Because God desires to glorify himself in the death of his Son, we must glory in Jesus’ death. John 12:27–36 [27] “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. [28] Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” [29] The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” [30] Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. [31] Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. [32] And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” [33] He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. [34] So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” [35] So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. [36] While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.  

Because that which cost nothing is worth nothing, we must be willing to spend greatly to receive Jesus. John 12:20–26 20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

Because Jesus has limitless resources, we must worship him accordingly. John 11:55-12:8 55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him. 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Because Jesus is sovereign over all, we must look for his work and words where we least expect them.   John 11:45-54 45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, 46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. 50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” 51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death. 54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

Because God has revealed what is to come, we can wait with eager expectation and hope Revelation 21:22-27 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

God's mercy lifts the humble up & brings the strong down Luke 1:39-55 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” 46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful     of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—     holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,     from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;     he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones     but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things     but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel,     remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,     just as he promised our ancestors.”

Because the king enthroned is also a slain lamb, we must give him the worship he deserves.   Revelation  5:6–10 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,   “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10  and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

Because Jesus is good, we must trust him to judge all evil in the end. Revelation 19:11-21 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.” 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

Because Jesus is sovereign over all, we must trust that he is able to give us all that he has promised. Revelation 1:12-20 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Because Jesus’s rule is contested, we must trust God to be victorious in spite of appearances. Revelation 12:1-6 1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14 [9] Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. [10] The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. [11] The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. [12] My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. [13] The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. [14] For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

John 11:1–44 (ESV): 11 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” 17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” 28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Because Jesus fulfills the prophetic word, we must accept it. John 10:40-42 [40] He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. [41] And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” [42] And many believed in him there.

John 10:22-39 22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” 31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

Because it is those who know they are blind that find healing, we must humble ourselves before Jesus. John 9:35–41 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Because Jesus saves sinners, we must tell of the wonderful things he has done in our lives. John 9:13–17, 24–34 [13] They (that is, the man’s neighbors) brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. [14] Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. [15] So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” [16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. [17] So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”   [24] So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” [25] He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” [26] They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” [27] He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” [28] And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. [29] We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” [30] The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. [31] We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. [32] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [34] They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

The only kind of shepherd that won’t get you killed is the shepherd who lays down their own life. John 10:1-21 [1] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. [2] But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. [5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. [7] So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” [19] There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. [20] Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” [21] Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

John 9:1-12 As he [that is Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

Because Jesus is Abraham’s God, we must trust that he can deliver us from death. John 8:48-59 [48] The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” [49] Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. [50] Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. [51] Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” [52] The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ [53] Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” [54] Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ [55] But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. [56] Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” [57] So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” [58] Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” [59] So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Jesus sets us free by adopting us, giving us a new Father and a new family. John 8:37–47 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Because Jesus is the son become a slave to set slaves free, we must follow his liberating law. John 8:30–36 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Because Jesus is God in flesh, his testimony is self-authenticating and his teaching is revelatory John 8:12–20 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Because Jesus is the word who created all become flesh, we must submit to him as ultimate reality.   John 7:40–52 40   When they heard [Jesus’] words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

Since whole-hearted commitment to Jesus is inextricably connected to commitment to his community, we must invest in the local church. Romans 12:1–8 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Because Jesus has all authority, we go out into the world to accomplish His will, knowing He will always be with us. Matthew 28:16-20 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Welcome one another as God has welcomed you.   Romans 15:5-9 [5] May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, [6] that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. [7] Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. [8] For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, [9] and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

The Spirit sends teachers to guide us, and sends us to guide others who are seeking. Acts 8:26-40 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,     so he opens not his mouth. 33  In his humiliation justice was denied him.     Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

God is not far from each of us, and He calls all people to repent. Acts 17:16-30 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,[a] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Because Christ sends the Spirit, we must come to Jesus to have life. John 7:37-44 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Because Jesus came from and ascended to Heaven, He is our only hope of bringing us into Heaven. John 7:25–36 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Because Jesus’ teaching and actions are comprehensive and radical, you must consider all the angles before rendering a verdict. John 7:14–24 [14] About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. [15] The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” [16] So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. [17] If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. [18] The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. [19] Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” [20] The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” [21] Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. [22] Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. [23] If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? [24] Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Because Jesus acts in perfect submission to the will of the father, we must trust his way of doing things. John 7:1-13 7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

Because Jesus alone has the words of life, we have to listen to them no matter how hard it is because there is nowhere else we can go. John 6:60-71 60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Because Jesus offers his life to us, we must receive it to live. John 6:41–59 [41] So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” [42] They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” [43] Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. [44] No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. [45] It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—[46] not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. [47] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. [48] I am the bread of life. [49] Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. [50] This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. [51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” [52] The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. [56] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. [58] This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” [59] Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Because Jesus loses none of his elect, we must rest in his work. John 6:35–40 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Jesus gives us more than we would ever ask for and asks us for less than we would ever be humble enough to give Him.   John 6:22-34 [22] On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. [23] Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [24] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. [25] When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” [26] Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. [27] Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” [28] Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” [30] So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? [31] Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” [32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. [33] For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” [34] They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Because Jesus can bring us through the other side, we want his presence in our lives. John 6:16–21 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

If it’s in God’s hands, then it’s never nothing. John 6:1-15 [1] After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. [2] And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. [3] Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. [4] Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. [5] Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” [6] He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. [7] Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” [8] One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, [9] “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” [10] Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. [12] And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” [13] So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. [14] When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” [15] Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Because God glorifies us in Jesus Christ, we must seek God’s glory. John 5:41-47 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Because Jesus' word and work bear indisputable testimony to who he is, we must come to him for life.   John 5:31-40 [31] If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. [32] There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. [33] You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. [35] He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. [37] And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, [38] and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

Because Jesus has all authority, we must submit to him for salvation. John 5:16-30 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. 19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

Because God is at work, we must live in hope. John 5:1-15 [1] After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [2] Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. [3] In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. [5] One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. [6] When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” [7] The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” [8] Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” [9] And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. [10] So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” [11] But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” [12] They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” [13] Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. [14] Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” [15] The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Because Jesus brings life, we must trust his word. John 4:43-54 After the two days he departed for Galilee. (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast. So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

Because Jesus is the life that conquers death, we must seek Him. Luke 24:1–12 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the woman] went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

Because Jesus comes in peace to save, we must fear not. John 12:12–19 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,  15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”  16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. 17 The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. 18 The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”

The world is ready and waiting for the life that Jesus offers. John 4:31-38 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Because Jesus is uniquely equipped to satisfy our hunger, we must plead with him to fulfill us. John 4:1–30, 39-42 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Because Jesus is uniquely from God, he demands our unique allegiance.   John 3:31–36 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Because Jesus’s exaltation brings joy, we must seek his renown. John 3:22–30 [22] After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. [23] John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized [24] (for John had not yet been put in prison).   [25] Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. [26] And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” [27] John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. [28] You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ [29] The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. [30] He must increase, but I must decrease.”  

Because God loved the world by giving his Son, we come to him in faith. John 3:16–21 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

You must be born again. John 3:1–15 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus has cleared the way to God of every obstacle. John 2:13–22 13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Because Jesus came to give us life and life to the full, we must receive his gifts. John 2:1–11 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.  

Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are salt & light & are called to live in light of that reality. Matthew 5:13–16 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Because Jesus knows us fully and loves us deeply, we must trust him. John 1:43–51 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Because Jesus is the one we are all looking for, we must come to him on his terms. John 1:35–42 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter.)

Because we are not the Christ, we must point away from ourselves to Jesus.   John 1:6, 15, 19–34 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 15 (John bore witness about him [that is, Jesus], and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)   19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

God has been revealed in Jesus Christ. John 1:1-4, 14–18 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God. [3] All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. [4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. [14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) [16] For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Isaiah 9:2–7 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon  his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Because the Cross brings an end to the old world and a beginning of a new creation, we must reconsider all of life in its light.   Galatians 6:11–18 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

We will reap what we sow as a church in our discipleship, and in our perseverance. Galatians 6:6-10 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.  

