Sunday – April 28, 2024
Sunday April 28, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 59 – John 17:1-5 “Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer”
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Category Archives: Sermons
Sunday April 14, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 58 – John 16:25-33 “Overcoming Our Failures”
Sunday January 7, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 45 – John 13:1-17 “Washing the Disciples Feet”
Sunday December 31, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 44 – John 12:20-50 “The Greeks Seek Jesus”
Sunday December 24, 2023 Christmas 2024 Psalm 98 “Joy to the World”
Sunday October 22, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 35 – John 10:1-18 “The Good Shepherd”
Sunday October 8, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 34 – John 9:13-34
Sunday – October 8, 2023
Word On Worship – Sunday – October 8, 2023
John 9:24-25
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!“
Every college philosophy major has to take epistemology, which deals with the question, “How do you know what you know? How can we be sure about what we think we know? When anyone authoritatively states, “We know,” the obvious question is, “How do you know?” Often, when you examine the evidence, you discover that there are knowledgeable people on both sides of the issue. The obvious question remains, “How do you know what you think you know?”
When it comes to spiritual truth, the common view today is that there is no such thing as absolute truth in the spiritual realm. So any spiritual views that you hold are just a matter of your subjective opinion or personal experience, but there isn’t universal, absolute spiritual truth. If you claim that you know the truth and that all other views are wrong, you’ll be labeled as a narrow-minded bigot. Tolerance and open-mindedness, especially on spiritual matters, are the prevailing values of our day.
It’s easy to confuse religious traditions or rules with biblical mandates to the point where you assume that your traditions or rules are equal with Scripture. But you can end up denying a miracle, even if he’s standing right in front of you! Back in the hippie era, when most people dressed up in their nicest clothes to go to church, many older church members could not accept that a bearded, long-haired guy in tattered jeans, a T-shirt, and bare feet had really been converted. Why doesn’t he look like us and dress like us? But they never stopped to question what the Bible says about how a Christian should look and dress. Wrong presuppositions based on religious rules hinder true spiritual knowledge.
The problem we see historically has become even more popular and pervasive today. Today, in the rugged individualism and relativism of our culture, the truth is whatever I as an individual want and define it to be. Truth is my truth, truth as I want it. The first thing we must do is to confess our blindness, our rejection of the truth, and submit ourselves to Him who alone is the truth, the way, and the life. When we accept God’s Word as the truth, and Jesus as the Word, then we will confess Him to be the Son of God, just as the once-blind man did. And when we trust in Him as the One who died for our sins on the cross of Calvary (and rose from the dead), then we become a child of God, whose sins are forgiven, and whose destiny is heaven. I pray that you have come to trust in Him, and that if you have not, God will grant you no rest nor peace till you come to “see” the truth in Him who is the truth.
Sunday October 1, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 33 – John 9:1-12 “Have You Seen the Light”
Sunday – October 1, 2023
Word On Worship – Sunday – October 1, 2023
John 9:3-5
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
How do you treat people who are suffering? Many people pass by them as though they are not there. There is no social interaction, never say “Hello” or “Thanks” or “Pardon me.” The outcasts simply don’t exist, or so it appears from the way we live our lives. To many, they are a nuisance, and the way to avoid them is not to “see” them. This is exactly what you and I do when we come to an intersection where someone is begging. We look straight ahead, not “seeing them,” so that they will leave us alone. It is a signal we send, informing them that we are not planning to contribute.
And yet, with all the Bible teaches us about the glory of suffering, we tend to respond to suffering much like the disciples do. We think that when we are prospering and healthy, it is because of our own piety, and when we or someone else is suffering, we assume it is due to sin. We take credit if our children “turn out right,” and we look down on those whose children have gone astray. But suffering is not always meted out as punishment for sin.
So how should you view human suffering? Is it the occasion to look down upon the one suffering, to ignore that person’s agony and pain? Is it a time for you to engage in idle speculation about sin and guilt? Do you see it only as a time for showing compassion and love? Or do you see it as an opportunity for ministry in a way that fulfills our calling, which brings glory to God by accomplishing His works in this sinful, fallen, suffering world? Let us be exhorted by the words of our Lord to remember that the time for such works is indeed short.
The ultimate good is not our happiness, but the manifestation of God’s glory by the fulfillment of His purposes, the doing of His works. The ultimate good is not our pleasure, nor our freedom from pain, trials, or tribulation. He who has declared and demonstrated this is the same One who gave up the most in coming down from heaven, taking on human flesh, and taking upon Himself the sins of the world, suffering the wrath of God toward sinners on the cross of Calvary. Our ultimate good is knowing and loving God, and if God purposes to use pain and adversity in our lives to get us there, it is well worth the price.
Sunday September 24, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 32 – John 8:31-59 “The Parent Trap”
Sunday – September 24, 2023
Word On Worship – Sunday – September 24, 2023
John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
As Americans, we value freedom. We speak in terms of the principle of “liberty and justice for all.” Our First Amendment guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble, and freedom to petition the government for redress. Political freedom is a wonderful thing, but spiritual freedom is even better, because you can experience it no matter what sort of government you live under. So, how do we get that kind of freedom spiritually? The Jews with whom Jesus was speaking in our text thought that they were spiritually free through their descent from Abraham, just as many think they are free simply because they are Americans.
Here are some of the great paradoxes of Christianity: if you wish to save your life, you must lose it (Matthew 16:25); to be the greatest in the kingdom of God, you must become the servant of all (Matthew 18:4; 23:11). And here: if you wish to be truly “free,” you must surrender your life to Jesus Christ as His disciple, placing yourself under His Word. True freedom requires discipline in the Christian life. But how can freedom result from being under the authority God has established?
Let me use the illustration of a train. When is a train most “free”? When it is sitting on the ground “free” of any tracks, or when it is confined to a set of tracks? When are you and I most enslaved? It is when we think we are exercising our freedom. In serving ourselves and seeking our own interests, we become slaves to sin and Satan; and in submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ and His Word, we come to know the truth, which sets us free from the illusions and deceptions of the evil one. True freedom comes from knowing Christ through genuine faith and abiding in His word.
We are most free when we have surrendered our freedom to Jesus Christ, and submitted to Him and His Word as His disciples. It is through abiding in His Word that we come to know the truth, and the truth makes us free. I am especially impressed that these words of our Lord, “… and you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free” (verse 32) were not spoken to unbelievers, but to those who had already believed. Freedom is the fruit of discipleship, and discipleship is the result of abiding in our Lord’s Word, so that we know the truth. From what does the truth of our Lord’s Word set us free? It sets us free from sin and its inevitable result, death. We are set free from the lies of the devil, and from the distorted thinking of our culture and our fallen nature.