Two weeks ago, we looked at Jesus as our Good Shepherd. Today, we encounter the Good Shepherd tending to His sheep in what was their darkest hour yet. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 14:6
TITLE: The Remedy for a Troubled Heart
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: The Christian life is not about what you know, it’s about who you know.

POINTS:
I. Jesus is the Way
II. Jesus is the Truth
III. Jesus is the Life

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“Verse 1 says the disciples were deeply troubled in their hearts. Like a dark rain cloud overhead, the storm of discouragement and despair was gathering over the disciples. Understandably so, given the firehose of bad news in Ch. 13:
21—Jesus told them there was a traitor among them.
33—Jesus informs them he is leaving them. 
38—Just when you think it can’t get any worse, Jesus looks Peter square in the eyes and says, You will betray me, not once, not twice, but three times.”

“Imagine the cumulative effect of all this bad news in just one evening. The disciples' world is being turned upside down. They left everything for Jesus. They lived for Jesus. The disciples are thinking—What is going on?  Have you ever been there? If you haven’t, you will be soon enough. Maybe you are there as we speak.”

“The Christian life is not about what you know, it’s about who you know. In saying that, I’m not dismissing or downplaying theology. Theology matters, it’s just not the essence of the Christian life. You can know a lot of theology, but if you die without a relationship with Jesus, you still end up in hell. The Christian life is about believing and trusting, personally knowing Jesus.”

“That personal relationship with Jesus is also the ultimate remedy for a troubled heart. The remedy for a troubled heart isn’t found in a NYT Best-Seller, a professional’s couch, or even specific godly disciplines. It isn’t found in sage advice on how to eat, sleep, and live better. The remedy to a troubled heart is found in a relationship.”

“That’s what Jesus is doing in the sixth I Am statement of John’s gospel—giving us himself as the remedy for our troubled hearts.”

“After inviting the troubled disciples to trust and put their confidence in him, Jesus tells them what he is about to do—read verses 2-3.”

ILLUSTRATION: Jewish custom of groom preparing home for bride

“Jesus is saying, as a groom prepares a place to live happily ever after with his bride, I go and prepare a place for you to live with me in my Father’s presence forever. Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Jesus is actually comforting his disciples with his second coming. I am leaving you, but don’t let your hearts be troubled; you will be with me again.”

“Of course, this is a vision of heaven. The transcendent and eternal place to which Revelation 21-22 refers—the New and Heavenly Jerusalem, the eternal city of God —where sin, suffering, and sorrow give way to infinite blessing, joy, and glory.”

“Jesus says in 2-3, My departure from you is so that I can prepare a place for you in heaven. This preparation has nothing to do with moving furniture. It’s about the cross. It is through His imminent death, resurrection, and ascension that Jesus prepares and secures their place in the Father's house. One day, when the Father says to the Son, It’s time, Jesus will come back for his bride, the church, and together we will live in the presence of our God and Savior forever—And it’s all possible because of the cross!”

“No doubt, just like you and I would, Thomas is thinking on a purely horizontal level—he wants a map to the Father’s house because he doesn’t know the way. But Thomas does not need a map because he has a Messiah. Jesus looks at Thomas and says—I am the Way.”

“Like the claim I am the door in John 10, this is exclusive. In fact, at the end of 6, Jesus goes on to say—No one comes to the Father except through me. Here’s where Christianity offends the world. Isn’t it interesting? The most offensive word in the Bible is just three letters—THE. That intolerant, bigoted, narrow-minded definite article—THE.  Jesus says, I am THE way. Not A way, but THE way. Nor does Jesus say, I point you to the way. He says, He is THE way. THE only way.”

ILLUSTRATION: City Mapper App

“Jesus isn’t saying he points you to the way or shows you the way—He IS the Way. Jesus is not allowing any room for the Jewish leaders who are committed to the place of the Law and the significance of circumcision as the way to the Father’s house.”

“If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, the whole point of the gospel is that you can’t save yourself. You can’t DO or BE your way to heaven. Your sin is too great, and God is too holy. But God has mercifully provided a way of forgiveness and salvation. Heb 10:20 describes it as a new and living way in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus makes the way clear in 1—Believe in me.”

“‘I Am the Truth.’ What does that mean? It means if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is the one who shows us the character, heart, and love of God. God is not different than Jesus. If you want to know what God the Father is like, then look at His Son, Jesus. Watch him. Study him. Get to know him. The proof of this is Jesus' own words—read verses 7-11.”

“Phillip wants a theophany, he wants a burning bush moment—Jesus says, You’ve got one. You have seen the Father because you have seen me! The purposes and person of My Father have been revealed and fulfilled in my words and deeds, and nowhere greater than the deed I am about to do at the cross that will reveal His love for the world.”

“Every aspect of Jesus’s life reveals the truth about who God is and what His purposes are. That’s not esoteric Trinitarian theology. It’s everyday truth that matters: It means Jesus is utterly dependable. All he taught and all he did at the cross can be relied on absolutely. It means when your heart is troubled because, like the disciples, you don’t have all the answers, you go to the One who does, Jesus, who is the Truth. It means when you don’t understand the answers, like Thomas, you can trust Jesus’ words, because he is the Truth. It means in the moment of doubt, like Phillip, you can have certainty, because though you have not seen God, you know Him because you know Jesus, who is the very Word and Truth of God, and he has promised he will keep you in His Father’s love. But until then, he promises to intercede for you and ensure that all things work for your spiritual and sanctifying good until you are in the heavenly presence of God.” 

“This is what we preach to our troubled hearts, and in doing so, we apply the command of verse 1—Believe in me! And while this doesn’t make our troubles disappear, it runs the trouble out of our hearts according to the promises of Scripture.

ILLUSTRATION: Bored with castles and churches

“A real danger to Christians is that we become bored with God and look for something new to remedy our troubles…Jesus invites us—Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me, the way, the truth, the life.”

“We learned about this a few weeks ago when Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life in John 11, and we will talk more about it next week. For now, the point is that Jesus is the source and center of true life. He is the very life of God in the soul of man.”

“Listen, eternal life isn’t something you wait for. Yes, knowing Jesus changes your eternal destiny, but it also changes your everyday life. The moment you believe, you enter an unbreakable union with Christ, a life filled with an overflowing abundance of spiritual blessings here on earth. Your own life testifies to this: Consider your life before Jesus. How did you bear up under trouble?”