Bear one another's burdens, but keep a watch on yourself.   Galatians 6:1–5 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load.  

Jesus enters into our anger and sadness that he might bring light into the darkness   John 11:17-27 17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”

Because Christ has given us his Spirit to empower our lives, we must live in submission to the Spirit. Galatians 5:13-26 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,[a] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do[b] such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.  

Because God fulfills his promise miraculously, we must not look to circumstances on the ground, but rather look to him who raises the dead. Galatians 4:21-31  [21] Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? [22] For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. [23] But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. [24] Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. [25] Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. [26] But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. [27] For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.” [28] Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. [29] But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. [30] But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.” [31] So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.  

Because God has brought about a new creation in Jesus Christ, we must live in the freedom of that new world. Galatians 3:26-4:10 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ,then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years!

Because salvation is based upon God’s initial promise, we must not think that we have to do something to bring it about. Galatians 3:15-25 15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Galatians 3:10-14 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Galatians 3:1-9 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  

Galatians 2:17-21 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Galatians 2:11–16 11  But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 15  We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.  

Because God has acted in Jesus Christ without regard to human standards or conventions, we must acknowledge God’s call to minister to specific people, whomever they are. Galatians 2:1-10 1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians 1:6-24  6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.  11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.  18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Because God sent Jesus as a gift to rescue us, we must trust in and glorify him. Galatians 1:1–5 1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Because God is faithful and the only means of salvation, we must cultivate confidence in God.   Micah 7:1–3, 7–9, 18–20 Woe is me! For I have become       as when the summer fruit has been gathered,       as when the grapes have been gleaned:       there is no cluster to eat,       no first-ripe fig that my soul desires.       2 The godly has perished from the earth,       and there is no one upright among mankind;       they all lie in wait for blood,       and each hunts the other with a net.       3 Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;       the prince and the judge ask for a bribe,       and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;       thus they weave it together.       …       7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD;       I will wait for the God of my salvation;       my God will hear me.        8 Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;       when I fall, I shall rise;       when I sit in darkness,       the LORD will be a light to me.       9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD       because I have sinned against him,       until he pleads my cause       and executes judgment for me.       He will bring me out to the light;       I shall look upon his vindication.       …       18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity       and passing over transgression       for the remnant of his inheritance?       He does not retain his anger forever,       because he delights in steadfast love.       19 He will again have compassion on us;       he will tread our iniquities underfoot.       You will cast all our sins       into the depths of the sea.       20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob       and steadfast love to Abraham,       as you have sworn to our fathers       from the days of old.

Because our liturgy and life are connected, for our worship to be authentic it must be reflected in neighbor-love. Micah 6:1-8 Hear what the LORD says:       Arise, plead your case before the mountains,       and let the hills hear your voice.       2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,       and you enduring foundations of the earth,       for the LORD has an indictment against his people,       and he will contend with Israel.        3 “O my people, what have I done to you?       How have I wearied you? Answer me!       4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt       and redeemed you from the house of slavery,       and I sent before you Moses,       Aaron, and Miriam.       5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,       and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,       and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,       that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”       6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,       and bow myself before God on high?       Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,       with calves a year old?       7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,       with ten thousands of rivers of oil?       Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,       the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”       8 He has told you, O man, what is good;       and what does the LORD require of you       but to do justice, and to love kindness,       and to walk humbly with your God?

Because God promised to raise up a savior, we must confidently hope in him. Micah 5 Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops;       siege is laid against us;       with a rod they strike the judge of Israel       on the cheek.       2  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,       who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,       from you shall come forth for me       one who is to be ruler in Israel,       whose coming forth is from of old,       from ancient days.       3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time       when she who is in labor has given birth;       then the rest of his brothers shall return       to the people of Israel.       4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,       in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.       And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great       to the ends of the earth.       5 And he shall be their peace.        When the Assyrian comes into our land       and treads in our palaces,       then we will raise against him seven shepherds       and eight princes of men;       6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword,       and the land of Nimrod at its entrances;       and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian       when he comes into our land       and treads within our border.       7 Then the remnant of Jacob shall be       in the midst of many peoples       like dew from the LORD,       like showers on the grass,       which delay not for a man       nor wait for the children of man.       8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations,       in the midst of many peoples,       like a lion among the beasts of the forest,       like a young lion among the flocks of sheep,       which, when it goes through, treads down       and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver.       9 Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries,       and all your enemies shall be cut off.        10 And in that day, declares the LORD,       I will cut off your horses from among you       and will destroy your chariots;       11 and I will cut off the cities of your land       and throw down all your strongholds;       12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,       and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;       13 and I will cut off your carved images       and your pillars from among you,       and you shall bow down no more       to the work of your hands;       14 and I will root out your Asherah images from among you       and destroy your cities.       15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance       on the nations that did not obey.  

Because Israel’s God is the one true God, God will redeem the nations through Israel. Micah 4:1–5 It shall come to pass in the latter days       that the mountain of the house of the LORD       shall be established as the highest of the mountains,       and it shall be lifted up above the hills;       and peoples shall flow to it,       2 and many nations shall come, and say:       “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,       to the house of the God of Jacob,       that he may teach us his ways       and that we may walk in his paths.”       For out of Zion shall go forth the law,       and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.       3 He shall judge between many peoples,       and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away;       and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,       and their spears into pruning hooks;       nation shall not lift up sword against nation,       neither shall they learn war anymore;       4 but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree,       and no one shall make them afraid,       for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.       5 For all the peoples walk       each in the name of its god,       but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God       forever and ever.

Because we need just leaders, we must be willing to hear the truth Micah 3:1-2a; 4-7; 9-12 1  And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob     and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—    2  you who hate the good and love the evil,   4  … they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time,     because they have made their deeds evil.   5  Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets     who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him     who puts nothing into their mouths.   6  Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision,     and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets,     and the day shall be black over them;   7  the seers shall be disgraced,     and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips,     for there is no answer from God.   9  Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob     and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice     and make crooked all that is straight, 10  who build Zion with blood     and Jerusalem with iniquity.   11  Its heads give judgment for a bribe;     its priests teach for a price;     its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say,     “Is not the Lord in the midst of us?     No disaster shall come upon us.”   12  Therefore because of you     Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,     and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Because God’s word kills to make alive, we must vulnerably accept the truth of our condition before we can experience God’s healing embrace. Micah 1:1–7, 16; 2:12–13 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards, and I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces, all her wages shall be burned with fire, and all her idols I will lay waste, for from the fee of a prostitute she gathered them, and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return. 16 Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile. Chapter 2:12–13 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head.

We are designed by God for praise. Praising God is both our duty and our supreme delight. Psalm 96 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;     sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2  Sing to the Lord, bless his name;     tell of his salvation from day to day. 3  Declare his glory among the nations,     his marvelous works among all the peoples! 4  For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;     he is to be feared above all gods. 5  For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,     but the Lord made the heavens. 6  Splendor and majesty are before him;     strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7  Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,     ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 8  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;     bring an offering, and come into his courts! 9  Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;[a]     tremble before him, all the earth! 10  Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!     Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;     he will judge the peoples with equity.” 11  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;     let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12      let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13      before the Lord, for he comes,     for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness,     and the peoples in his faithfulness.

