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I AM the Resurrection

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 22:14:41 -0400

John 11.25-26
Four days after their brother’s death, a mountain of grief stands before Mary and Martha. It is this fourth day. It might as well have been 4 weeks; 4 years. Death is so final. It is also on the fourth day that Jesus finally arrives.
There are people who reject Christianity because they don't think it is true. Jesus couldn’t really rise from the dead. There are other people who reject the resurrection as historical fact, not because they are convinced it's not true, but because they can't see why it would make any real difference if it were true.
Jesus challenged Martha to move beyond an abstract belief in the final resurrection to complete faith in Him, Jesus said to her, “"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (ESV)

I Am the Light of the World

Mon, 19 May 2008 09:39:44 -0400

John 8.12
In the Court of the Women where Jesus would have been speaking in John 8.12, four huge candelabras were lit, pushing light up into the night sky like a searchlight. So brilliant was their light that the whole city was aware of it’s brightness. They served as a reminder of the pillar of fire by which God had guided Israel in the wilderness.
The most dignified leaders - danced exuberantly around the candelabra through the night, holding blazing torches in their hands and singing songs of praise. It was against the backdrop of that ceremony that Jesus made the stunning announcement that He is the true Light of the world.
When the Spirit of Christ comes into a person’s life there is a transformation that begins to take place. There is the filling of our lives with the light of His life. He is the Spirit of the Living God coming into my life filling me with strength I don’t have, taking me places I cannot go without Him, making me a person I could NEVER be without Him, enabling me to bring glory to His name and touching others with His love, putting in me a compassion for lost people, and leading me into the burden of Christ for my generation.

Praying in the Spirit 2

Sun, 11 May 2008 23:19:41 -0400

Jude 20
The Bible doesn’t define discipleship by how much we pray, but by what our praying accomplishes. This is what I love about preaching on prayer - the possibilities that happen that come through prayer - the life that God creates in you as your both talk to Him and hear His voice and the work that God can do in others, as we pray for them.
Praying in the Spirit reaches for the Vision that God has for us. Build yourselves up on your most holy faith... Prayer builds my life up into the vision, which God sees for me.
Praying in the Spirit also releases in us a passion that we for God. Keep yourselves in the love of God… We keep ourselves in a way of loving God, or remaining passionate about God. And there are eternal, saving implications in that praying.

Praying in the Spirit 1

Sun, 4 May 2008 23:19:39 -0400

Jude 20-21
The Bible doesn’t define discipleship by how much we pray, but by what our praying accomplishes. This is what I love about preaching on prayer - the possibilities that happen that come through prayer - the life that God creates in you as your both talk to Him and hear His voice and the work that God can do in others, as we pray for them. And that is what Jude is about - the possibilities that can happen in your life when it is immersed in prayerfulness.
But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Jude 1.20-21
Our text extends from the phrase “pray in the Spirit” or “praying in the Spirit.” It affects both the Vision that God has for us and the Passion that we have for God.

The Expectant Church

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:19:38 -0400

Galatians 4.19
Galatians 4.19 is about the life of Jesus being formed in us and in others.
It is about Discipleship and that is not just some detached concept that no one really cares about. This is something that is both, happening in us and being accomplished through us in the lives of others. Jesus commands us to become His disciples and commissions you and me to make disciples. We can’t really be detached or even neutral about it.

I Am the Bread of Life

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:19:33 -0400

John 6.25-36
Labor Day has been a national holiday in America for 90 years. The purpose is to honor the working people of our land. In 1956 a commemorative Labor Day stamp was issued with a picture of a strong man holding a sledge hammer, a pick, a hoe, and an ax over his shoulder. His wife was seated by his side with a book in her lap showing a small child how to read. In the lower left hand corner was a large block with words of Carlyle carved into it. “Labor Is Life.” The meaning was clear and I think it is true. without hard work and diligence there will be no life—no means to feed, clothe, house, and educate a family or oneself.
Labor is Life? Well, that depends. Jesus has a very simple command concerning what we we work for and why we work and it has saving implications, eternal implications.
Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him. John 6.27
In fact, we need to pair John 6.27 with verse 35… In Jesus’ words there is both a warning and a promise. Do not labor for the food, which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life… ...And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

He Walks on the Storm

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:19:00 -0400

John 6.15-21
Jesus does not acquiesce to whims or fancies. He comes to no one on the terms of their choosing. People cannot manipulate Him for their own selfish ends. It seems the Gospel has been marketed in an attempt to be relevant in our world by presenting Jesus to unbelievers as a quick fix for felt needs like health, wealth, and self-esteem, superficially marketing Him as providing everything unbelievers want. It remakes Jesus into a social-worker or a therapist, who seems concerned with only a temporal life rather than a King of kings, who shall reign forever.
The Bible stresses the cost of being a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ. It is to love Him through obedience. Jesus is committed to His mission, to become a Savior to those, who love Him.

I Am the Door

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:52:03 -0400

John 10.7-10
Every door in your life has a context to some of the richest experiences in life; a door slammed in anger after an argument, newlyweds entering the threshold of their new home together, the doors of the sanctuary opening for the bride on her wedding day, the door closed behind a child that has been sent to their room, waiting in the exam room for the doctor to finally arrive.
So what about this statement: I AM the Door of the Sheep? It is such a vivid part of everyday life that it is fitting that Jesus chose this image to again reveal Himself as our Savior and it is closely related to the image of the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 23:20:10 -0400

John 10.11-18
There are beautiful things about this Shepherd that distinguish Him...
The Beauty of His Love for the Sheep
The Beauty of His Life Laid Down
The Beauty of His Power
The Beauty of His Voice

Feeding the Multitudes - part 2

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 07:45:28 -0400

John 6.4-14
The fact that the feeding of the five thousand is the only one of Jesus’ many miracles recorded in all four gospels, testifies to its unique importance. In each gospel account this miracle is placed at the climax of the Lord’s ministry and fully implements the involvement of the disciples.
The fourth sign of Jesus in John’s Gospel is introduced to us by what Jesus saw…
Then Jesus lifted up His eyes... John 6:5