The following is a manuscript of the sermon presented by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, March 19, 2023 at our West U Baptist campus. To view the sermon in full, check out the link below.

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

As you go to your internet browsers and you begin a search, often times you will get a result for that search with a headline that says…

• The Top 7 Reasons for Your Backpain
• The Top 10 Songs of 2022
• The Top 5 Stocks to Own in 2023

Well, I ran across a site the other day called LISTVERSE. And Listverse has all sorts of random top 5 and top 10 lists.

Today, I want us to spend a moment seeing if one of their lists is really accurate.

Today, we are going to be looking at the Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time.

To get on this list, your jingle marketing your product had to have some amazing connecting and staying power. The tune and the lyrics had to be memorable, and the end result would make you want to both buy and consume the brand.

So, let’s play a game…let’s see if ListVerse’s List is really accurate as we examine the Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time.

Our Pianist will play a few measures of the jingle and we will see if we truly know it.

Working our way down the list, from 5-1, let’s see if you can identify these jingles.

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

#5 Coca-Cola – “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

#5 Coca-Cola – “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

#4 State Farm – “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

#5 Coca-Cola – “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

#4 State Farm – “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”

#3 Oscar Meyer – “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Weiner”

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

#5 Coca-Cola – “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

#4 State Farm – “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”

#3 Oscar Meyer – “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Weiner”

#2 Oscar Meyer – “My Bologna has a First Name”

The Top 5 Commercial Jingles of All Time

#5 Coca-Cola – “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke”

#4 State Farm – “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There”

#3 Oscar Meyer – “I Wish I Were an Oscar Meyer Weiner”

#2 Oscar Meyer – “My Bologna has a First Name”

#1 McDonalds – “I’m Lovin It!”

There is something about marketing…the hook, the story, and the offer…whether it is in list form, or in jingle form, that captures us.

Over the next four weeks, we will gather five different times…today, and the next four Sundays, and on Maundy Thursday, April 7, and we will examine the Top Five Reasons Jesus Came to Die.

Why did Jesus come to die?

Let’s look at Romans 5:6-8 to see our answer to this question.

Romans 5:6-8

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Why did Jesus come to die?  Romans 5:6-8 declares that Jesus came to die:

To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners

Let’s just spend a few moments today grasping: 1. That we are Sinners! 2. And, the wealth of God’s love and grace.

Slide: Let’s Grasp…

1. Our Sinfulness
2. The Wealth of God’s Love and Grace

I. Our Sinfulness

The wealth of one’s love is going to be shown in two ways.

• First, the wealth of one’s love is going to be shown in relationship to the one who is receiving the gift.

• Second, it’s going to be shown by grabbing hold of the gift that is given. When we understand the expense of a gift that is given, we better understand the heart behind the gift.

Well, it is clear to us, that those of us receiving the gift are called sinners.

Let’s look at Romans 5 6-8 once again.

Romans 5:6-8

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Notice what this passage says about humanity.

1. 6 – While we were still “WEAK.” – This word WEAK, means MORALLY SICK.
2. 6 – Also says Christ Died for the UNGODLY. – This word means, “IRREREVERENT PERSON.”

So, clearly, humanity is morally sick and irrereverent.

Now, let’s look at verse 7 for a moment.

Romans 5:7

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 

Notice how Paul talks about two different types of people.

• The Righteous Person – This is a person characterized by moral deeds and good works.

The Apostle Paul says, “Yeah…even for the upright person who does right, it seems, all the time, its rare that a person will die for them…that someone will take a bullet for them.”

• The Good Person – This person is characterized by being GENEROUS. This person is kind to others.

The righteous person is morally upright, but they might also be stuck up and “better than you.” Whereas the good person is kind to you, and is caring for you, and is generous to you.

For this person, someone might “dare even to die…” or might, “Possibly Dare to Die.”

So for the generous person you say, “Yeah, I might take a bullet for her!”

But even this is extremely rare.

Think about people you work with. Think about the righteous ones and the good ones…are you willing to put your reputation on the line for them? Are you willing to put your career on the line for them?

Most likely, the answer is NO!

But notice what the Apostle Paul says Jesus Christ did.