The gospel points us to the justice of God in Christ, which both affirms our heart’s cry for justice, tempers our unjust ways of seeking it, and justifies even unjust sinners such as ourselves. Psalm 7 A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.  O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;     save me from all my pursuers and deliver me, lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,     rending it in pieces, with none to deliver. O Lord my God, if I have done this,     if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil     or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,     and let him trample my life to the ground     and lay my glory in the dust. Selah Arise, O Lord, in your anger;     lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;     awake for me; you have appointed a judgment. Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;     over it return on high. The Lord judges the peoples;     judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness     and according to the integrity that is in me. Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,     and may you establish the righteous— you who test the minds and hearts,     O righteous God! My shield is with God,     who saves the upright in heart. God is a righteous judge,     and a God who feels indignation every day. If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;     he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,     making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil     and is pregnant with mischief     and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out,     and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head,     and on his own skull his violence descends. I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,     and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.  

Psalm 36 invites us to glorify God by living lives of gratitude Psalm 36 Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.   

 The life lived in light of the Lord’s grace is wise, generous and full of trust in God. Psalm 112 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,     who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land     the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house,     and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;     he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;     who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved;     he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news;     his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,     until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;     his righteousness endures forever;     his horn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it and is angry;     he gnashes his teeth and melts away;     the desire of the wicked will perish!

Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2     He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3     He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness     for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,     I will fear no evil, for you are with me;     your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me     in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;     my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me     all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Matthew 18:21-35 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Because the Holy Spirit was poured out it cultivates a new people under the unifying message of the Gospel Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested[a] on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.[b] 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: (17-21) “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

We all are living in some kind of kingdom but there is only One True King Matthew 2:1-12; 27:37-44; 28:18  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,     are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler      who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. From Chapter 27 which describes Jesus’ crucifixion…   37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. And now from chapter 28 after Jesus’ resurrection… 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Jesus is the only ruler in your life that brings healing, love and forgiveness based on his grace 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and ipains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Because Jesus welcomes sinners into this party, we must celebrate. Psalm 126:1–3 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,     we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,     and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations,     “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us;     we are glad. Luke 5:27–32 27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Because God accepts us without regard to worth, but on the basis of what his Son has done, we must likewise accept others. Romans 15:5–13 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Because Jesus, in love, pursued us in our sin, we must lovingly pursue the sinful world. John 4:1–18, 25–30 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”  The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.

Because our rich God has graciously given to us, we, who are rich, must graciously give to others. 2 Corinthians 8:1-10 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it.

Because Jesus abolished death and brought us eternal life, we must witness to him in any and every circumstance. 2 Timothy 1:8–12 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

Because God loved us so much that he has forgiven us an inestimable debt, we must show others the same kind of grace. Luke 7:36-50 36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[a] themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Because God has blessed us in Santa Barbara, we must be a blessing to Santa Barbara. Genesis 12:1–4 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Our God is a missionary God. He sent his Son to die for us. He sends his Spirit to restore us. And he sends us, his people, to the nations. This prayer from Psalm 67  asks God to bless the nations through us. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! :6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!

We often have the narrow view of hospitality as just tea parties, entertainment, hotels, etc. In this passage in Luke, Jesus is addressing the quid pro quo practice of the day (favor for a favor in hosting.) Here we see that Jesus is the host, guest, and servant and the gospel sets the pattern and gives us the power to practice Christian hospitality.   Luke 14:12-24 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 15 When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” 16 But he said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. 17 And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ 20 And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’”

Because God has set us apart as holy, we must be distinct from the world around us. 1 Peter 4:1-11 – Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Because Jesus suffered to bring us to God, we must suffer as he did to bear witness to his person and work. 1 Peter 3:8–18 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Because God has set us free, we must live as servants to all. Part 1 of service has no video feed, but can be seen here https://youtu.be/4i5jMq1629c

Because God has made us a Royal Priesthood and Holy Nation, we must bear witness to him. 1 Peter 2:9–12 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Because God purchased you with the blood of his Son, you must live as though your life has value.

Because God has secured an incomparable salvation for us, we must praise God in all circumstances.

Because God sovereignly places his beloved people where he wants them, we can rest in his sovereignty.

Because God graciously enables us to give, we must embrace the gift of generosity.

Hearing God speak and what it means to listen to Jesus.

Because true freedom comes from serving a gracious king, we must worship Jesus.

The church father Saint Augustine famously prayed: “God command what you will, but grant what you command.” Sometimes it feels as though God’s demands are impossible. Sometimes he calls people to extraordinary service. I think this is no where more evident than in the Christmas story. But even there, we so how God provides for us in precisely the places where he calls us to go. Do you feel like God is calling you to something beyond your capacities right now? Come this week and hear about and learn to rest in his provision.

The gifts have been opened, the egg nog has been drunk, the cookies have been eaten, and the families have been visited—or at least Zoomed. But in the midst of all the festivities, did you catch the beauty and mystery of Christmas? Did you consider who that baby in the manger would be and what he would do? God’s power in the world often comes in surprising and hidden ways, but it always comes to flawed and broken people. Join us this Sunday as we worship the King who came to be with his people.

The fault lines in the family become more obvious around the holidays. We anticipate the arguments around the table, the patterns that get reinforced, and the fights over which side of the family we are going to see. Others go home alone, dreading the insensitive questions from family. During the pandemic, we have experienced a loss of community and civil life that has lasted for almost 2 years and left many of us weary, isolated, and lonely. What does Advent have to do with our longings for home and community?

Take one look at the world around you and you’ll come to the conclusion that something is wrong. Things don’t work they way they are supposed to. Machines break down, promises fall apart, goals fail to be reached, plans get thwarted. It appears that there is a force in the world working against even the best intentions and strategies we employ. The result is a sense of futility in every human enterprise. What would it be like if things were different? If things didn’t fall apart? Join us this Sunday as we continue our Advent series from the last pages of the Bible.

We don’t like to think about death around the holidays. We bring evergreen trees into our homes to remind us of life during a dormant season. We don’t like to think about death, but it seems to have a way of getting into our thoughts anyway. We see the empty chairs around the dinner table and the extra wrinkles on our loved ones faces. We may even wonder if this Christmas will be our last one together. But what if death isn’t the end? What if there’s a world waiting beyond death where life lasts forever? Join us this week as we continue our Advent series, What Are We Waiting For?

Around the holidays we try really hard to make things special for our children and ourselves. Even the most secular person among us wants to feel something bigger than herself. Billionaires fly to space looking for transcendence; the rest of us take up hobbies or consume art. We have a deep longing for transcendence because we were made to be in relationship with God. When Christ returns, we will see our savior face to face. Join us this Sunday as we begin our Advent series “What Are We Waiting For?”

Most of us were taught as children to say “please” and “thank you.” When someone gives us a gift or compliment, the giver’s generosity deserves to be acknowledged. But what happens in us when we acknowledge the abundance of good gifts that God gives us everyday? Join us this Sunday as we learn about the joy that comes from gratitude.

When we are in the wrong, we long for grace. But when someone has wronged us, we often want the offender to get what they deserve. We want grace for ourselves, but karma for others. How can we go from hating our enemies to loving them and even rejoicing when they receive grace? Join us this week as we conclude our series on the Old Testament prophet Jonah.

Sometimes we have a complicated relationship to change. We hear people say, “You are perfect just the way you are.” Yet there are countless voices telling us that the way we are isn’t that great after all and if we just tried a little harder, we could and should be better—often with a hefty price tag. Rarely do we step back and ask the crucial questions: Is change possible? How can we get there? Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on a prophet named Jonah who experienced and offered a radical change.

As kids we love to play hide and seek. For most of us, it isn’t the hiding that is the fun part but the joy of finding and being found. Eventually, though, we grow up and become experts at hiding. We may even feel like we can hide from God. What does it mean that God is an unrelenting seeker who doesn’t give up on us? What does it mean to be found by God? Join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series on the Biblical story of Jonah.

