Looking for Love, John 3:16 (VBS 2025)

INTRO: Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way. When I tell you that the title of my sermon is “looking for love,” for several of us, the first thing we will think about is the song- lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, lookin’ for love in too many faces…

What Johnny Lee was singing about 40 years ago is what people have always been searching for- love. Love is one of our most basic and fundamental needs. This week, I googled the “most popular reality tv shows” and the first link was to an IMDB article- Top 50 Reality TV Shows (8): 1) Love Island USA; 4) Love Island; 11) Love Island: Beyond the Villa; 10) Better Late than Single; 25) The Ultimatum: Queer Love; 29) Love on the Spectrum; 46) Bachelor in Paradise (another chance to fall in love); 50) 90 Day: Hunt for Love.

All kinds of people, from all walks of life, are looking for love. This week, our VBS kids memorized a Bible verse that is all about love, the greatest love a person could ever receive- the love of God. John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 helps us to understand that when we are looking for love, we are really looking for God.

1. Looking for GOD.

80 years ago (1945), the Scottish author Bruce Marshall wrote “The World, the Flesh, and Father Smith.” Wade Burleson said, “it’s a novel filled with spiritual truth that should cause us to examine our lives.”

In one scene, Father Smith is walking home when he meets a young woman standing on the porch of her apartment. She is wearing a provocatively short dress & introduces herself to Father Smith. Her name is Dana. Dana tells Father Smith that she’s the author of the best-selling book “Naked and Unashamed.” She asks him, “do you get much response to the old, old story (the Gospel) these days?” Then she says ‘I’ve been dying for years to meet a Catholic priest, but somehow there never seems to be any at any of the parties I go to. I have oodles and oodles to ask you about, that I don’t know if I’ll ever have time.’

So, Father Smith invites Dana to walk with him to his next appointment. He tells her that she can ask him any question that she desires, and she’s got a lot of them. One particular question is to ask Father Smith how he manages to“live without us?”, i.e., without have a female sexual relationship. Father Smith answers- ‘Women’s bodies are rarely perfect; they soon grow old and sag, and always the contemplation of them even at their best is a poor and boring substitute for walking with God in His House as a friend.’

Dana is startled by Father Smith’s bold statement & judges that his answer is what she’s always thought about Christians- “Faith in God is only a substitute for sex.”Father Smith replies- ‘I prefer to believe that sex is a substitute for religion. The young man who rings the bell at the brothel is unconsciously looking for God.’

There is a reason that sex is referred to as “making love,” it’s because love is what we’re actually looking for. When we are looking for love, the person we are really looking for is God. How can that be true?

1 John 4:8, God is love. If a person tells you “I love you,” what they mean is that love is something I have for you- physical attraction, an emotional feeling, a familial attachment, etc. But when God tells you “I love you,” what He means is that, with every fiber of His being, having nothing to do with who you are, how you feel, or what you can do for Him, He chooses to love you by acting in your best interest. He didn’t just do this for you, but He did it for the whole world (kosmos)- the world of people, of whom you & I are one.

We’re all people of the world, looking for love from other people. What we don’t realize is that when we are looking for love, the person we are really looking for is God- He is love! It’s not just something He has, it’s Who He is. Because God is Love, He acts in love towards people. When we are looking for love, we are looking for God, and we are looking for what only God can give.

2. Looking for God’s GIFT.

This verse begins with the word “for,” it means “because;” it has the sense of- “in this way,” it is referring to the WAY God has shown His love to the world.

John 14:6, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is the Way God has chosen to show His love to the world. How God loves the world is by giving His only begotten Son for the world.

This week, the Bible point of our VBS is that God gives good gifts. The greatest gift that God has ever given is His only begotten Son, Jesus (begotten- one and only; unique). On Friday, our kids learned the Bible story that God sends Jesus to earth (Luke 2:1-20). The theological term (or doctrine) of Jesus’ coming into the world is called the INCARNATION.

Incarnation means “the act of being made flesh.” The term comes from John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The term “the Word” refers to Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state (i.e., before He became a human).

Jesus is a real-life human man, not a myth or a legend, but He is more than human too. Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God in the flesh. As the Son of God, He is the 2nd person of the Trinity, i.e., the Godhead- Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. The Son of God is as much God as God the Father is, or God the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus is the eternal God who took on flesh. Why would He do that? Why would God the Son become human?

Philippians 2:5-8, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Jesus became human to die.

On Saturday, the VBS Bible story was that Jesus died and came back to life (John 16-21).The story is about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Why did Jesus die on the cross? One reason Jesus died was God- to be obedient to Him. A second reason Jesus died is for us. Jesus was crucified to pay for our sins. Romans 3:23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death… Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

There is no greater example of love than a Father who is willing to give His Son to save someone else. I have a son, & 2 daughters, & I love all 3 dearly. I would like to think that if you were in trouble or needed someone to save you from an imminent threat, that I would give myself to save you. But one of my children? Not a chance. I don’t love you that much, but God does. People looking for love are looking for God, and for what only God can give- His Only Begotten Son Jesus to save them.

3. Looking for God’s GRACE.

The verse reads… John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Can we even comprehend how great a gift this is?

ILL: If I were to give you a gift, whatever it is, imagine the greatest gift you could ever be given- a new hunting rifle, a new car, an all-expense paid vacation to Europe, just think about what that gift would be to you, what is it? Call it out. Name it. Turn to your neighbor & tell them.

Let’s say that this Christmas I actually had the means, opportunity, and desire to give you this great gift.Like Ralphie from A Christmas Story, all he wants for Christmas is a Red Ryder Carbine-action 200-shot Ranger Model Air Rifle. The whole movie is about Ralphie wanting that BB gun, and he was shocked when his dad actually got him that for Christmas.

Now think about this, what if Ralphie said- Dad, thank you so much for that Christmas gift! It’s all I ever wanted! It’s better than I ever imagined! How much did it cost? I want to pay you back for giving me this gift. He runs up to his room, grabs his piggy bank, smashes it, gives his dad whatever measly amount is in it, & says he’ll work off the rest.

Now, if that were to happen, then the gift ceases to be a gift, and it becomes something you’ve earned.What makes the gift of God so special is that we didn’t do anything to deserve it, we can’t do anything to earn it, the only thing we can do is receive it. What good is a gift you never get? You must receive it. How do we receive the gift of God?

The way to RECEIVE God’s gift is to BELIEVE in His Son. Ephesians 2:8, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Faith to believe in Jesus is itself a gift of God’s grace.

What do you have to believe about Jesus to receive this gift? John 3:17-18,  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

You have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God & that He came to be the Savior of the world. You have to believe that the world is in trouble, & that means us. We are sinners, & our sins have condemned us to hell. Jesus died to pay for our sins so that we could be made right with God. You have to believe that God raised Him from the dead. Romans 10:9-10, 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, what are you looking for? Are you looking for love? Are you looking in all the wrong places? Is it leading you on a really bad path?

No one has ever loved us like God has. When we’re looking for love, we’re looking for Him. We’re looking for what only He can give- His Son. We’re looking for His grace- the gift of eternal life. If you’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places, you can only find love in one face: Jesus.

1. Agree with God that you are a sinner & cannot save yourself

2. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved

3. Confess Him has your Lord & follow Him into eternal life