“Someone said—We live in a world of absolute doubt and uncertainty about a way forward, the reality of truth, and meaning of life. The church, however, responds with hope. (That’s us!) Objectively, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, for He is God incarnate. Only God can be all of those things. Subjectively, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life through the gracious gift of faith. That faith brings us into union with Christ, who reconciles us to the Father. That is the absolute truth, which all who are in Christ can enjoy with certainty. Amen! Yes, we can, even in the most troubling of troubles.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
John 1:1-2
Hebrews 1:3

QUOTES:
Andreas Köstenberger - “Jesus’ claim of himself being the way (with the corollary that no one can come to the Father but through him) is as timely today as it was when our Lord first uttered this statement. For in an age of religious pluralism, Christianity’s exclusive claims are considered inappropriately narrow, even intolerant, and pluralism itself has, ironically, become the criterion by which all truth claims are judged.”

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I Am the Vine - John 15:5

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

Here’s what Paul wants the Corinthians Church – and our Church – to grasp: The gospel alone is the basis and the gospel alone is the power for the Church. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 2:1–5
TITLE: 25 Years – Celebrating God’s Grace 
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: The gospel alone is the basis and the gospel alone is the power for the Church.

POINTS:
I. God’s Aim – Grounded in the Gospel
II. God’s Method – Power through Weakness

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“This is a letter the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church 3-4 years after it got planted. Paul is hearing some things, and he’s concerned enough to pen this letter. In just a few short years, the Church has become enamored with Corinthian culture. A culture that was infatuated with rhetoric and philosophy and fascinated with the oratory skills of those who spoke about these things.”

“He will eventually get into some serious corrections for the Church, but first, he wants to make sure some foundational things are understood.”

“Here’s an observation we can benefit from before we even get too deep into these verses. This Church is not 25 years old. This Church isn’t even 10 years old. Why is that important? Even a Church planted by the Apostle Paul can drift.  Churches like ours are made up of imperfect pastors and imperfect members. All are called to guard against drift or enchantment with anything this world offers. Just as  Paul is going to ground this Church in the gospel because they have drifted, we too must guard the rich deposit of the gospel.”

“Notice how he begins. Both in his manner and especially in what he proclaimed/what he preached, he was focused on Christ and Him crucified. In his manner, he was not going to prioritize what the world in that day prioritized – lofty  speech or worldly wisdom.”

“Note Paul’s shorthand on the gospel. Christ and Him  crucified. At the heart of what Paul proclaimed, at the center of the gospel message, is the Cross of  Jesus Christ. The gospel message is much more than the Cross, but in Christ crucified, Paul begins to bring clarity on what’s most important and what makes their Christianity distinct! The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the prism which all the other amazing things  God does for us come through. Why? Because in the Cross, God takes away all our pride and boasting.”

ILLUSTRATION - Prism picture  

“The crucifixion is the lens to our relationship with God, our sins forgiven, and power of the Holy Spirit.”

“Church, it’s so easy to drift. It can become all about your leaders, what your Church has accomplished, and your identity can become about how gifted your Church is. This is what happened in Corinth.”

“Paul wanted them to know nothing apart from Jesus and Him Crucified. Why so narrow? Here’s why … The gospel message, Biblically understood, takes the knees out of human pride. …Your basis, grounding, identity must be about what God has done and nothing about what you have done.”

“Even after our eyes are opened up to Christ crucified – As individuals and as a Church  we can easily drift and move away from the solid foundation of Christ crucified to the shifting ground of human accomplishment.”

“It happens to individuals, and it happens to Churches. Paul is a wise Pastor. He’s going to bring serious corrections but wants to ground them by bringing clarity first. Clarity on what the basics are, clarity on what their identity is. He wants this Church grounded in the gospel and very clear that their life in Christ is built upon what God has done for them, NOT what they are doing.”

“Church, it’s so easy to drift. We only drift away from the gospel. We never drift toward the gospel – it takes a vigorous and constant commitment to keep the main thing the main thing and make sure cultural creep doesn’t move us away from the foundational truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“God wills that the gospel ALONE shape, mold, impact, influence every part of your life – parenting, marriage,  work, conflict resolution, etc., etc. Corinthians, I came so you would be grounded in the powerful message of the gospel in every part of your life.”

“What Paul says in the next few verses explains more of the WHY behind his church planting and Pastoral goal of grounding this Church in the gospel. God, in His kindness, has preserved in Holy Scripture this example from the Corinthian Church for all of us to learn how quickly we can drift. We not only need to be grounded in the gospel, but we also need to know about the power in the gospel.” 

“Paul’s message of Christ crucified is the good news that Jesus was born of a virgin,  lived a perfect life as God in the flesh, was brutally beaten beyond recognition, and was unjustly crucified on a cross. When Christ hung on that cross between heaven and earth  He was the utmost picture of weakness. Even though He looked weak and helpless, the  Cross is the wisdom of God and the power of God.”

“What’s Paul getting at here? Paul wants the Corinthian Church to understand something very, very important. Not only is the gospel message the basis and grounding of our faith, but the gospel is also where the transforming power for change comes.”

“The gospel doesn’t just make power available; the gospel is the power of God! The gospel isn’t a message about the power of God, it is the power of God. Same thing Paul wrote to the Church in Rome.”

“God wants to drive this truth home to the Corinthian Church and to us because of two universal truths: 1. God hates pride – pride exalts man. 2. Man inherently believes he has the power to save himself.”

“God had to send His son  Jesus Christ, and provide the power to save IN THE message of the gospel to make it impossible for man to have any part of God’s saving grace.”

“Paul wants this Church, and God wants all His Churches, to know that the gospel ALONE  saves and is the power for salvation. Man will always want to elevate his ability, and the gospel will always be foolishness to those who are perishing.”

“God saving us through weakness is foolishness to the wisdom of the world because there’s no room for human pride to be inserted into the equation. The wisdom of the world wants to create and redefine what was accomplished on the cross so that, in some way, human effort, human achievement can be claimed.”

APPLICATION:
We build: We build on the gospel alone. It must influence and penetrate every part of our life. It must be our identity. We must guard from drifting.