Why am I here? This is the existential question. And it is not just a question for those who don’t know God. Christians often ask why God has chosen to leave them on this earth. Why are we here as a church? Archbishop William Temple is often remembered as saying that ῾῾The Church is the only institution that exists primarily for the benefit of those who are not its members.” And it is true, from the beginning God’s people have been called for the sake of the world. But throughout history God’s people have often lost sight of this. This week we are starting a new series on the book of Jonah, a book that reminds God’s people that they exist for the life of the world. If you are a Christian, come rediscover why we exist. If you are not a Christian, I hope you will find that we are here for you.

Stress, anxiety, worry—this seems to be the stuff of life. And yet Jesus says that there is something about him—who he is, what he does—that can bring peace. A peace he freely gives. Come this week as we learn more of how to receive this most practical and necessary gift.

“I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” was a very popular song for a very important reason—we all find desires within us that seem unquenchable. The writer C.S. Lewis said, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” The good news of Christianity is that this other world has come to us and is available for us in the person of Jesus Christ. Come out this week as we listen to the good news.

Pam and Kyle Wells discuss question brought up from the Co-Laborers in Christ sermon series. Moderated by Susan Isaac. Books mentioned by Pam Two Views on Women in Ministry by Stanley N. Gundry, James R. Beck, Linda L. Belleville, Craig L. Blomberg, Craig S. Keener, Thomas R. Schreiner, Zondervan, Zondervan Amazon Fresh Perspectives on Women in Ministry (3 book series) Zondervan Amazon Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective to the Evangelical Gender Debate by: Michelle Lee-Barnewall Baker Amazon The Mission of God's People by Christopher J. H. Wright Zondervan Amazon A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story by: Michael W. Goheen Baker Amazon

For our final week in our co-laborer series, we will be looking at Paul’s communities. Since the rise of modern feminism, there has been a tendency for Western Christians to cherry-pick from Paul’s letters to support their “side” of the debate over women’s leadership in the church. While some cry Galatians 3:28 or Romans 16:7, others retort with 1 Timothy 2:12. And to everyone “their” text seems unambiguous enough to end the discussion. How can Paul be read so differently? Is there a way to take all the data into account? Join us as we investigate what happens when Paul is read in light of the biblical theology we have been developing over the past five weeks.

I’m spiritual but not religious is a common self-identifier. Today, many people embrace supernaturalism while rejecting traditional forms of religious expression. The Christian version looks like this: I’m a follower of Jesus, but I don’t go to church, or, at least I don’t see reason to identify with any church in particular. And it is true that the institutional church has fallen on hard times and much is self inflicted. Some even wonder if it was a mistake in the first place.  One person famously said: “Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom, and what arrived was the Church.” But what if the institutional church, along with its officers, was a part of Jesus’ original intention? Might that have implications for our spirituality. And might it also have implications for how we think about men and women working together in Christ’s kingdom?

Any author will tell you that the cast of characters is central to every great story. In the true stories of the New Testament, we find a large cast of characters throughout. This character list includes both men and women who support the ministry of Jesus and the work of his Church. Mary and Martha, though they aren’t apostles, play as vital of a role in the gospels as James and John. What can we learn from the New Testament about the work of men and women together in God’s mission to the world?

If you’re given a script, you must know the whole story to play your role well. You can’t simply memorize the lines and cues--you have to understand the origins, the motivations, the relationships, and the conclusion to really understand the part you play in the production. It’s the same with any of the most pressing issues of our day, whether it be justice, sexualty, or gender. How do our individual views fit into the larger story we are telling? How do women and men fit into the narrative of the Bible? Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on Co-laboring.

Beginnings are important. Beginnings frame our expectations for what is to come. The Bible says that in the beginning God created humanity as male and female. But what does this entail and how should it shape the way we understand ourselves and others? What implication does maleness and femaleness have for how we work together in the world and in God’s kingdom? Join us this Sunday as we continue our Co-Laborers series.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. So goes the title of a popular book trying to help men and women relate to one another. Maybe you have felt like that at some point and wondered: how are men and women supposed to relate. This is a consistently pressing question in the church, where the Bible often feels over-interpreted or ignored to fit our preferred cultural narratives. This week we will begin a series where we explore what the Bible has to say about this challenging question, and see what wisdom it can give for our life together.

We are worshippers. Everywhere you turn will see people praising things, admiring them. We have an innate need to get caught up in something bigger than ourselves. Praise gives meaning and purpose to our lives, and it puts things in perspective. This week as we look at the final verses of Jude, we are given that kind of perspective.

In our youth we hung posters of our favorite sports or music heroes on our walls to inspire us to greatness. In adulthood, we often keep our visions of grandeur to ourselves, but they are no less powerful. Who do you look to for inspiration to keep going in the day to day trenches of the so-called real world? What is your vision of the good life? Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on the Book of Jude.

Someone once said that the Christian Church is the only army that shoots its wounded. Some Christians may see doubt as a weakness to hide or a reason to shame others, but God wants us to bring our doubts to him and one another in order to find encouragement to believe. Join us this week as we continue our sermon series on the Book of Jude.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not good advice; it is good news. It is the news that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ accomplished salvation for all who depend on him in faith. Good advice tells us what to do. Good news tell us what has been done. Yet in a world of suspicion, how do we convince others that the gospel of Jesus Christ is really good news for them?

Mercy is a rare commodity in our day and age. We sometimes suppose that we live in a meritocracy, where everyone gets exactly what they deserve. On our best days, we prefer it this way and gloat in the places where our hard work has paid off. Perhaps we even look down at those who suffer and blame them for bad decisions. When we fail, however, we desire mercy—someone or something to cover for our mistakes. Join us this Sunday as we continue our series on the Book of Jude.

“What’s love got to do with it?” Tina Turner rhetorically asks in her 1984 hit song. When it comes to a relationship with God, the New Testament writers insist: “quite a lot, actually.” In fact, when Jude speaks of preserving the Christian faith, his primary command is that we keep ourselves in the love of God. While we can’t cause God to love us (he does!), Jude knows that we can refuse God’s love and walk away from it. We can fail to live in its light. So what does it mean to keep ourselves in God’s love? Come this week as we consider the most underutilized privilege that the world has known—that we are absolutely and fundamentally loved.

“Do you have anyone to talk to about that?” We often hear this phrase when we’ve let down our guard and admitted to someone that we are struggling. It’s often meant as a well-intentioned concern, but it also sends the signal that the current listener is not up to the task. What if you had someone you could call on in times of both bad and good news, someone who would always answer the phone and be glad to hear your voice? Join us this week as we continue our series on the Book of Jude and learn about the gift of prayer.

“I believe; help my unbelief!” It was a cry for help uttered by a father who wanted Jesus to heal his son, but in a way, his request is the prayer of every Christian. We know that salvation comes by grace through faith, but what do we do when our faith is weak? Join us this Sunday as we continue our sermon series from The Book of Jude.

Full gyms on January 2 are vacated by the end of February. Whether it is cleaning out your closet, starting a new exercise routine, or reading through Leviticus, it is hard to keep going, especially in the face of adversity. How can we persevere? It is an important question, especially when we are talking about following Jesus. This week we are starting a new series on the book of Jude, who reminds us that it is the love of Jesus that keeps us going. We hope you will join us.

Join us this Sunday as we complete a two-part series on food and feasting.

We all enter life hungry, crying out for someone to feed us. It’s one of the basic needs that every human shares. Does God care about our daily bread or how we eat it? What place does food have in spirituality? Join us this Sunday as we begin a two-part series on food and feasting.

Betrayal always hurts, but the pain of betrayal is directly related to the measure of love. The greater the love, the greater the pain of betrayal. How can we love those who have betrayed us? Can trust ever be restored? What about when we are the betrayers? How can we be at peace? Join us this Sunday as we conclude our series on the stories of First and Second Samuel.