Romans 5:8

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ died for sinners. The Bible calls humanity sinners.

Definition of Sinner — sinner n. — a person who has disobeyed any divine command or neglected any duty (whether intentionally or unintentionally).

If that’s the definition, I’m guilty.

Yet the Apostle Paul has already indicted us.

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

You may say, “Okay, what’s the big deal? We are all sinners. We are human!”

Listen, to me for a moment.

Sin is our greatest problem. Missing the mark. Not obeying God. Not loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Not loving our neighbor as ourselves.

These are expressed in disobedience to God and in hatred to others. We rebel against God, and we inflict harm onto others.

At a micro-level, this sin disrupts homes, marriages, and relationships.

At a societal level, we see it playing out through racism or sexism. We see people exploited for money or for sex. The Apostle Paul said to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 4:31

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

You see, our greatest problem, from which all problems flow is our own selfishness. And we are told to put away all of these conflicts that we have in our hearts and with one another. But the truth of the matter is that we are unable, on our own to combat our greatest problem. Instead of combatting sin, we have been enslaved to it. And sin leads to death. And death is our greatest enemy.

Quote: One writer says…

“Whenever sin and death are coupled in Scripture (such as in verse 8), we see that death is the penalty or wage for sin. That Christ died for sinners—we know the sin is ours and the death was his, and that must mean that the death was a sin offering, bearing in our place the penalty that our sins had deserved.”

Now, this comes from a Christian worldview, for in the Christian worldview, death is not natural but is the punishment of God for sin. The Christian worldview teaches that sin entered the world through the act of one man, Adam, the first man, and that from him, sin and its consequences, death, passed to his descendants.

But the secular worldview challenges this perspective. The secularist says, “Sin? – nobody’s perfect. But as human nature progresses, we are getting better and better. Sonner or later, we will work our way out of it.”

But the harsh reality is that we aren’t getting better at all. More people are trafficked and exploited today than at any other time in history.

Are we really any better than we were 10 years ago? 100 years ago? Or 1000 years ago?

If you examine history, humanity seems to repeat the same sins – over and over and over again.

The secularist also says that death is just a natural part of life. And, yes, the one who observes, we do see that things die – that death is part of life. But if you have ever stared death in the face and looked at it really up close, if you are honest, you say, “that’s not fair.” There is something in you that wants to and thinks you should live forever.

Add to that the idea of eternity and man’s longing for eternity in all cultures everywhere, and it causes you to challenge the assumption that things just die. In cultures and religious you have After-life, Nirvana, the Underworld, Mount Olympus and Paradise. You have Sheol, Heaven, all of these destinations found in all the world’s civilizations and religious.

Why is that? Could it be that we were created for eternity?

The teachings of the scripture tell us that sin is our greatest problem and death is our greatest enemy. And these came to us through Adam’s fall.

And as we answer the question, “Why did Jesus come to die?” We find that amazing truth that though sinners, we are loved by God, And Christ came to rescue us from sin, because of the wealth of God’s love and grace. So, let’s look at this second amazing truth today.

II. The Wealth of God’s Love and Grace

The wealth of one’s love is going to be shown in two ways.

• First, the wealth of one’s love is going to be shown in relationship to the one who is receiving the gift.

• Second, it’s going to be shown by grabbing hold of the gift that is given. When we understand the expense of a gift that is given, we better understand the heart behind the gift.

• Q: So, How does the death of Jesus show us the wealth of God’s love?

To answer this question, let’s turn to John 3:16. Many of you don’t need to turn there, as you know the verse by memory. But let’s take a moment to look at it.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

So, we see that God gave the Son. The Eternal God gave the eternal Son.

But more than that, it says, “…he gave his only Son…”

God gave his ONLY Son…

The word only here means “Radically Distinctive and without equal.” Or, “In a Category all His own.” He is Unique…Distinct.

So, God the Father, gave God the Son, so that we might have everlasting life. That is the gift!

Dr. Rod Mattoon articulates the WEALTH of God’s Love as he teaches on John 3:16.

