Click here to download the sermon as we continue in the study of the Gospel of John.
Recap of the sermon from January 29th (John 4:1-42):
1. In John 4 Jesus has a divine appointment with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jews had no dealings with Samaritans because of their mixed heritage and aberrant religion. One writer expressed it this way: “Samaria, a territory to be avoided if possible by Jews, became the scene of a spiritual triumph: a well, a woman, a witness, the winning of a harvest of Samaritans to faith. Samaritanism as well as Judaism needed the corrective of Christ; it needed to be replaced by new creation life.” (Dr. Everett F. Harrison)
2. Jesus uses the woman’s physical thirst to show her her spiritual need. In the words of Dr. John Mitchell: “My friend, the world has many wells of water, but none will ever satisfy your heart and soul. The world is running hither and yon trying everything under heaven. They are like bees going from flower to flower, trying to find enough honey to be satisfied. Whoever drinks of this water shall thirst again….’If only I had money,’ you say. If you had money, you wouldn’t be satisfied. Instead, you would be more dissatisfied than you are today. ‘If I only had a place of honor,’ you say. Even that wouldn’t satisfy you. ‘If I only had all the pleasure I want….’ Still you wouldn’t be satisfied. ‘He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again.’ You can’t find satisfaction outside of yourself, or produce it within yourself. ‘But if you drink of the water I’ll give you [i.e. the Holy Spirit who regenerates those who put their trust in Christ], you will never thirst again. It will be in you a well of water.’”
3. Jesus’ approach to evangelism was to: ask for something (vs. 7); to provoke her thinking (vs. 10); to create a desire for spiritual things (vv. 13-15); to bring her to recognition of her desperate need (vv. 16-18); he answers her questions, deepens her understanding, taking from what she knows to what she needs to know (vv. 22-24); and He reveals Who He is (vs. 26).
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Click here to download the sermon as we continue in the study of the Gospel of John.
Recap of the sermon from January 22, 2012 (John 3:22-36):
1. “…John replies with deep and characteristic humility that the different tasks in life, and all apparent degrees of greatness, must be explained as the expression of the will of God…and that he is satisfied [even] rejoices in the part assigned to him in relation to the work and ministry of Christ.” (Dr. Charles Erdman) John 3:22-36 is a study in jealousy, humility, and in what makes Jesus superior, not only to John the Baptist, but to all other religious leaders and teachers.
2. John was able to have an attitude of humility, seen in his willingness to be supplanted by Jesus in importance, because:
-He had a sense of God’s sovereignty over his life and ministry.
-He was focused on God, not other people.
-His thoughts were not consumed with comparisons with others.
-Because he was content with who he was, he was free to be supportive of the lives and ministries of others, rather than having a spirit of competition with them.
-He was content to take a back seat to Jesus because he understood who he was, and who Jesus was (as seen in vv. 31-36)
-His sense of purpose in leadership allowed him to be a good follower when the situation called for it.
3. John 3:31-36 enumerates what it is that sets Jesus apart and makes Him pre-eminent. He is heavenly in origin, teaches that which could be known in no other way, is loved by the Father, filled with the fullness of the Spirit, and is the dividing point of every life. Those who put their trust in Him have eternal life, those who do not remain condemned.
Recap of the sermon from January 22, 2012 (John 3:22-36):
1. “…John replies with deep and characteristic humility that the different tasks in life, and all apparent degrees of greatness, must be explained as the expression of the will of God…and that he is satisfied [even] rejoices in the part assigned to him in relation to the work and ministry of Christ.” (Dr. Charles Erdman) John 3:22-36 is a study in jealousy, humility, and in what makes Jesus superior, not only to John the Baptist, but to all other religious leaders and teachers.
2. John was able to have an attitude of humility, seen in his willingness to be supplanted by Jesus in importance, because:
-He had a sense of God’s sovereignty over his life and ministry.
-He was focused on God, not other people.
-His thoughts were not consumed with comparisons with others.
-Because he was content with who he was, he was free to be supportive of the lives and ministries of others, rather than having a spirit of competition with them.
-He was content to take a back seat to Jesus because he understood who he was, and who Jesus was (as seen in vv. 31-36)
-His sense of purpose in leadership allowed him to be a good follower when the situation called for it.
3. John 3:31-36 enumerates what it is that sets Jesus apart and makes Him pre-eminent. He is heavenly in origin, teaches that which could be known in no other way, is loved by the Father, filled with the fullness of the Spirit, and is the dividing point of every life. Those who put their trust in Him have eternal life, those who do not remain condemned.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Two Paths
Click here to download the sermon from our expositional study of the Gospel of John.
A recap of the sermon from January 15, 2012 (John 3:16-21):
1. Jesus’ teaching in John 3 is that all people need a supernatural rebirth to enter God’s kingdom. That can’t be achieved on their own by human effort or merit; it comes from God, produced by the Holy Spirit. The new birth happens in response to placing faith in Jesus Christ, looking to the One who was lifted up on Calvary’s cross, and in resurrection and ascension.
2. Jesus talked about two paths which all humanity is on; the path of loss, condemnation, and darkness or the path of life, salvation, and light.
3. Unbelievers walk in darkness so that their worthless deeds will not be exposed. “Unbelievers have no ultimate meaning of life, no worthy motivation, no adequate goal, and a destiny of doom. He fears that if he comes to the light his deeds will be seen as worthless, and he would need to turn from them.” (Dr. Edwin Blum)
4. Believers, on the other hand, should have a worthy purpose, motivation and goals in life. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life suggests the following 5 purposes: “You were planned for God’s pleasure; you were formed for God’s family; you were created to become like Christ; you were shaped for serving God; and you were made for a mission.
