... Jesus the opening he sought. For years of dissipation had etched their testimony on the woman's face. "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband,' " Jesus rejoined, "for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband." (John 4:16-18) It was a thrust the woman had not anticipated, and her insolence wilted with it. Surely, she thought, only a prophet could have known what Jesus did about her. Yet how different this prophet was! For unlike Samaria's prophets here was One whose very ...
... . Taken with Jesus’ use of verb tenses in our gospel lesson, however, we are confronted with a reality that is neither hyperbole nor metaphor. Jesus said, “Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already” (John 3:18). The condemnation, it seems, is not in the future; it has already occurred. Similarly, Jesus says, “Anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but has passed from death to life ...
... . Mark 1:16-18; Luke 5:1-11). Yet they seemed to have a prominent place among the other disciples. When Matthew lists the disciples, the brothers are at the top of the list (Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:14-19; Luke 6:13-16). Along with Peter, James and John were the three disciples whom Jesus wanted with him when he struggled with his anxieties in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37; Mark 14-33). Some believe, at least according to John's own version of the gospel, that John was the beloved disciple ...
... greater than themselves. At Philippi the Apostle Paul was pestered by a young woman "who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by soothsaying." Paul said to the spirit, "I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her" (Acts 16:18). Peter and John were going up the temple steps at the hour of prayer when they came upon a lame man asking alms, and Peter said to him, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk" (Acts 3 ...
... following string of motion verbs: verse 12: he... withdrew into Galilee verse 13: he left Nazareth and went and dwelt in Capernaum verse 18: he walked by the Sea of Galilee verse 21: and going on from there verse 23: and he went about all Galilee teaching ... speed of walking and talking and took his cues from on high. The right time for Jesus to withdraw was when he heard that John had been arrested, and when the time to begin preaching the kingdom arrived, he knew it, verse 17: from that time Jesus began to ...
... (Acts 10:2; 11:13-15). . . Lydia (Acts 16:15). . . The Philippian jailer (Acts 16:31-34). . . Crispus, the leader of the Synagogue in Corinth (Acts 18:7-9) Jesus practiced what he preached. His own cousin (John the Baptist) introduced Jesus to Andrew who then brought his brother Simon (later called Peter) to Jesus. Peter was instrumental in bringing James and John Zebedee to Christ. These all became part of the core team of leaders Jesus mentored for a global movement of the Kingdom. It began in His own ...
... up sin. As a matter of fact, it is a three-step process that is as old as time itself. It is described in John's first epistle. Three times in 1 John 1 we read the phrase "if we say" and it clues us in on how we cover our sins. First of all, we lie ... God plugs up his ears to prayer. The Scripture makes it plain: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." (Ps. 66:18) Then sin corrupts the spirit. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Ps. 51:10) David had ...
... issue, which is a fancy philosophical way of saying that knowing truth is reserved for those who are willing to do what Jesus says. Two verses from John 7 make this clear, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me; if any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know ... -8:1. 2. Idem. 3. Idem. 4. James 1:22. 5. vv.16-17. 6. PreachingToday.com search under Mt. 7:20-8:1. 7. Chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 25-26, 8. 7:13-8:1, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1. 9. 7:13-20. Go to www.duncanumc.com for a copy of the sermon ...
... is available to us through the Son of God. Jesus wasn't left all alone in the wilderness, God our heavenly Father was with Him. And Christ promises to be with us, no matter what. Even when it seems like we're alone, Christ is there. In John 14:18, Jesus says, "I will not leave you orphaned." The King James Version translates it, "I will not leave you comfortless." I like both versions. Abba God, our heavenly Father will not leave us alone, cut off, abandoned and orphaned. That's great news for anyone who ...
... , but never his words (Mark 13:31), he accepted worship from people as if he were God (Matthew 8:2; Matthew 14:33; John 20:27-29), he claimed to forgive sins (Mark 2:7; Matthew 9:5-6), he claimed to be the only way to God (John 14:6), he claimed he would rise from the dead (Luke 18:31-33), and he claimed he would come again to judge all men and reign eternally (John 5:27; Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew 24:30-31). Now, obviously, a person who said these things about himself is either a liar, a lunatic, or ...
... to love. I will give you a helper, the parakletos, the one who will stand by you! Later in our scripture lesson, in verse 18, Jesus used a family word. “I will not leave you desolate, or forlorn — I will come to you.” The Greek word here is ... going to send the Spirit who would be our companion and our comforter. II COUNSELOR Now, the Holy Spirit as counselor. Listen again to John 15:25-26: “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without ...
... that The Twelve had so recently and publically failed in their own attempts to exorcize demons (Mark 9:18). John was protecting his inner-circle, top-of-the-food-chain status. Problem was, Jesus’ idea of “status” was completely different ... make the giver a disciple, one who could share in the “reward” of the kingdom of God. It is perhaps unfair to judge John and the other disciples too harshly at this moment in the gospel story. They have not yet experienced their “before” and “after” moment. ...
... 12:20-33 This is the critical juncture in John’s telling of Jesus’ story. John is always careful to identify the characters that show up on the gospel stage. Nicodemus is a “Pharisee” in chapter 3; a woman is a “Samaritan” in chapter 4; here it is “Greeks” who come to see Jesus. Why? The answer is found through an understanding of the literary development of the fourth gospel. In the prologue (1:1-18), God and the creative Word exist outside of the “world” (Greek kosmos) and bring it ...