We Boast: But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ … Galatians 6:14
Paul definitely boasts – but boasts in the cross of Christ. Let that be our boast.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 1:16
1 Corinthians 1:17-30
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
1 Corinthians 2:3-5

QUOTES:
Paul Tripp - “Every unredeemed sinner attaches his identity, hopes and dreams, and meaning and purpose to something other than God. It might not be money. It might be power, control,  fame, physical health, intellectual gifts, and so on. For a while, these things satisfy our hearts and make us feel as though we don’t need a Savior. But they always leave us empty.”

John Piper - “… if we are following the dictates of merely human wisdom, the claim that the King and Creator of the world was executed like a criminal because we are such horrible sinners will simply be regarded as an intolerable foolishness.”

Gordon Fee - “A final purpose clause in v. 5 gives the reason for all this, that their faith might be of God and in God alone and not in human wisdom.”

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
King Of Love
You Made Us Your Own
Man Of Sorrows
It Is Well With My Soul
The Solid Rock

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I Am the Way and the Truth and the Life - John 14:6

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

Today, we want to draw your attention to three unimaginable and unchanging truths about Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 10:11-18
TITLE: Our Good Shepherd
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
I. The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life
II. The Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep
III. The Good Shepherd is On a Mission

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“Scripture is filled with pictures that help us understand our Savior and apply what we know about Him to ordinary life. We call them metaphors, and they are truly a gift from God.”

“One of the Bible's most common, powerful, and beautiful metaphors is the imagery of Jesus as a shepherd. It's one thing to speak of Jesus as King, Lord, and the Righteous One, but nothing captures the tender and compassionate heart of Christ for his people like the imagery of a shepherd. In the words of Timothy Laniak—The imagery is not just nice, it's necessary.”

“Five times in our passage, Jesus reminds us that he laid down his life. It's the great theme of his teaching and the grand expression of the Good Shepherd's goodness. According to 17, it's the reason the Father's eternal love for the Good Shepherd —in obedience to and in accord with the Father's will—He laid down his life for his sheep.”

“[This image is] a contrast to the hired hand who loves himself, not the sheep. Jesus says a couple things about the hired hand here. First, he is not a shepherd and second, he doesn't own the sheep. He's an employee. As an employee, his care for the sheep go as far as his ability to get a paycheck goes. He doesn't truly care about the sheep, he's not invested in the sheep, he's just trying to pay the bills.”

“So when danger comes, when wolves—and in context, the wolves are the Pharisees, but today beginning with pastors, it  includes anyone who would use and abuse, fleece and deceive the church instead of loving and caring for the church—when those wolves come around, the hired hand is gone. After all, it's just a few sheep. Risking his own limb or life isn't worth it. Danger is above his paygrade.”

“Now, in fairness to the hired hand, his logic is pretty solid. His life is worth way more than a few stinky, dumb sheep. The shepherd's life is worth way more than a few sheep. Lose a few sheep, buy a few more. But don't lose your life over them. The only explanation is this—The shepherd loves the sheep that much.”

ILLUSTRATION: “In The Line of Fire Movie”, Has any President ever taken a bullet for an agent?

“That's what the Good Shepherd has done for his sheep. The good shepherd didn't merely risk his life, he laid down his life on the cross where he died, as a substitute for his sheep, so that his sheep could be rescued from the wolves of sin, death, and judgment, and instead, according to the promise of John 5:24—have abundant and eternal life in the presence of God.”

“In just about anything I've read about ancient shepherding, two things are consistent. First, Sheep are dirty, defenseless, and dumb. They are desperate for a shepherd.”

“Second, the shepherd knew his sheep personally. In the first century, sheep were raised primarily for wool, not food. So it was not unusual for a shepherd to spend years with the same sheep. The shepherd knew his sheep. He named them. They were like pets. A good shepherd could even pick his sheep out in a crowd.”

ILLUSTRATION: Shepherd pastor who “knew his sheep so well he could spot four lambs out of a flock from a moving train.”

“As Jesus reveals himself as the good shepherd, he gets very personal. He uses the verb know four times in these two verses. In the NT there are several words translated know. For example, the know in 4/5 is cognitive. But Jesus uses a different word—genosko in 14/15. It can be used to refer to the intimacy between and husband and wife. It's used to describe God's unique relationship with Israel in Amos 3:2 where God says—You only have I known (or loved) of all the families of the earth. Far more than cognitive, this knowing is relational and intimate.” 

“What's amazing here is that Jesus grounds his relationship with his sheep in the eternal and mutual affections of the Trinity. Did you catch that? Jesus sets his Trinitarian attention and affections upon lowly sheep. How humbling is that? How scandalous is that? How astounding is that?”

“The Bible doesn't flatter us—it calls us sheep. Jesus knows how messy we are. He knows how defenseless, and yes, dumb, we are. Jesus knows the secrets of your heart. He knows my sinful tendencies. He knows our weaknesses and shortcomings. Yet, as the Good Shepherd, Jesus says As much as the Father loves me and I love my Father, I love you! If you are doubting the loving care and concern of your Savior, doubt no more.”

“Jesus loves and cares for you with divine affection and attention. He KNOWS you. He KNOWS your need. He KNOWS the condition of your heart. He KNOWS your struggle.”

ILLUSTRATION: A cast sheep

“The Bible calls a cast sheep a bruised reed, someone who is spiritually weak and struggling. Isaiah 42:3 says—A bruised reed he will not break. Did you come here a bruised reed today? Your Good Shepherd KNOWS. Look to your Good Shepherd. That's what sheep do.”

ILLUSTRATION: Sheep are known for looking to their shepherd in the midst of danger

“Look to your Good Shepherd. He will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). He will always strengthen you (2 Corinthians 12:9). He perfectly provides for you (Romans 8:32). He is good, and he loves to pour out his goodness into your soul. Humble yourself, turn from your sin, and look to your Good Shepherd.”

“Last week, I mentioned two kinds of sheepfolds—Country and City. The City sheepfolds were communal, meaning multiple flocks shared the pen. The way this worked was that the shepherds would hire a gatekeeper to watch over the sheepfold at night. In the morning, when the shepherd came to lead his flock into pasture, the gatekeeper, recognizing the shepherd, would allow him into the sheepfold so he could gather his flock for pasture.”

