... of lemonade and reminded us that as hot as it was it would be prudent for us drink lots of liquids. When she was gone John looked at me, rolled his eyes, and asked, in all seriousness, “What, did she think we were going to drink, solids?” Then he shook ... or even abrupt to him but when their meager attempts to include him were spurned, they gave up. When we met in the parking lot — about 18 kids and 5 adults — to begin the trip, he chose to ride in the van with my wife and me and our three-year-old son ...
... healing our separation from God and restoring us to the fullness of God’s presence and love. John saw that Jesus is our path to peace with God. And finally, John sees that Jesus shows us the sacrificial love of God. I was very moved by a story ... were redeemed, or bought out of slavery, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ who was chosen before the creation of the world. (1 Peter 1: 18-20) And Titus 1: 1-2 tells us that the hope of eternal life was promised by God before the beginning of time. God loved us ...
... world confuses you with tempting alternatives, the Spirit says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). If the world hates you, mistreats you, abuses you, the Spirit says, "The world hated me before it hated you ... and I have chosen you out of the world" (John 15:18-19). If the world tells you that you are all alone, cut off from all help and strength, the Spirit says, "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide ...
... into the shadows. There are dimensions of greatness in the character of anyone who can do that as gracefully and graciously as did John. In the story of Adam Bede, George Eliot describes a certain conceited person as being "like the cock who thought the sun had ... we have begun to see with the heart as well as the eye. The Apostle Paul is thinking of this fact in Ephesians 1:18 when he expresses the prayerful wish that we will have knowledge of God, as he says, "having the eyes of your hearts enlightened." ...
... is a drive within the heart of every one of us to have the biggest and best: to be No. 1. Two of Jesus' disciples, James and John, made a request of him ” in private, away from the other disciples. "Teacher," they asked, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." ... ran off a string of 65 victories before losing. What makes this streak so appealing is that Dayville High has only 18 female students: 16 are on the volleyball squad and a 17th keeps score. Although Dayville is one of the smallest Class ...
... promises of all. These verses promise healing of body and soul. In the resurrection, our physical bodies will no longer be a burden. John expresses this by saying that we will no longer hunger and thirst. Our bodies are part of God's good creation, but our bodies ... dangerous. According to one of the two accounts of creation in Genesis, the sun was part of God's good creation (Genesis 1:14-18). The sun is good and life giving, but it is also harsh and withering. Who of us has not at one time or another been ...
... gets as close as he can to naming the beast, but instead he uses a familiar numerical code. For his readers it was about as subtle as JFK or FDR. John says: Let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is 666. (Rev. 13:18) He is naming the Roman emperor—the source of the church's persecution, the one who controls commerce (you couldn't buy or sell without acknowledging the emperor in coins and commerce). He is addressing the state religion of enforced ...
... to God - another miracle in contrast. See it in your mind. Another maid at another time. Not five years old, 18 perhaps. Fresh from the simple life of Nazareth, over whelmed by what was happening to her - a baby in her ... light of men. “The second of the great keywords of John which we meet here is the word light. This word light occurs in the fourth gospel no fewer than 21 times. Jesus, as John says here, is the light of men. The function of John the Baptist was to point men to that light which was ...
... they were closer to Jesus than any of the other disciples, except for Simon Peter. The three of them Peter, James and John were definitely the inner circle among Jesus’ disciples. They are mentioned on five separate occasions as accompanying Jesus for significant events when the other disciples were not present. They were the only witnesses to the raising of the Jairus’ daughter (Mt. 9:18–26). And it was they who were chosen to go with Jesus up to the mountain top for the transfiguration, where Jesus ...
... believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”(Acts 18:8, ESV) Remember what I said earlier? Baptism is the biblical way a Christ-follower confesses his faith in the ... to follow. You probably don’t know this if you’ve never been to Israel, but for Jesus to be baptized in the Jordan River where John baptized, He had to walk 60 miles one way. Why would Jesus do that? Why would Jesus make a three day trip, take an entire week ...
... , and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. (vv. 4-5) These were things that the prophet Isaiah had said would happen when the messiah came to bring in God's new possibility. Jesus knew that John would understand (Isaiah 26:19; 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 42:7; 61:1). Should we be looking for a Savior? And if so, where should we be looking? We need to consider that question. Some of us answer too quickly. We have the idea that being saved simply means we will go ...
... is charged with a monumental task—that of introducing Jesus Christ to the world. Imagine yourself in John’s sandals. You are introducing the world to Jesus. How would you introduce him to people who didn’t know him and weren’t expecting him? That’s not just a rhetorical question. For you see, that is our primary purpose as followers of Jesus—to introduce Christ to others. In Matthew 28:18-20, this is the responsibility we are given: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven ...
