today for the rest of this year and maybe in those fun

four Sundays will scratch the surface of this great text. John 316. I invite

you to turn to it and if you use the Pugh Bible it's on page 12

1262. it's on page 1,262. Probably the most often memorized verse in the Bible. I don't think I've preached

on it in 14 and a half years. That's probably not good.

So I try to make up in these four Sundays.

My guess is if I were to ask you probably 95-6 7% of the people in this room memorize this

first sometime in your life I won't ask you to raise your hand because the other one or two or three percent might be embarrassed if you didn't raise your hand.

Why don't you make it 100 percent before we're done today or before this day is over? It is worth memorizing. It's no accident that this is right at the heart of our Sunday school.

It's right at the heart of people's lives in every country of the world where Christ is named. It isn't everything. Justifications

not here. The glory of God is not here. The cross is not here. Election is not here. Calling

is not here. There are great things that are not in this verse.

Don't make this verse the sum of your theology, but it is a great, great, great sum of the

gospel. And there are all kinds of ways to approach this verse and if you read

the star you know how I want to try to tackle it in four Advent Sundays. There are four

D-A-B-C-B-C-B-C-B-B-C-S. There are four D's, D, A, B, C, D. The first one is the danger. And that's the one we're going to tackle this morning. The danger is that without Christ we perish.

In order that whoever believes on him might not perish. The second D is the design of God to remedy this

problem and to rescue us from danger. The design of God is his loving giving of his son.

For God so love the world that he gave his son. The third D is the D of duty. Not one of my favorite

words but a very important word. the duty in order for you to participate in this saving love of

...