“The sheepfold in 1-5 represents Judaism. The sheep in the pen are Jewish. And the point is that Jesus is the true shepherd—over and against the Pharisees, who were religious leaders in Israel, they were the robbers and thieves, better yet, the wicked shepherds of Ezekiel 34 that left God's flock scattered and vulnerable—Jesus is the true shepherd who calls the Jewish people out of Judaism to follow him, remember last week in 7-10—the door, the only true way to God.”

“Look back down to 16 where Jesus says—I have other sheep who are not of this fold. If Jesus has other sheep who aren't Jewish, he must be talking about the Gentiles. And if he is talking about the Gentiles, then, when he says I am the Good Shepherd, he is revealing himself as the fulfillment of the OT prophecy in Ezekiel 34.”

“Moses was a good shepherd. David was a good shepherd. But they were a shadow of the true Good Shepherd to come. From Isaiah to Ezekiel to Micah, the prophets foretold of the ultimate Shepherd.”

“This is the Good Shepherd's mission: To call all his sheep, chosen before the foundations of the world, to experience the Spirit's work of regeneration, which allows them to hear and respond by genuine faith to the shepherd's voice when he calls them to himself through gospel proclamation. And he has called them to care for, strengthen, and protect them as his flock.”

“This is the foundation of the Great Commission in Matthew 28. This is why we are planting a church on the east side. This is why we have asked one pastor to dedicate himself to leading us in evangelism.”

“Because the Good Shepherd, who has been and is always so good to us, has graciously joined us to his mission of saving sinners and building his church. As his sheep, we hear his voice calling us to mission, and we follow him into the mission field. The Good Shepherd has other sheep in this neighborhood, in Oro Valley, South Tucson, Rita Ranch, Vail, Sierra Vista, Marana, Catalina, The Foothills, Green Valley, Sahuarita.”

“…this mission is guaranteed. Christ cannot fail. He laid down his life and he took it back up again. He is indestructible with all authority under heaven and earth to finish the mission of gathering his sheep into one blessed flock. The Good Shepherd himself guarantees it.”

“God saves all He chooses before the foundations of the world and Jesus keeps and protects every one of them, not losing one of them, but bringing all of them to that great day in Revelation 7 where his sheep will live under the Good Shepherd's eternal care.”

“Sheep Gathered. Mission Accomplished. Eternity Enjoyed.”

ILLUSTRATION: Richard Burton, “I know Psalm 23; he knows the shepherd.”

APPLICATION:
Q. Do you know the Good Shepherd? If you do, have you strayed from him? Today, by faith, run to the Good Shepherd. Cling to the Good Shepherd. He's your Shepherd and he's GOOD.

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Ezekiel 34:20-24
Revelation 7:17

QUOTES:
F.F. Bruce - “The good shepherd shows himself to be a good shepherd because the welfare of the sheep, not his own, is his primary care.”

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Come Praise And Glorify
We Are Yours Forever
All I Have Is Christ
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
In Christ Alone

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Celebration Sunday - 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

In our text today, Jesus chooses a door to communicate the wonder and richness of the gospel to us. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 10:9
TITLE: I Am The Door
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Jesus says I am the door. Anyone who enters through me will get it all—abundance today and eternity tomorrow.

POINTS:
I. A Promise of Eternal Life
II. An Offer of Abundance

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

ILLUSTRATION: the door of reconciliation in Ireland, “chance your arm”

“Doors don't typically get that kind of notoriety or carry that type of significance. At the end of the day, a door is, well, a door. Yet, in our text today, Jesus chooses a door to communicate the wonder and richness of the gospel to us.”

“Imagine if every time we walked through a door, we thought of God's love for us in the gospel.”

“Jesus has just healed a man who had been blind from birth in Ch. 9. As this man celebrated and worshiped God for his new life, the Pharisees didn't handle it well. They condemned Jesus and cast out the healed man. In Chapter 10, Jesus responds to the Pharisees. To make his point, Jesus talks about a shepherd and his sheep, very familiar imagery in the agrarian society of first-century Palestine.”

“In 1-5, Jesus contrasts himself with the Pharisees, who are likened to robbers and thieves. His point is that he is the great shepherd calling his flock to himself. He calls his sheep, and his sheep hear and respond to his voice. More on that next week. In 6, John tells us the Pharisees aren't getting Jesus' point. So, in 7, Jesus says, 'Let me put it another way.'“

“Now, key to the text is the sheepfold Jesus mentions in 1. A sheepfold was a pen meant to protect the sheep at night. There were two kinds of sheepfolds: CITY and COUNTRY. Next week, we will talk about the CITY sheepfold. It's the country sheepfold Jesus has in mind in our text today. A country sheepfold was a small, sometimes ad hoc pen with a small entrance where the sheep would spend the night for protection. Because a sheepfold didn't have an actual door, the shepherd would actually sleep in the opening, literally becoming the door. If a sheep wanted to get in or out of that pen, it had to go through the shepherd, who had become a human door.”  

“Jesus is pretty straightforward—I am the door. Note the singularity. He doesn't say—I am A door or one of many doors. He says—I am THE door.”

“Notice what the door is not. The door is not certain behavior. It's not the sacraments. It's not the creeds. The door is not homeschooling. It's not a specific doctrine. The door is not your family. It's not a particular upbringing. It's not your parents or your spouse's faith. There is only one door, and that door is Jesus.”

“This is about as anti-American as you can get. We live in a pluralistic society where the default belief is that there are many ways to God. They say we are all on a spiritual journey and Jesus is just one option. To believe anything different is to be an arrogant, unloving, close-minded person. But the Bible is clear. Jesus will say the same thing in Chapter 14.”

“The exclusive claim that Jesus is the only way to God isn't our design. We don't determine the nature of the door. We're not in charge of the door. God is. And when Jesus says I AM the door, he speaks with the authority of God because he is himself God in the flesh.”

“This is critical for courage and confidence in evangelism. It's not arrogant and judgmental to give people truth. Don't believe that lie. It's loving. What's arrogant is to think you can come to God in the way you choose. What's unloving is to let someone believe they can because that makes them author of their salvation and a robber and thief trying to enter the kingdom of God through another door.”