A recap of the sermon from January 15, 2012 (John 3:16-21):
1. Jesus’ teaching in John 3 is that all people need a supernatural rebirth to enter God’s kingdom. That can’t be achieved on their own by human effort or merit; it comes from God, produced by the Holy Spirit. The new birth happens in response to placing faith in Jesus Christ, looking to the One who was lifted up on Calvary’s cross, and in resurrection and ascension.
2. Jesus talked about two paths which all humanity is on; the path of loss, condemnation, and darkness or the path of life, salvation, and light.
3. Unbelievers walk in darkness so that their worthless deeds will not be exposed. “Unbelievers have no ultimate meaning of life, no worthy motivation, no adequate goal, and a destiny of doom. He fears that if he comes to the light his deeds will be seen as worthless, and he would need to turn from them.” (Dr. Edwin Blum)
4. Believers, on the other hand, should have a worthy purpose, motivation and goals in life. Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life suggests the following 5 purposes: “You were planned for God’s pleasure; you were formed for God’s family; you were created to become like Christ; you were shaped for serving God; and you were made for a mission.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Can A Good Person Be Saved?
Click here to download the sermon.
Recap of the sermon from January 8th (John 3:1-15):
Of Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus that one must be born again (from above) to enter God’s kingdom the following writers comment:
-“How difficult it is for men to take a spiritual view of life, and to understand that the kingdom of God can never be brought in by political expedients and social reforms and natural processes; but that the first great need is a renewal of the heart and a divine transformation of each individual…” (Dr. Charles Erdman)
-“Man’s condition demands that he be born again if he is going to see or enter the kingdom of God. This is not a popular doctrine. Most people don’t believe it. Instead, they believe that if a person does something of merit, he or she will qualify to enter God’s kingdom. The problem, however, is that all of us are born with an old sin nature, and there is nothing we can do to change it.” (Dr. John G.Mitchell)
-“In our first birth we are ‘born of flesh’ and ‘born of water’; but in our second birth we are ‘born from above [again]’ and ‘born of the Spirit.’ Our first birth leads to death, but our second birth brings eternal life. The new birth is a new beginning that results in ‘newness of life.’ (Romans 6:4). (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)
Recap of the sermon from January 8th (John 3:1-15):
Of Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus that one must be born again (from above) to enter God’s kingdom the following writers comment:
-“How difficult it is for men to take a spiritual view of life, and to understand that the kingdom of God can never be brought in by political expedients and social reforms and natural processes; but that the first great need is a renewal of the heart and a divine transformation of each individual…” (Dr. Charles Erdman)
-“Man’s condition demands that he be born again if he is going to see or enter the kingdom of God. This is not a popular doctrine. Most people don’t believe it. Instead, they believe that if a person does something of merit, he or she will qualify to enter God’s kingdom. The problem, however, is that all of us are born with an old sin nature, and there is nothing we can do to change it.” (Dr. John G.Mitchell)
-“In our first birth we are ‘born of flesh’ and ‘born of water’; but in our second birth we are ‘born from above [again]’ and ‘born of the Spirit.’ Our first birth leads to death, but our second birth brings eternal life. The new birth is a new beginning that results in ‘newness of life.’ (Romans 6:4). (Dr. Warren Wiersbe)
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Thoughts For a New Year
Click here to download the sermon.
Recap of the January 1 sermon (Psalm 90:12; Philippians 3:12-16):
1. Principles for living wisely, prudently, each day:
-realize how brief life is, Psalm 90:12; James 4:13,14-“We are always complaining that our days are few and acting as though there would be no end to them.” (Seneca)
-make spiritual commitment a priority, especially in your youth, Ecclesiastes 12:1
-understand the priority of the eternal over the temporal, we must live for the eternal rather than the passing, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
-we must not waste time on the old way of living, but live wisely and speak wisely, Ephesians 5:15,16; Colossians 4:5,6
2. Paul was a man of one passion, one purpose, one ambition to be like Christ, Philippians 3:12-16.
3. He faced obstacles to fulfilling that ambition
-the past; past successes & achievements, past hurts, past failures, past sins.
-taking his eye off the goal; instead he kept his attention on what was before him, like a runner keeps their eye on the finish line.
-“’… forgetting those things which are behind’ does not suggest an impossible feat of mental and psychological gymnastics by which we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. Too many Christians are shackled by regrets of the past. They are trying to run the race by looking backward! No wonder they stumble and fall…’” (Warren Wiersbe)
Recap of the January 1 sermon (Psalm 90:12; Philippians 3:12-16):
1. Principles for living wisely, prudently, each day:
-realize how brief life is, Psalm 90:12; James 4:13,14-“We are always complaining that our days are few and acting as though there would be no end to them.” (Seneca)
-make spiritual commitment a priority, especially in your youth, Ecclesiastes 12:1
-understand the priority of the eternal over the temporal, we must live for the eternal rather than the passing, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
-we must not waste time on the old way of living, but live wisely and speak wisely, Ephesians 5:15,16; Colossians 4:5,6
2. Paul was a man of one passion, one purpose, one ambition to be like Christ, Philippians 3:12-16.
3. He faced obstacles to fulfilling that ambition
-the past; past successes & achievements, past hurts, past failures, past sins.
-taking his eye off the goal; instead he kept his attention on what was before him, like a runner keeps their eye on the finish line.
-“’… forgetting those things which are behind’ does not suggest an impossible feat of mental and psychological gymnastics by which we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. Too many Christians are shackled by regrets of the past. They are trying to run the race by looking backward! No wonder they stumble and fall…’” (Warren Wiersbe)
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