... to be a light, now. If we will offer Christ ourselves, he will take our offering and transform us into light which brings glory to God. CELEBRATING THE LORD'S DAYSECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT OPENING SENTENCE1 John 1:5-7"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have ... ____________ 1. Rice, Wayne. More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks. Grand Rapids, MI: Youth Specialties, Zondervan Publishing House, 1995, pp. 17-18.
... to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God" (3:14-18). O how gloriously true, my friend - we live in vast dimensions of goodness and power, of meaning and love. We can range ... third aspect of our living in the light. We may - and should - live in the light of what we may become. Read again the prologue to John’s Gospel: He who is the light is come; he is come unto his own; his own did not receive him - hut (nevertheless, notwithstanding, in ...
... One! I was dead and behold! I am alive for ever and ever! And what’s more, I hold the keys of death and Hades! (vss. 17-18) Why do we want to see God? Why do we want to feel His presence? Why do we want to know His touch in our lives? Isn ... his pen. These are the words in his diary, "Who will tell me something of God?" he said. "Who will tell me something of God?" It’s John who’ll tell us something of God, isn’t it? He was a man of warmth and sensitivity. He was a man who needed people, who enjoyed ...
... Christmas, New York: The Dial Press, 1964, p.51) In the prologue to the Fourth gospel, there is a verse which says, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (John 1:18) That phrase “close to the Father’s heart” can also be translated “in the family circle of the Father.” That is a provocative picture. “In the family circle of God.” Jesus dwells therein, and He has invited us to come and be there with Him. That’s ...
... standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6.15-18) There is no conflict between the love of God and the law of God as long as love comes first. Love produces a ... them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10.27-30) I cannot think of a better application of this passage than that. But is the song about the Person of Jesus just a quaint ...
... goes on to say in v.14, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (John 16:14, NKJV) Anybody can read the Bible without the help of the Holy Spirit, but nobody can understand the Bible apart from the Holy Spirit. A little boy was writing a letter to a girl that ... hazards of earth, right into the harbor of heaven. Because He is the only guide you need. [1] Peter Lord, Hearing God, p.18.
... 22). Flushed with joy and fleshed out with peace, the disciples are ready to receive the commission Jesus now gives them. Throughout this “locked room” scene John refers to “the disciples.” Nowhere is it made clear whether this refers to the remaining eleven of Jesus’ chosen companions, or if other “disciples” are present. In light of John 13:20 and 17:18‑20, there is no reason not to assume that a larger group is present and is receiving this first-hand commission from Jesus. The sentness ...
... miracle-worker who has been followed into the wilderness by a multitude of people doesn't ring enough Mosaic bells for John's readers, the gospel writer now adds one other tidbit. It was the time of Passover the festival celebrated with a special ... upon. This manna-connection is not lost on the now full-bellied crowd. The promise of a prophet like Moses is found in Deuteronomy 18:15-19, and it is that promise that encourages those gathered to declare that Jesus must be "the prophet who is to come into the ...
... on-guard and on-point, even when we are off-site. We are desperately trying to contain the chaos of the cosmos. In John’s gospel, Jesus’ first appearance to his disciples is when he comes to them behind closed, locked doors. Despite the vision of the ... of his disciples. Immediately Jesus proclaims that all this newfound “peace” and “joy” have a purpose beyond themselves. Echoing John 17:18, the risen Jesus gives a commission to his disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (v ...
... to the right hand of God occurred as part of his grande sacrifice and who he was as the Son of the Father. In essence, James and John don’t so much want to be “with” Jesus as to “be” Jesus and to hold the seats of favor. They want to be first in line ... with Jesus” will hold a great price. Jesus’ disciples are continually competing as to “who will be the greatest.” In Matthew 18….when Jesus shows them a child, Jesus explains that the kingdom has to do with the mind and heart. Now Jesus shows ...
... lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. (1 John 3:16-18) From a couple thousand years away, that one line seems pretty clear, How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help? (1 ...
... himself to wayward children like you and me. For we are equally mired in sin and unfaithfulness as was that Samaritan woman. The identification between our situation and that of the woman is made even more explicit by John in our gospel lesson when he has Jesus tell the Samaritan woman that she has had five husbands (John 4:17-18). The number of husbands she had (five) corresponds to the number of false gods (five false gods) worshiped by the Samaritans (2 Kings 17:30-34). It seems that Jesus, or at least ...
... to the prophet Isaiah, "I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to them" (Isaiah 57:18). Advent is a time to set aside the myth that each of us can live however we want to live with no consideration of ... be comforted, a time to afflict, and a time to be afflicted. Advent is an "all-of-the-above" kind of season. And it belongs to John the Baptist, who helps us to understand that what happened on that first Christmas 2,000 years ago HAS to make a difference in what ...