“Now, notice what Jesus says in 9—I am the door. If anyone enters by me he will be saved. Saved from what? John 3:16 tells us. We are saved from perishing. We are saved from being eternally condemned by God for our sins. We are saved from His holy judgment and divine wrath that is expressed in eternal hell.”

“How is this possible? Jumping down to next week's text in 11—Jesus lays down his life for his sheep. On the cross, Jesus stood in my place. I was the sinner, I was the one deserving condemnation. But he chose to be my substitute, bearing all my sins and absorbing God's wrath meant for me. God treated Jesus as if he had lived my life of sin. And now he treats me as if I have lived Christ's life of righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).”

ILLUSTRATION: Houdini and jail cell in British Isles

“Jesus is saying to you right now, by faith, lay all your efforts and strategies down and lean all your weight on me. Believe in me and you will be saved. There is no other way—I am the door to eternal life.”

“In 9, Jesus says those who enter God's presence through him will go in and out and find pasture. Again, rich imagery of sheep life. Freely moving about, going in for safety and out for food and nourishment in the pastures. But Jesus sums up the meaning of going in and out and finding pasture with just one word at the end of 10—Abundance. I came as the door that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

“We could translate it as extraordinary or, better yet, over the top. I came that you may have life that is over the top. (Grammarly suggested I change over the top to abundant). Jesus is saying I came that you may have life that you couldn't imagine in your wildest dreams.”

“Jesus is not talking about a life absent of health or financial problems. An abundant life is not about having a lot of stuff. Jesus' words are not an apologetic for a prosperity gospel. It's not a lifetime exemption from sorrow and suffering. The very one who promises an over-the-top life also promises a life of trials and persecution. And Jesus isn't saying live your best life now. We aren't pursuing Utopia in this life. The ultimate, over-the-top life awaits us in heaven. However, Jesus' promise is also for today. The going in and out and finding pasture in 9 is a picture of our everyday life in Christ.”

“There are numerous words in the Greek for life. The one Jesus uses in 10 is ‘zoe’. More than mere quantity, it denotes a quality of life lived in the present. That quality is a life abundant with God's presence, power, and promises. It's a life abundant with: 
- Abiding joy in the midst of challenging health situations
- Inward peace, even when you are about to lose it all
- Genuine satisfaction amid change, loss, and sorrow
- Spiritual strength when life has left you fragile
- Ephesians 1 says it's a life filled with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies”

“See, trials will occur. Loss will come. Suffering will happen. I don't have to tell you this. And I don't have to tell you how much our trials, loss, and suffering cloud our vision of the abundance we have in Christ. We need to preach this to ourselves and one another tirelessly: When you are in Christ, you can rise above it all because His Spirit lives in you as his adopted child, giving you joy, strength, and hope every day as you go in and out, finding pasture, a life of spiritual abundance that transcends all earthly matters.”

ILLUSTRATION: Father and Son's art collection—Whoever gets the son gets it all!

“Jesus says I am the door. Anyone who enters through me, will get it all—abundance today and eternity tomorrow.”

APPLICATION:
Q. By faith, have you entered through the door? Have you believed in Jesus? You've been attending church for years. You've seen the door. You've heard of the door. You can articulate the door. But have you placed your faith in Jesus, who is the door?

Q. Let me ask you: In times of trial, what do you fall back on? What do you depend on for your happiness? How would you define abundance?

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
John 14:6
Acts 4:12

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “Jesus has selected this emblem, I should think, partly that it may often come before our notice. You will not go out of this place without seeing a door; you will not get into your own house without seeing a door; and when you are inside, you will not get into your parlor without seeing a door; and when you go up to bed, you must pass through the door. When you rise tomorrow morning and start to go out to your work, you will have to open a door, — two doors probably; and, when you reach your work, there is pretty sure to be another door to be entered. Doors meet your gaze almost everywhere, so our Lord Jesus Christ seems to say to you, "I will meet you wherever you are; anywhere and everywhere, I will speak with you, and plead with you. I will make the door of every room in your house, and the door of every cupboard, too, to preach a little sermon to you, as you shall be reminded by it that 'I am the door'"

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Rejoice
My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
There is One Gospel
Rise My Soul The Lord Is Risen
We Receive

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I Am the Good Shepherd - John 10:11

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

We, His children, His followers need to grasp that if our Savior has power over our worst enemy – death – He has power over anything less than death. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 11:25
TITLE: I am the Resurrection and the Life
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: God’s glory displayed in resurrection power transforms all our sorrows.

POINTS:
I. Trusting Jesus When Perplexed (1-16)
II. Trusting Jesus’ Compassion (17-37)
III. Trusting Who Jesus is

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

ILLUSTRATION: The world’s way of embracing death - unbelievers borrowing what we believe about death after spending no time understanding it in their life.

“John opens up this story by placing us at Mary and Martha’s home, and for the first time, we discover they are the sisters to (most likely) their young brother Lazarus. Lazarus is dying, so the sisters send word to Jesus.”

“Look closely at v. 3 to see how the message is sent to Jesus. The word Jesus receives is carefully stated, ‘He whom you love is ill.’ Jesus immediately responds in V. 4. The Savior knows the deeper purpose behind Lazarus’ sickness – Lazarus won’t die – God’s glory will be on display – the Son of God will be glorified through this.”

“We see in Scripture that Jesus loved this family.  The sisters don’t send a message like ‘you know how much Lazarus and we love you.’ Clearly, there is history and relationship here.  In their interactions over the years, they knew the Savior; it was clear He loved them.  So a quick point of application – in your walk with Jesus, do you ponder that He loved you?  He loved you and set His affection on you – His saving grace! Our love for Him is in response to His love for us.” 

“Besides living in the good of this truth – this is crucial as you face life in this fallen world, life where you will encounter difficulty and sorrow.  How do you view your relationship with Him?  Is it about your imperfect love for Him or is it about His perfect love for you?”

“So we know God’s purpose in this sorrow the family is experiencing, we know John puts the accent on the reality that Jesus loved this family, but the next scene, on the surface at least, doesn’t seem to be consistent with what we’ve seen so far.”

“This can be one of the most perplexing actions you see in Jesus.  He loves Lazarus, He loves Mary/Martha, but upon hearing that Lazarus is ill, he stays two more days.  Most of the time, even in our culture, when you get the 911 call – Mom might be down to a few days – you'd better get down there.”