... and our relationship with God is restored, we then receive eternal life and that is regeneration. How does all of this come about? V.18 says, "Now all things are of God." You see, God initiates this because only He can. You may wake up and realize you are ... the death of Jesus; two-fifths of the gospel of Luke is devoted to the death of Jesus; fully one-half of the gospel of John relates someway and somehow to the death of Jesus Christ. Now why in all four gospels is there such a devotion and an emphasis ...
... strike! Do you understand? Have I made myself clear?" Have you ever had a Lucy around you? Well I have. Do you know what John Mark needed? He needed a bridge builder; he needed a word of encouragement. He just needed somebody to believe in him. Charles Schwab, the ... boy dropped out of school after the sixth grade. By the time he was 17 he had lost job after job after job. He married at 18, had a baby at 19, and was separated from his wife at 20. He became a railroad conductor, but he got fired. He joined the ...
... saying, “Nicodemus, it’s time for decision and action — you’ve played around long enough. You’re a brilliant man. You heard John’s call to repentance, which is also my call. You know by now that my baptism is not just the baptism of repentance ... seed, but of incorruptible (Peter 1:22, 23) James speaks of God begetting us with the word of truth (James 1: 18) Those words “begotten, begetting, being born again from corruptible seed” — all have to do with birth and rebirth. The letter from ...
... the conversation with the Master Gardener, who asks each of us, “How Does Your Garden Grow?” Amen.as Ha Based on the Story Lectionary Major Text John’s Witness to Jesus’ Encounter With Mary in the Garden (20) Minor Text God Creates a Garden (Genesis 2-3) The Story of Balak and Balaam ... of Israel (31) Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matthew 13:31-32; Luke 13:18-19) John’s Witness to Jesus (The Living Water) With the Woman at the Well (4) Paul’s Witness to Paradise (2 Corinthians 12) ...
... were told. (Habakkuk 5) I am he who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me. (John 8:18) Animation: show/roll photos of Hubbel photos on screen; show model of brain; show markings on bone The Hubbel space telescope ... who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God –eternal life.” (1 John 5:20) Because of the witness of Jesus’ disciples, all people could be called to redemption in Jesus the Christ. Jesus may have dared to rise ...
... mechanical? Jesus spoke of how our prayers can be public, full of vain repetition, nothing but heaped up empty words. But prayer is not a formula. It is a dialogue between two people who love each other -- Father God and a child of faith. 18. Do you believe you are on the cutting edge? John 7:47-48 tells of the crowds flocking to see Jesus. The Pharisees are jealous. When someone asks their opinion, they huff, "None of us have believed in him!" Isn't it too easy to believe we have a lock on truth, that our ...
... writers, he tends to focus more on obedience. This is evident in his version of the Great Commission, as it is not so much preaching or the conjuring of the Spirit that is to be done in evangelism (Luke 24:46-48; Mark 16:15-18; John 20:22-23), but instead evangelists are to teach to the targets of evangelism "to obey everything ... [Christ] commanded ..." (Matthew 28:20).4 Does that mean evangelism is commanded? It is not insignificant to remind ourselves that before Matthew had Jesus tell his disciples and ...
... people. In reality, Zechariah would be killed for sedition. His wife, Elizabeth, as Jewish folk tale presumes, may have fled with young John into the desert to the Essenes, in order to escape Herod. Mary and Joseph would flee to Egypt with their son. Only ... Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56) Minor Text The Lord Blesses Abraham With Children (Genesis 15) I Will Raise Up a Prophet from Among You (Deuteronomy 18:14-22) Hannah’s Prayer (1 Samuel 2:1-10) Psalm 33: We Put Our Hope in You Psalm 47: God Reigns Over the ...
... worse in America for our children. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that nearly 1 in 5 of us (18%) is depressed. Economically it is harder and harder to maintain a middle-class lifestyle, and more and more America is ... love. It is like the seventeenth-century Scottish clergyman Samuel Rutherford once put it: “How soon would faith freeze without a cross.” Again John Calvin put it nicely: ... when we are called by the Lord we emerge from nothing; for whatever we seem to be we have ...
... within the Trinity call out against any antisocial interpretation of personal religion." A triune God who is always yearning to bring the many into one wants his people to be that way, too. He wants people who are yearning to help make all human beings one people (John 17:18-21). Don't you yearn for it, too? Believing in the Trinity has all sorts of practical implications about the way you live your life. How dare we say we believe in a God whose love is so great that it makes one out of many, if ...
... more to him than physical relatives or earthly friends. If in the hour of greatest agony, fighting every force of hell and winning salvation for all people, he takes time to provide for blood relatives (Mary, his natural mother, John 19:26-27), surely he will provide for us who have been redeemed by his blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). Indeed, shortages and deficiencies come to the Christian, but unlike other persons, the believer turns to Christ for a rich supply and there are more than fragments to spare! Amen.
... entirely true. This book tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth which is why Jesus said in John 17:17, "Your word is truth." (John 17:17, NASB) So, when I lie I dishonor the God of truth. II. I Should Tell The Truth Because Lying ... got in his car and drove off. That is what the Bible says in Proverbs 25:18, "Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor." (Proverbs 25:18, NASB) Two of the most vicious ways that you can lie is to either say ...