Since the fall, every family experiences enmity and strife. Instead of belonging and safety, some people experience great violence in their families. The Bible is not silent on the depths of family dysfunction. This Sunday we continue our series in 2 Samuel and hear the story of a young woman named Tamar who came from a royal, but deeply harmful family.

If you were deceived would you even know it? One of the first things sin does is to deceive us and distort our view of the world. Today with Christians around the world we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. This is good news for those deceived by sin because the Spirit was given to lead us into all truth, especially the truth about our true condition and the truth about God’s amazing grace.

This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus—the reality that God became a man, who now  rules and reigns over the universe. As we will see this week: this is good news, especially where our sin is concerned. Because the Ascension reminds us that there is no sin that can ultimately thwart the purposes of God’s grace.

We are all longing for home—some place we can looked to and belong, some place where everything just seems right. The Bible tells us that this deep longing is good, and is ultimately met through a relationship with God, who brings us into his family, and serves us at his table.

We all have trust problems. Some of us trust too much; others have a hard time trusting anyone at all. How do you trust a God you can’t see when everything around you looks like he hasn’t kept his promises?

Is there a right and wrong way to worship God? If God looks at the heart, shouldn’t good intentions be enough?

Introverted or extroverted, we all crave community--a group of people who will never let us down and always let us in. This Sunday we continue our sermon series on First and Second Samuel.

We just celebrated the triumph of life over death accomplished by Jesus’ resurrection at Easter. Yet we don’t have to look very far to see that death still operates in the world. How do we reconcile this contradiction and what do we do? This Sunday we look to a story Jesus told about justice.

Bad news. The more we look around the world, the more there is reason to doubt that anything good will happen. Yet, the resurrection of Jesus tells us that hope is rooted not in what we see around us, but in the God who sees us, and who brings salvation through his miraculous power.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s the Golden Rule, but it’s much easier to follow when you’re starting with a blank slate. What do we do when we’ve already been mistreated? Do we repay evil with evil; violence with violence? How do we de-escalate a situation when tensions are high and it seems like everyone is armed to the teeth? This Sunday we look at the story of a peacemaker named Abigail.

It’s hard to wait. It’s especially hard to wait when things are out of your control and you don’t know when the waiting will be over. Waiting tends to bring out our anger and even hatred for those things that make us wait. How can we take seriously the pain of waiting without losing our patience?

After dealing with severe quarantine restrictions all we want is to get back to normality. But at times, we take this well-intended desire to such an extreme that it ends up affecting our gratitude and how we worship. This Sunday we look and learn from one leper who ran to Jesus' feet to worship him in thankfulness after being healed by him instead of rushing to return to normality.

We’ve all seen the headlines: loneliness is on the rise; communities are fragmented; adult friendship is harder than ever. Most of us have felt those headlines personally and deeply. We know the pain of isolation and the unrequited desire for companionship. Many of us give up on friendships and pour ourselves into work and busyness instead. Is there a better way?

Many of the problems we face are simply beyond us. I suppose this is the reason we love hero stories. It is also why we live in fear. We relate to the need to have someone who can fight our battles and rescue us from danger. But, unfortunately, in the real world such heroes do not exist. Even when we initially think we have found a savior, we are often left dissolution when they turn out to have clay feet. But the Bible tells us that God’s people don’t have to live in fear.

We know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we do it all the time. At times, our first impressions are accurate, but often, they mislead us. God seems to like surprises. He often binds the best stories in dusty old books with tattered covers. Join us this Sunday as we look at the story of a surprise new king and his anointing.

Some of us have the tendency to take credit for our successes while blaming circumstances for our failures. But if God is sovereign, we must see our best traits—even our hard work and determination—as gifts that are not earned but received. Join us this week as we learn from the story of a king named Saul the danger of entitlement and the reward of trusting God.

Some people carry a rabbit’s foot for good luck; others call upon a favorite saint to give them fortune; others still suppose that a cross around their neck will ward off calamity. Yet the God of the Bible cannot be conjured or manipulated. How can we trust a God whom we cannot control?

Abuse of power, hypocrisy, absence of leadership—these realities seem to mark our world. Sadly, tragically, they also describe the church. In such a situation it is easy to become cynical and hard to trust authority. And yet, it seems, that at a fundamental level people cannot exist without leadership. In these dark times of scandal and abuse, where do God’s people turn? How can they move forward in the face of so much corruption. This week we will see that these are the exact questions that 1 Samuel asks and answers.

On January 6, the world watched as riots in DC turned violent and threatened the lives of public servants in both parties. Some of the rioters claimed to be motivated by their Christian faith, donning Christian symbols into the Capitol. Others who claim to be Christ-followers have said they support the insurrection on the same basis. How should those seeking to follow the crucified Nazarene view and respond to such claims? Join us this week as we pause our current sermon series in order to see our current events through the lens of Scripture.

2020 was an especially disorienting year. It was difficult to discern truth from error, reality from fiction, and where to be confident and where to show circumspection. The good news is that we are not the first or only people to experience this. When we open the book of 1 Samuel, Israel is in a very similar situation. This week we are reminded that even though we live in a world with varying shades of gray, God does not leave his people without a clear witness to the truth, and is faithful to provide his word, which is a light in the darkness.

It’s the new year and everyone is looking to the future. We’re all hoping this year will be better than the last. But what if God is able to redeem good things out of all the hardships and pain we suffer? What if he is able to use even our failures to achieve his purposes? Join us this Sunday as we begin a new series looking at the stories of 1st and 2nd Samuel and how God brings good things out of hopeless situations again and again and again.

In times of crisis and confusion, we often utter the cliché, “God moves in mysterious ways.” It reminds us that God is always at work even when we don’t see him. Yet we still tend to expect that God’s work in this world will be unmistakable and obvious. How can we train our eyes to recognize the glorious work of God’s mission among us in the mundane and everyday things? Join us this Sunday as we celebrate Christmas and join the angels’ refrain: Glory to God in the Highest!

It may not have been the Christmas we’re used to, but it arrived nonetheless. The gifts have been opened, the egg nog has been drunk, the cookies have been eaten, and the families have been Zoomed. But in the midst of all the festivities, did you catch the beauty and mystery of Christmas? Did you consider who that baby in the manger would be and what he would do? God’s power in the world often comes in surprising and hidden ways. It takes faith to see it. How do we learn to detect his hand at work in the world?

We hear the words to the famous Christmas carol at coffee shops and retail stores this time of year—joy to the world, the Lord has come! Yet in reality, joy seems elusive and fleeting to most of us. Is it possible to have joy even in the midst of dark and painful seasons? Is there anything we can do to produce joy? This Sunday we celebrate Advent and learn to wait for Christ with joy.

A paradox is a statement that while seeming self-contradictory, actually describes reality.  The Christian life is full of paradoxes. God is one and three. God is absolutely sovereign and our choices actually matter. One paradox is that Christians are called to live in, attend to, and love the present form the world (Jer 29:4–4). Yet Chrsitians are also told not to love the world because the present form of the world is passing away (2 Cor 5:17). So which is it? Are we meant to settle down in the world or to remain detached from the world? This week we consider how to live in this tension in light of Jesus’ coming.

We don’t like to wait. For anything. If you have an appetite for something, chances are there’s an app that promises to deliver it to your doorstep within 48 hours. In an age of instant gratification, patience can seem like a relic of the past—almost quaint. Yet this year has forced all of us to wait for the end of the COVID crisis. How can we wait for patience, especially when we’re out of control? This Sunday we celebrate Advent and learn to cultivate the virtue of patience.

This Sunday we begin advent. We also celebrate God’s call to Layne Campbell to serve our church in the office of deacon. We’ll consider what it means to be a deacon, and why God calls people to serve in that capacity.  