“Why do we see perplexing situations in Scripture?  To get us to stop, slow down, and ask some questions.  Here’s a good question at this point in the story – who is the central player? It’s not Lazarus. Jesus, the Son of God is the center of this story.”

“How do you do when God delays in answering your cries for help? As a believer you know you are “loved by God” you are saved, you experienced/tasted what it means to be transformed by His saving grace – Then you face a sorrowful situation.  Maybe it’s death, sickness, a seriously bad report about your lost and rebellious child.  You cry out to Jesus . . . and crickets. You don’t hear anything, nothing changes. YOU ARE PERPLEXED. How do you respond? It’s so easy to doubt He’s there. It’s not abnormal to have doubts about God’s love creep in, truths you’ve been taught and believe seem to evaporate.  Friends attempts to comfort you with truths like ‘God’s ways are not our ways’ sound so hollow.”    

“This story can help you and I in the midst of sorrow.  Waiting on the Savior.  Knowing the truth of John 11, knowing what we will see next absolutely has the transforming power to equip you when you are in Martha’s place.”

“Jesus' timing is always perfect. He is never late. He loves you and I just like He loved Lazarus.  He is always central in each of our stories and His purpose is always to display His glory.”

“If you are not a Christian, may God’s display of love for you in the Cross cause you to bow your knee and repent of your sins and put your trust fully in Jesus Christ. God’s glory displayed in resurrection power transforms all our sorrows.” 

“Two things to note about this scene.  FIRST, 4 days is not an insignificant number.  Rabbis taught that the human spirit hovered over its body for 3 days. After the 4th day, death was permanent.  Jesus' glory would be manifested in resurrection power with no human explanation whatsoever.”

“SECOND, Jewish funerals were nothing like what we experience when we go to a funeral. In our culture, funerals are quiet, somber, respectful of those family members who have survived the deceased person.  Not so in Isreal.  Jesus would be coming into a loud scene.  Even the poorest Israelite was required to hire two professional mourners. People cried and wailed loudly.  This would have been a loud and chaotic scene.”

“In V. 22, Jesus states the truth that He knows what will happen.  Martha, not quite getting it, speaks of her brother’s eternal resurrection. Now, before we read V. 25, think about how odd this would have sounded to Mary.  Lazarus is dead, and Martha and Mary have been mourning for days.  READ V. 25. Jesus locates the resurrection and the eternal life IN Him! He states clearly to Martha that resurrection power and resurrection life is in Him.  It’s not just something he is able to do, it’s not something outside of Him – it’s who He is! Resurrection and life are in Himself!” 

“He restates the same thing in a different way.  If you live and believe in me, you shall never die. In Christ, you will experience an earthly death, but it’s nothing compared to the indestructible eternal life there is in Me!”

“Physical death, biological death, cannot destroy the eternal life we have in Christ.”

“Jesus knows there’s a day coming as He approaches Jerusalem where He will die a bloody death and rise from the grave. He knows that’s coming.  He also knows these words He’s saying to Martha will come alive!  So He asks her directly – Do you believe this?”

“There’s no more important question for each of us today than this!  When you are face to face with the tragedies of sin and death in this life – what you believe will be all that you hold on to.”

“Our English word ‘wept’ doesn’t capture what is going on.  This was no tearing up, Jesus is not some phony professional mourners there faking His emotion with a slight grin on His face because He knows what’s about to happen.  This was not a weeping that you quickly recover from. Jesus is sobbing, Jesus is weeping the kind of sloppy weeping when grief takes over. Then we see in V. 38 that Jesus approaches the tomb and is deeply moved again. Two times the text says Jesus is deeply moved and one time simply, Jesus wept.  So it begs the question – If Jesus already stated the purpose of His delay, if He knew what the outcome God the Father had ordained, why such a display of compassion? What was it that deeply moved Him?  Greatly troubled Him?  The loss of Lazarus?  The grief the sisters were experiencing? No, Jesus is troubled because He created the world perfect, and death wants part of it!  Jesus was there in the beginning! The highest and most perfect part of the creation was man, created in the image of God. Created to love and worship God and be in fellowship with Him!! Sin and death entered and have been ravaging His creation!”  

“Seeing what death has done, ravaging this family, moves Him to compassion.  Seeing cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes in children, chronic fatigue syndrome, the car accident that took your child’s life. Sin destroying marriages, teenagers rejecting all that Mom and Dad have taught them about Jesus. What many of us forget when we face sorrows and difficulties in life is that Jesus is the same to us as He was to Mary and Martha. The way Jesus responds at this funeral is the way He responds to you and me at our funerals.” 

“Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  His compassion in what you are walking through doesn’t stop because He’s ascended into heaven.  What He’s like with the two sisters and their brother is how He is with your sorrow.”

“Notice Martha’s hesitation in v. 39 – We are all Martha’s even with Jesus’ Word given to us. Even after all He’s done, our faith is imperfect.  We have moments of functional atheism. Unbelief.  Jesus, yet again, is patient with her and reminds her of the word He gave her.”

“Jesus calls Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus who is the resurrection and the life commands death to back down and powerfully raises a dead man. He who is THE LIFE gives Lazarus life.  He powerfully displays the glory of God in the Son. Lazarus' cells miraculously come alive, his heart begins to beat. Everything that was dead in his body now submits to Jesus – who is the resurrection and the life!”

“Nobody would have been expecting this scene.  In all the chaos Jesus speaks boldly for Lazarus to come forward.  People would have gone from chaos to silence, gasping at what they saw.  No one would have anticipated this outcome.  Clearly people were stunned because when Lazarus comes out, Jesus needs to instruct the stunned people to unbind him.”

“We, His children, His followers need to grasp that if our Savior has power over our worst enemy – death – He has power over anything less than death.  You can trust Him with lesser sorrows/lesser difficulties.  You can trust Him even with the simple challenges of living in a fallen world.”

“We, His children, His followers need to grasp that if our Savior has power over our worst enemy – death – He has power over anything less than death.  You can trust Him with lesser sorrows/lesser difficulties.  You can trust Him even with the simple challenges of living in a fallen world. For my peer group, it’s recognizing our bodies are falling apart.  As we age, we need to press into the reality that biological decline and eventually biological death aren’t more powerful than the Son of God, who is the resurrection and life. For younger groups, it can’t be the many challenges of parenting.  Teens it might be that you’re recognizing your parents are sinners too. In these moments, we need John 11 so we can trust Jesus with who He is: The resurrection and the life.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
1 John 4:9–10

QUOTES:
JC Ryle - “The chapter is one of the most remarkable in the New Testament. For grandeur and simplicity, for pathos and solemnity, nothing was ever written like it.”