Look with me at the Wealth of God’s Love.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action

1. It is expressive in it’s action (“For God so loved”). The greatest degree of love is revealed. He “so” loved us, and showed the magnitude of His love for us. God is the lover and the giver. The fullness of his love cannot be properly articulated.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice

2. It is extraordinary in its choice (“the world”). The world includes the unlovable and the unlovely; it includes both those whose hearts yearn for him and those who spurn him. He loves each of us as if there was only one of us to love. The world yearns to be loved, but does not realize how much the Lord loves them.

I saw a video this week, where a woman, angry about the Christian stance on abortion, went off on a rant about the Christian faith. Ultimately, she cursed God in this rant, damning the Christian faith.

Yet, Jesus love for her is no different than his love for you or me. It’s an extraordinary love!

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice
• Expensive in its Sacrifice

3. It is expensive in its sacrifice (“He gave His only begotten son”). “Gave” is a reference to Calvary, where God did not spare his best. He gave his all, his best for us, his only begotten son. What he could not possibly ask Abraham to go through with, he did himself.

Mattoon Says…God has no plans, no designs, and no purpose for the world in eternity that do not center around his son Jesus, and he gave him up for us.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice
• Expensive in its Sacrifice
• Extensive in its Offer 

4. It is extensive in its offer (“that whoever”). His love is not just for the powerful, pretty, rich, or famous. It is for everyone—regardless of gender, race, language, nationality, or social class. As Romans 10 says, anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice
• Expensive in its Sacrifice
• Extensive in its Offer
• Exclusive in its Bestowment

5. It is exclusive in its bestowment (“believes in Him”). There is relief in this simple truth. Eternal life does not come from working or earning salvation, which is good news because we could never earn it. God’s gift of salvation is accepted if we simply believe in By grace we have been saved, through faith.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice
• Expensive in its Sacrifice
• Extensive in its Offer
• Exclusive in its Bestowment
• Exceptional in its Work 

6. It is exceptional in its work (“shall not perish”). This is the greatest promise.

That some will perish is indicative of God’s holiness and just judgment.

Matoon says…If we don’t understand how a loving God could send sinners to hell, we don’t understand the wonder of his holiness. We have rebelled and positioned ourselves as enemies against a holy God, but he has made a way that we might not perish, and it is a gift he gives freely to the entire world.

God’s Love is…

• Expressive in Action
• Extraordinary in its Choice
• Expensive in its Sacrifice
• Extensive in its Offer
• Exclusive in its Bestowment
• Exceptional in its Work
• Eternal in its Blessedness

7. It is eternal in its blessedness (“but have eternal life”). We find great certainty in the truth that we can have this eternal life. The gospel begins with one who had no beginning, and it ends with that which has no ending—eternal life. The gift of salvation is greater than any other gift not only because it is a costly gift given to unworthy recipients, but because it is unmatched in its scope and breadth. It is an eternal gift.[1]

[1] Rod Mattoon, sermon on John 3:16/

My dentist’s wife died this week. Dr. Kent Lawson is our dentist. My wife baby sat for his family when she was young. We have known the Lawsons for many years. His sweet Mina was diagnosed in her mid-50’s with Early on-set Dimensia. She has battled that disease over the past 10 or so years.

I left Dr. Lawson a message on his voicemail this week. I told him we were praying for him and his family, and I told him what I tell many of you.  I told him, “Mina is more alive now that she has ever been, because she is in the presence of Jesus.”

He sent me a text reply: “She is more alive now than she has ever been…That’s my new anchor/praise/happiness!!! Wow!”

The Manifold love and grace of Jesus is ETERNAL in its BLESSEDNESS!

Remember, we are asking the question, why did Jesus come to die? We will ask that question for the next month, culminating in our Easter Celebration, on April 9^th.

Today’s answer is:

Why did Jesus Come to Die?

To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners

As one scholar puts it, the work of Christ on the cross is God’s ultimate proof of His love for us. He may give additional proof, but He can give no greater proof. If the cross is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love, it is also the ultimate demonstration of man’s hatred. It also proves that the height of man’s hatred can’t defeat the height of God’s love.” The demonstration of his love is not only displayed in the fact that Jesus died, but who he died for—undeserving sinners and those who opposed him as an enemy.

• Have you allowed your heart to be moved by your sinfulness and by God’s love?
• Receive Christ and Experience His love!