What responsibilities do I have towards other believers? What responsibilities do they have towards me? And what, if anything, does church attendance have to do with these questions? For many today going to church must either be viewed as a personal preference or else it becomes a legalistic imposition. But what if we are unable to live the Christian life on our own. This week we conclude our series on Church unity by considering what the book of Hebrews has to say about our vital need for mutual encouragement as we follow Jesus on the path he has called us.

We like the image of the self-made man. We like the idea of getting ahead in life by our own bootstraps and ingenuity, without any help from anyone. But as they say, it’s lonely at the top. No matter how much we achieve, we still need the companionship and help of others. As much as we hate it, we are needy. But in the upside down kingdom of Jesus, being needy is a wonderful thing.

We like the idea of unity, but what does it take to actually accomplish it? In today’s divided world we often decry the division but neglect the virtues required to live in community: kindness, humility, gentleness, compassion, patience, and bearing the burdens of others. How can God change us from the inside out so that we can be people of peace instead of hostility? This Sunday we continue our series on the unity of the Christian Church.

What does it look like to grow up? Adulting has become a sort of buzz word today. People often use it to describe the responsibilities one faces when becoming an adulthood. But what is it like to adult as a Christian?  Most often we view maturity as a form of independence. But what if growing up means not independence, but interdependence? What if responsibility actually looks like  existing in, receiving from, and giving to a community? This week we learn about a key distinctive of Christian maturity—unity.

Who gets the final word on defining a person? We often go through life looking for someone or some group to tell us who we are. Often, we attempt to define ourselves and others by our success, our hobbies, our politics, or our market value. We look for a tribe to give us meaning and significance. But God says that he is our maker. Since we belong to him, he gets the final word on everything about us. This Sunday we continue our sermon series on the unity of the Christian Church.

Social researchers tell us loneliness is on the rise and it has devastating impacts. Our families, neighborhoods, and work places are fractured—and that’s all before we entered a global pandemic that forced us to stay at home. Does the Christian church have a role to play in bringing disparate people together? This Sunday we study the uncommon family that is the Church of Christ.

It’s no secret that our country is divided in many ways. Civil strife and discord are in the news almost daily. We might expect a nation as vast and diverse as the United States to hold many world views and perspectives in tension. What may be surprising, though, is that many people experience the Christian Church as no different. Critics point to the various divisions as reasons for disbelief. Yet, Jesus is not surprised. In fact, Christian unity is the very thing he prayed for on the night before he went to the cross. This week we begin a series on the Christian practice of the communion of the saints.  

Faith comes more easily in the good times when things are going our way; joy comes more naturally in the times of feasting. But what do we do in the times of famine and difficulty? How can we find joy when life is full of suffering and pain? This week we finish our sermon series on the Prophet Habakkuk.

In a season shaped by catastrophic events like wildfires, hurricanes, and COVID-19, the trials of life can seem overwhelming. Is God big enough and strong enough to overcome anything? This Sunday we get a proper perspective of God from our sermon series on the Prophet Habakkuk.

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/09-20-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/09-13-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/09-06-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/08-30-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/08-23-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/08-16-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/08-09-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/08-02-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/07-26-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/07-19-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/07-12-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/07-05-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/06-28-2020/

View full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/06-21-20/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/06-14-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/06-07-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/05-31-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/05-24-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/05-17-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/05-10-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/05-03-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/04-26-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/04-19-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/04-12-2020/

See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/04-05-2020/

Sermon from 12/7/14 service. See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/03-29-2020/

Sermon from 12/16/12 service. See full service liturgy at https://www.cpcsb.org/03-22-2020/

Our culture tells us that with enough money, the right resources, and the latest technology, we can guard ourselves from every worry and guarantee our happiness. Yet our pursuit of these things often leads into more fear and anxiety. Hear how Jesus proposes to fulfill our desire for security and flourishing as we continue our series in the Sermon on the Mount.

The gifts have been opened, the egg nog has been drunk, the cookies have been eaten, and the relatives have returned home. But in the midst of all the festivities, did you catch the beauty and mystery of Christmas? Did you consider who that baby in the manger would be and what he would do? This Sunday we hear Jesus describe himself and his mission from Luke’s Gospel.

No one likes regret. Regret can pierce through any moment—even the most joyful—and turn us into a ball of nerves. Regret can turn our beds into time machines that take us back years or even decades to a remorseful word or action or missed opportunity and keep us awake at night. How can we face the truth about ourselves in a way that leads to joy instead of regret?

Pentecost—the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church in an extravagant and miraculous way. Is the Holy Spirit still at work among us? What is it doing?

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[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2eUQK2pmJE [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KlW2ZV9M1U [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os35eBRuebo [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvYf5b-Pqyw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETC6iFsweD8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnpIOQE-Fmk [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG7pP_kT6M4 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llZgkQAC7zA [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsWcXBvXs7A [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahda_obcnyM [/vc_column][/vc_row]

Throughout the Psalms, God is called a refuge and a fortress. The Psalmists take comfort in knowing that God is their home. But what does that mean? [vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXO4iKt7Jpo [/vc_column][/vc_row]

Some of us are rule-followers, some are rule-breakers, but most of us have a difficult relationship with authority. Examples of the abuse of authority are ubiquitous, whether in political leadership or in family life. Is there an authority we can trust? How would we relate to a good and benevolent authority that had our best interest in mind? Would we be willing to give up our own authority and submit? [vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvWqtvIGnHs [/vc_column][/vc_row]

This Sunday we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and consider the extent of God’s mission and our participation in it. [vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3_0f39cSQg [/vc_column][/vc_row]

It’s easy to serve our own needs, isn’t it? After all, they are immediate and instinctive. If we are hungry, we eat; thirsty, we drink; tired, we sleep. But to consider the needs of another takes work. It takes putting your own needs on hold until the other has been served. Mark tells us that Jesus came not to be served, but to serve his people. [vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56hmQ4tFSCQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

Our culture says contribute; in the office we are encouraged to be team players, when submitting applications for college we list all our extracurricular activities, when we go to someone’s house for dinner we take a hostess gift or bottle of wine. This deeply ingrained idea of contributing transfers into our relationship with God, but what does he have to say about putting something forward? [vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jaj24pf0jqU [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9248nz8V2Y [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5IRIpNlYEA [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quqlgIGjcEg [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgV93FI1s8w [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQHS6RwthhI [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuYLQNTMQIo [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-Uyb3BIH8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbghacoDdxc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJqfmnXZ3MQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_VLpVKr90g [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oD2x9m4Y1A [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxmFoJ4bSJo [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnPLcnaSj8s [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDohvyPertE [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuqJUkgjkBk [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F80FLEM6O68 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QhitWJG-r4 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GG0HyqRUds [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXFRnhq3k2s [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-niS2YlcDUc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjOv0-1LTDQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAh5EWivGUM [/vc_column][/vc_row] The blessing of singleness. Really? How could that be in a culture that continually tells us that we not worth much unless we are loved by a “significant other?”  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e4O2TFUj7w [/vc_column][/vc_row] The Protestant Reformation is often viewed as one of the most divisive events in church history. Countless denominations have arisen as a result of it. What if anything does Justification by Faith have to contribute to church unity? Hear what the Apostle Paul teaches in the book of Romans as we continue our series on the generative possibilities of his doctrine.  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_exU4woCCU [/vc_column][/vc_row] We all know the picture—arms raised in the air, fists punching the sky. This seemingly universal picture of human conquest is something we have all seen and experiences. “I am the greatest,” Ali said. But what does this universal human tendency have to do with God’s triumphant shout: “Jesus is the greatest.”