Paul Tripp - “Our willingness to wait on God means we really do believe that he exists, that he really is wise, that he is good all of the time and in every way, and that he will ultimately do for us, in us, and around us everything he has promised.”

RC Sproul - “Biological death doesn’t disturb the continuity of the living personal existence for God’s people in the slightest.  Once a person believes in Christ, the life of Christ is poured into that person and that life is eternal.” 

David Clarkson - “His glorified body is now above suffering, but His heart suffers still. So far, perfect compassion is a kind of suffering. His love is such that the grievances of His people touch His heart as if they were His own.”

Charles Spurgeon - “If Jesus had never wept, He could never wipe away my tears.”

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
How Vast The Love
This Is Amazing Grace
We Are Yours Forever
Here Is Love
Because He Lives

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I Am the Door - John 10:9

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

On that day, in the treasury, a real place in real time, what he says about Himself will stand as true in every place and for all time! “Jesus spoke to them,” and He now speaks the same to us: “I AM THE light of the world!” Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 8:12
TITLE: Jesus, The Light of the World
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Because Jesus is the light of life, follow him!

POINTS:
1. Jesus: “I am the light of the world.”
2. Jesus: “Follow me.”

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“The scene was spectacular! - Vs 20. There were 13 trumpet-shaped chests “in the treasury” (for taxes and offerings). The treasury would have been in the Court of the Women, the largest court on the Temple grounds - just inside the outer Court of the Gentiles. During the Feast of Tabernacles, four massive 75-foot fiery candle opera lamps that stood throughout the Court were ignited every night. They lit the sky with dazzling light, refracting and flashing in and from the Temple Mount, illuminating the sky above the Temple and throughout Jerusalem. With torches in hand, the people filled the court dancing and singing at the top of their lungs every night during the feast under the light of these great lamps.”

“And it is THERE, in Jerusalem, on the temple mount, in the treasury where Jesus, surveying the lamps either being extinguished or being prepared for that evening, declared: ‘I AM THE light of the world.’”

“Jesus does ask, Who do the people say that I am? Who do you say that am? However, as we learned last week, we are intentionally focusing on the “I AM” statements of Jesus. In these, we learn what is paramount in our understanding, our knowing, and our faith. What Jesus says about Himself must inform whatever we would ever confess and believe about him. What we believe about Him and who we say He is must be informed first and forever framed by HIM and by who He says He is.”

“What is Jesus saying about himself here in John 8:12? What does He mean that He is the light of the world?”

“During their exodus, the LORD led and protected the people of Israel in the wilderness with a pillar of light, day and night. The celebration of this light is happening during this Feast of Festivals - Jesus is saying, that light that led you, I AM that light!”

“‘I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ Jesus: I am the Servant of Isaiah 49 - I AM the light… I am the light of the world! This light of Isaiah is the Messiah! Jesus: I AM THE MESSIAH!”

“With no ambiguity. No couching of words. No over-explaining. No hidden message. A Cypher is not needed. With no reading between the lines necessary. Jesus is saying, ‘I am the Promised One of Israel, shining light into this world, bringing salvation and forgiveness.’”

“As soon as Jesus declares that He is ‘the light of the world,’ he immediately announces the imperative ‘FOLLOW ME’ followed by the immediate implication: If you follow me, you ‘will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!’”

“FOLLOW ME - Believe in Me. Place your trust… your faith in me… submit your life to me. These are some of the most gracious words that you or I could ever hear from Jesus! ‘FOLLOW ME' - These words save a man. They change the most stubborn of men. They call a man dead in sin to repentance and eternal life!”

“Biblically, this darkness IS this world ‘alienated from the life of God.’ This is a“domain of darkness”. The darkness is a realm… a kingdom… of sin and death, lost without God. WHY should you follow Jesus? Why MUST you follow Jesus? Because if you will not, you will forever have only darkness… what John Calvin simply called A VERY DARK NIGHT.”

“Without Jesus, all we have is this ‘very dark night.’ Without Jesus, we walk in darkness! AND we are not passively living in the darkness. We love the darkness and we hate the light.”

“HE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. Jesus, the light of the world, is standing right in front of you! Oh, hear the warning of verses 21-28. (Vs. 21) If you remain in the darkness, we cannot go where Jesus has gone - heaven! (Vs. 21) If you remain in darkness, you will die in your sin! BECAUSE WE ARE ALREADY DEAD IN OUR SIN.”

“Heed the fuller warning: These men were men of piety, with all of the right religious answers, all of the holy living, all their ducks appear to be in order, but open the chambers of their heart and you would find only darkness. If we do not turn from our sin in repentance and follow Jesus, we will remain in this world.”

“The cross both saves and reveals. The cross exalts Jesus AND reveals who Jesus is! You may refuse to follow Jesus, but you will know who He is! When He was lifted up on the cross, it was clear… He is the light of the world. He is the Son of God. And the day is coming that you know Him… you will bow down before Him… IF you reject the Savior, all that will remain is darkness in judgment!”

“BUT, the Cross of Jesus does not only judge! The GOOD NEWS IS THAT the Cross of Jesus brings salvation! Because Jesus is the light of the world, and if you FOLLOW JESUS, He will rescue you from the darkness: John 1:5”

“A Savior! Jesus, the Lamb of God, in an “unflinching self-sacrifice” dies for the welfare of men. Jesus’ light shines brightest from the cross like a lighthouse throwing its beams across the dark waters of human guilt and misery. Eternity dawns on us when we hear Him speak!”

“Left in the darkness, we would have only death forevermore. BUT, NOW basking in the light of Jesus, we will get LIFE FOREVERMORE.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Exodus 13:21-22
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 119:105
Ezekiel 1:4, 13, 26-28
Isaiah 49:6
John 1:4
Isaiah 9:2
Ephesians 4:18-19
Colossians 1:13
John 3:19-20

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “Eternity dawned on His hearers while He spoke…Oh! beloved, the light of Christ comes out brightest upon the cross. Someone called it the Ancient Lighthouse of this world’s sea. So it is. This is the lighthouse that throws its beams across the dark waters of human guilt and misery, warns men of the rocks, and guides them to the haven. A Savior!”