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqLQuQhy0js [/vc_column][/vc_row] 500 years ago Europe was set ablaze with a single idea—humans are justified before God by faith alone. Some wonder how this principle—that ignited the Reformation and for which countless Europeans would give their lives—is still relevant today. And besides, don’t we understand the message Luther was promoting? Yet the anxiety that plagued Luther and his contemporaries is as pervasive in our own day as it was in his. Could it be that we have failed to grasp the message that captivated Luther? And could a rediscovery of Justification by faith have just as much relevance today as it did 500 years ago?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsBV03ee864 [/vc_column][/vc_row] “God is good!” This is common parlance among Christians, but do we really trust that God is working for our good? How do we respond when we don’t understand what he is doing, or when things don’t seem to be getting better? Come and learn from the life of Jesus as we continue our series in Mark.  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajswJSN37Hs [/vc_column][/vc_row] We are a people passionate about cleanliness. We purchase the best laundry detergent, hire the most thorough housekeepers, we are even possessed to clean our bodies through diet and detox regimes. But does that really leave us clean? How or can we become clean to the core? Come this week to hear how Jesus addresses this longing in Mark 7.  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG1Beo_QNMs [/vc_column][/vc_row] Who is Jesus and who are you in relationship to him? These are questions that are continually placed before us. Whether we are answering them for the first time or the fortieth time, there is always more to discover.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11sqbz219vk [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJpbqS19c0o [/vc_column][/vc_row] Do you ever feel like you have more on your plate than you can handle? Or like you’re treading water in the sea of life, just barely keeping your head above water? Do you feel exhausted, directionless, and unable to stop? Come hear what Jesus has to say to hungry, exhausted, and exasperated people as we continue our series in the gospel of Mark.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422w6VcRfM4 [/vc_column][/vc_row] Jesus sends out his disciples to extend his mission—what a privilege! But if it is Jesus’ mission we participate in, should we expect responses that are fundamentally different than the ones he received? Come Sunday as we consider what it means to follow Jesus in his mission to the world.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P2f5XRoSYM [/vc_column][/vc_row]  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOaax3re08 [/vc_column][/vc_row] We long for change but it doesn’t seem to come. We hope for something better, but feel powerless to bring it about. This Sunday we consider where--and with whom--hope and healing may be found.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLL6F2g3tBI [/vc_column][/vc_row] How come competent people get stuck? How come populations of people who seem decent end up committing the grossest atrocities. Ever feel like something else is going on—like there is something against you? This Sunday we look at the depth of the human struggle, and the only way out.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncIAyNZoKzE [/vc_column][/vc_row] We may confess with our mouths that God is all powerful, but when we are pressed beyond our resources, do our lives reflect faith in his sovereign power and love, or do they reveal a reliance on our own strength?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNpZ1yGjCfU [/vc_column][/vc_row] Have you ever been to a good party that you didn’t want to end? Have you ever spent time with friends that was so sweet that it convinced you that if there really is a heaven, it must certainly be like this? What do these experiences have to do with Jesus?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoCXrdS3yWw [/vc_column][/vc_row] God’s love for us brings beauty to life and also calls for a response from us. How do we respond to this love and pursue the beauty?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iDPy3AE45Q [/vc_column][/vc_row] It is evident that our world is at the same time both beautiful and needing restoration. It is tempting to right wrongs in ways that reject God’s plan for the renewal of all things. This week as we looked at what it means to receive God’s blessing from Genesis chapter 27.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9pmIfPEf-s [/vc_column][/vc_row] How do you respond when pain, loneliness, and confusion persists? Where is God in these times? This Sunday as we look at Genesis 16 and see how God meets us in our isolation and shame.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ_xRyEMStc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC8eb6UOYKg [/vc_column][/vc_row] Jesus is often depicted as a meek and mild teacher. But his message was considered radical and provocative in his own day, confounding the conventional wisdom of the religious establishment. His words continue to upend our expectations and challenge our assumptions today. Why does Jesus teach this way?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9AXzm5134Q&t=1s [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WKsjTYqAF4 [/vc_column][/vc_row] Our lives are busy, and many people suffer from the lack of physical rest. But what about spiritual rest? Often we find ourselves equally exhausted from spiritual striving. This Sunday we hear what God has to say about true rest and where to find it.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCvpm5GxMY4 [/vc_column][/vc_row] We often approach life with either fear or a tendency to fight, having forgotten that Christ is actively at work. As we remember that Jesus is our reigning king, we can ask, how can we follow where he leads without fear? How can we love one another?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2sBu3NKsZ8 [/vc_column][/vc_row] It seems that everything in our world requires some sort of qualification; “What are your qualifications? “Is she qualified for the job?”, “He qualified for the Olympics”. What about grace? What are the qualifications?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNm9bJcdFkY [/vc_column][/vc_row] This Sunday we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As we consider the Spirit’s mission to build God’s kingdom, we also ask, what qualifies a person for life in the kingdom? Come and hear God’s Word from the book of Mark.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LluHXLl4hPA [/vc_column][/vc_row] Why did God save us and how do we live as his people in our our vocations, neighborhoods, and schools; communities which often leave us feeling like strangers in a strange land? This Sunday we look at 1 Peter 2 to look for answers to these questions.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aet4iOkcx9E [/vc_column][/vc_row] We don’t usually think of ourselves as being enslaved or oppressed, but the gospel of Mark reveals that Jesus is the liberator, and if that is so, from what might he want to free you?

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKt93_6b1A [/vc_column][/vc_row] What do you do, or to whom do you turn, when your problems are too big for you to solve? Mark’s gospel provides a solution that might seem counter intuitive to our world of self help books and solution based seminars.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jyix-BBT_k8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiTmW8Ouv4c [/vc_column][/vc_row] The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated plan for the future.  The next step discloses itself only out of a discernment of God acting in the desert of the present moment. The reality of naked trust is the life of a pilgrim who leaves what is nailed down, obvious, and secure, and walks into the unknown without any rational explanation to justify the decision or guarantee the future. Why? Because God has signaled the movement and offered it his presence and his promise. —Brennan Manning, Ruthless Trust Sermon Summary: This week we begin a new sermon series in the gospel of Mark. We worship Jesus as our risen Lord, and we are called to follow him as our King. But what does that mean, and how can we follow him when we can’t see where he is leading? Come and hear what the gospel of Mark teaches us about following Jesus. Passage to Consider: Mark 16:1–8 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.   Confession of Sin: Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, you shattered the power of sin and death. We confess that we live as if we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by the ways that lead to death. We overlook the poor and the hungry, and pass by those who mourn. We despise the weak and abuse the earth you made. (Silent confession) Forgive us, God of mercy. Make us new, through the power of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iDDv9mrNxQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YNxO25NLpM [/vc_column][/vc_row] And ah for a man to arise in me, That the man I am may cease to be! —Alfred Tennyson   If life had a second edition, how I would correct the proofs. —John Clare   Oh, wretched ephemeral race … why do you compel me to tell you what it would be most expedient for you not to hear? What is best of all is utterly beyond your reach: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. But the second best for you is—to die soon. —Silenus   Sermon Summary: The grave is empty--Christ is risen! That was world-changing news for Jesus’ disciples, but what does it mean for us? How does an event from 2000 years ago offer hope in the midst of life’s trials and challenges today? Come and hear how Easter changes everything.   Passage to Consider: 1 Peter 1:3–9 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.   Confession of Sin: Almighty God, you have raised Jesus from death to life and crowned him Lord of all. We confess that we have not acknowledged his authority or trusted in his commands. We have boasted in our own achievements and failed to give him thanks. We have been deaf to his call and blind to his work in our world. (silent confession) Forgive us and raise us from sin, that we may be your faithful people, following our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi3M-nl6TCU [/vc_column][/vc_row]   "I loved not yet, yet I loved to love.         … I sought what I might love, in love with loving.” —Augustine, Confessions   "Love is all you need.” —The Beatles Sermon Summary: How can we know what love is? Does the love we have been given require anything of us? Come and consider God’s sacrificial love as we continue our study in 1 John. Passage to Consider: 1 John 4:7–12; 15–19 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.   Confession of Sin: Eternal God, we confess that often we have failed To be an obedient church: We have not done your will; We have broken your law; We have rebelled against your love; We have not loved our neighbors; We have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.   Song to Consider:

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yACewyRosRs [/vc_column][/vc_row] "When love comes, fear goes.” —William Barclay   "Sinner, thou thinkest that because of thy sins and infirmities I cannot save thy soul, but behold my Son is by me, and upon him I look, and not on thee, and will deal with thee according as I am pleased with him.” —John Bunyan   "Fear is a sign that he considers himself worthy of punishment, because it is punishments that instil fear.” —Philo of Alexandria   Sermon Summary: Is it possible to live in confidence of God’s love even when we are confronted with our weakness and failures? Come and hear how God’s love overcomes our fear as we continue to study 1 John.   Passage to Consider: 1 John 3:19–20; 4:16–19 3:19-20 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 4:16-19 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.   Confession of Sin: Compassionate God, you love us with unfailing, self-giving mercy; Forgive us for not returning your love. -silent confession- Jesus Christ, you ask us to love others sacrificially; Forgive us for walking away from our neighbors in need. -silent confession- Holy Spirit, you equip us to love unconditionally; Forgive us for caring more for our own concerns than for the concerns of others. -silent confession- God of grace, we repent of our lack of love for you and others and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.  Amen

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg5e40pGvoo [/vc_column][/vc_row] Is my relationship with God simply a matter of personal, private faith, or does it impact my relationships with others? Consider as we continue to study 1 John’s teachings on the “tests” of true faith.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGy4grbuBsg [/vc_column][/vc_row] Does it really matter what I believe about Jesus? If so, what must I believe in order to call myself a Christian? This week, we will consider these questions as we look at passages from 1 John 4 and 5.

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D6AuUVaJQE [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE8rn2m9w28 [/vc_column][/vc_row] “The Psalms help us articulate and understand what we feel, but they also dare us to struggle. Even more, they give us words to vocalize our deepest struggles with the Lord. The Psalmist felt, and publicly expressed, the gamut of emotions, from hurt to fury, from desire to vengeance, to contempt against God. How comforting to know that we are not alone when we ache with loneliness, burn with anger, and tremble with fear. Someone before us has faced these emotions and in the midst of that conflict learned to love God.” —Dan Allender “The Cry of the Soul”   Sermon Summary: Psalm 42. How do the themes of God’s love, nearness, commitment and faith exist with the human experience of sorrow, sadness and struggle?   Passage to Consider: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.   Confession of Sin: God of mercy, You sent Jesus Christ to save the lost. We confess that we have strayed from you And turned aside from your way. Lord, Have mercy.   We are misled by pride, For we see ourselves as pure when we are stained And great when we are small. Christ, Have mercy.   We have failed in love, neglected justice, and ignored your truth. Lord, Have mercy.   Have mercy, O God, and forgive our sin. Return us to paths of righteousness Through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.   Song to Consider https://www.youtube.com/embed/A7O7LQpQaoc  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulG0QjkAHcY [/vc_column][/vc_row] "The gospel, like its faithful preachers, is ‘of God’, and the people of God recognize it as such through the inward witness of the Spirit in their hearts." —F.F. Bruce Sermon Summary: We are called as a corporate community to test the spirits. All persons speak by the inspiration of one Spirit or another. Because the Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus Christ—the truth—we can be confident that we know the truth by testing things against the standard of Christ.   Passage to Consider: 1 John 4:1-6 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.   Preparation Question: What is truth? What is your process of discerning it?   Confession of Sin: Gracious God, we pray for your church universal, that you would fill it with truth. Where we have corrupted it, purify us. Where we are in error, direct us. Where we are amiss, reform us. Where we are in want, provide for us. Forgive us when we are indifferent to your word and deaf to your Spirit. Lead us to Jesus Christ, who is the Truth. For his sake, Amen.   Song to Consider https://www.youtube.com/embed/b_9iQ5U_EUM

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bgbT-vOGDs [/vc_column][/vc_row]   I wonder which brother is better Which one our parents loved the most I sure did get in lots of trouble They seemed to let the other go —Avett Brothers, Murder in the City   Sermon Summary: Am I my brothers keeper? We have answered this question in various ways and struggled with the question’s implication that we must love others that are different from us. This week in the book of 1 John 3 we take another look at love, what is it, and how we are to live it out.   Passage to Consider: 1 John 3:10-18 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.   Preparation Question: What are some ways that you may have loved someone who was different that you less because of the fact that they were different?   Confession of Sin:  Have mercy on us, God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out our transgressions.     Wash us thoroughly from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin! For we know our transgressions, and our sin is ever before us.     Against you only have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight. You delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach us wisdom in the secret heart.     Hide your face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities. Create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us.     In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irrXchRZAz4 [/vc_column][/vc_row] From now on, we are enemies... You and I. Because You choose for Your instrument a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy and give me for reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because You are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block You, I swear it. I will hinder and harm Your creature on earth as far as I am able. I will ruin Your incarnation.. — Salieri, from the movie Amedaus   Sermon Summary: Jesus, the Serpent-Crusher; the Sin-Destroyer, came to destroy the works of the devil and we must place our confidence in him.   Passages to Consider: John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Rom 5:20–21 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Preparation Question: How are we to understand our sin? Does our continual sin mean that we are not really Christians?   Confession of Sin:  Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry, too real to hide, and too deep to undo. We have neither honored you as God, nor given you thanks.       Father, in your mercy, forgive us. We have been quick to condemn our neighbors, while ignoring our own need for you.       Jesus, in your mercy, forgive us. We have trusted in our own resources, rather than resting in your transforming grace.       Holy Spirit, in your mercy, forgive us. Set us free from our sins and give us the grace to grow more into your likeness, through Jesus Christ. Amen  

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWWqjfgdDmM [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GHf864K6M8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlLqy2eNGUs [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGfJyJpj1o8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDyG53QmVjw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpKNK8SPIy8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LlQWamCD9c [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpn9GF40GgA [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvD-lyj9CVU [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqoj10IHK_U [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ANQF2nHf44 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtC_gFrsjG4 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y584JR-T6Oc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23EVcmqrHzQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsZIamdtESA [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnAp8rZz2nw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwhvIMxk6JI [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDK6uUqff68 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDGDqvKu71E [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJKFoHcj9wE [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9ImjO5vT8Q [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M47k228H644 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQzYGr2-DSQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tApDWGMkkJs [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9wBaMRwVsg [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOC7Yoc8Jug [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyI6ycMCH6U [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7rcwdezgJ8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbNk83sdIHw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8ErH9UKGA [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB0SU_lyIqQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYBIMyttEIc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbbwX43Od8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBYHHr2-ZOE [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6K9hSDBPBw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIlVDzwfM3o [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WItYTJ8zaKk [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd21D0j92Sc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNWdQLqIH5g [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://youtu.be/9C0VcBSjv_k [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7mVc_XaGw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ufg4ZAiM2o [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_GZ-0sYxG4 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCmWNZEr1fU [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htHtANdGU4Q [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgUcX5HFShw [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXnUmRYnTc [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwdJRJOYm00 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w4Tu4wQ5R8 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CkfGloQODQ [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcovrVUAC9o [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP94VUGau4k [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj2UlxxStOs [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccg8vLcZt6c [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVshsN-cAz4 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-yuwsneces [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0R-OBKVy_0 [/vc_column][/vc_row]

[vc_row row_type='expandable' text_align='center' background_color='' border_color='' more_button_label='Watch Sermon' less_button_label='Close' button_position='' color='#353535'][vc_column width='1/1'] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8STjz8lchIc [/vc_column][/vc_row]