APPLICATION:
SINNERS, FOLLOW HIM - You MUST believe in Jesus. Your situation could not be more precarious and desperate. What is your guilt? Sex? Greed? Self-worship? Idolatry? Gluttony? What is your misery and sorrow? Death has brought you loss. Bitterness drains your life. Regret has you bowed down in darkness. You have Jesus, the light of the world, shining into all of it! Follow Jesus and you will be rescued from the darkness, and you will have Him, and He will pull you out and into everlasting life!

SAINTS, FOLLOW HIM - marvel that you have been rescued from the darkness - the light of Christ has shone on you! 1 Peter 2:9–10 “…proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 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.” We have the joy, in following Jesus, of marveling in Him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light!

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Your Words Are Wonderful (Psalm 119)
Praise His Name (Psalm 148)
Our Song From Age To Age
Christ Our Treasure
As You Go

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I am the Resurrection and the Life - John 11:25

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

Today, we begin a series on the I Am sayings of Jesus. Jesus famously asked his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" This series is not about who we say Jesus is. We will spend the next seven weeks hearing what Jesus says about himself. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The I Am Sayings of Jesus
TEXT: John 6:35
TITLE: Supreme Satisfaction
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: More than providing our daily bread, Jesus came to be our eternal bread.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

“In one sense, we can never be closer to Jesus (gospel union). In another sense, we can never be close enough to Jesus. My prayer is that as we get to know Jesus more through these sayings, we fall more in love with Jesus, live more passionately for Jesus, and more courageously share the good news about Jesus with others.”

“Jesus' stunning claim comes as he is conversing with the crowds. BTW, so stunning is Jesus' claim by the end of the scene, even some of his disciples desert him.”

“A day earlier, Jesus fed 5k people (15-20k including women and children) with just five loaves of bread and two fish. And get this—there were leftovers. It was a miracle that revealed Christ's unmatched power and authority.”

“The next morning, the people run Jesus down again. They don't have questions about the feeding miracle. They aren't curious about its significance or implications. They aren't in awe of Jesus. They want breakfast. They aren't looking for a Savior; they are looking for a meal ticket.”

“The crowd responds in 28 by asking, "What must we do?" It's a familiar question, isn't it? What do I need to do? We are doers. We are self-sufficient. Surely I need to do something to get something. It's a daily fight to rest in Christ's work for us and the Spirit's power in us.”

“In 29-33, Jesus essentially says, You don't do anything. You can't do anything. Like the manna your fathers ate in the wilderness, this life-giving bread comes not from man but from God. Of course, the crowd loves that idea, so in 34 they say, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’”

“The idea conveyed by the word "always" is continually or repeatedly. The crowd is still misunderstanding Jesus. Their mindset is stuck in a transactional mode. Ok, Sir, we'll meet you right back here with our baskets every morning. But Jesus says, I'm right here. Look at 35—I am the bread of life.”

“Revealing himself with the same name God revealed himself to Moses with at the Burning Bush, Jesus reveals not only his deity, but His sufficiency to not only meet their physical needs, but infinitely more, the spiritual life and nourishment that is essential but beyond their ability.”

“Remember what Jesus said earlier—look at 33 with me. Jesus says, I am the HE. I am the true bread my Father sends from heaven. Get your minds off bread loaves. Get your mind off earthly needs. Get your thoughts off the temporal. Get your eyes off the dot (here and now) and see the line (eternal). Think spiritually. I am the ultimate bread, the bread in the wilderness foreshadowed. It's me. I can give you all the bread loaves your heart desires, but that's not why I came. I didn't come just to provide you with bread, I came to BE your bread.”

“Now, Jesus follows up this stunning self-revelation with a generous invitation and an eternal promise. Jesus says, 'Come and believe in me.' How do we do that? By faith. BTW, faith is not a work. Scripture always juxtaposes faith and works. Romans 10:9—If you believe in your heart, you will be saved. Jesus has already said in 29 that the way to receive this bread of life is by believing the One who IS the bread of life. Coming to Jesus is not simply showing up on Sundays. Believing in Jesus is not merely agreeing with the facts of the gospel. Jesus invitation is to trust him, to lean all your weight on him, place all your hope in him, in who he is and what he has done at the cross for you, paying in full what you owed by taking all your sins, and the just and eternal punishment for those sins, upon himself so that your guilt is gone and you are justified before God. When you come to Jesus with a heart that believes that, that is FAITH.”

“This ultimately happens through the miracle of regeneration, an inward work of the Spirit that makes you acutely aware of your sin and guilt and even more of the love and mercy of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in such a way that you come to Jesus with a broken heart and open arms in repentance and faith. God alone does this regenerating work that liberates you to come to Jesus in faith. Jesus makes that clear in the preceding verses, if you wish to study them this week.”

“This invitation comes with a promise—Supreme Satisfaction.”

“When Jesus says all who come and believe shall not hunger and shall never thirst, those promises are emphatic. In other words, the emphasis is on NEVER. When you come to Jesus, when you believe in him, you will not be disappointed. We were created for longing. God designed us to hunger and thirst after something. Physically, yes, but even more, spiritually. When we come to Jesus and feast on Him, our most fundamental needs are always satisfied.”

“We Hunger and Thirst for ACCEPTANCE without conditions. Human beings are gluttonous about love. We hunger after being loved. We thirst to be accepted without the fear of rejection. So we live promiscuously. We deceive others to stay in their good graces. But Jesus gives us a better meal to feast on. His blood and righteousness provide us with peace with God that can never be broken. Who can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus? No one and nothing! Romans 8:38-39.”

“We Hunger and Thirst for PURPOSE in and beyond this world. We were created with a longing for purpose. That ultimate purpose is, to quote the Westminster Confession—Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Only in our union with Christ is this possible. As we feast on Jesus, believing, obeying, and resting in Jesus, our hungry and thirsty souls are satisfied.”

“We Hunger and Thirst for ASSURANCE before God. The eating of Christ's flesh and drinking of his blood is the coming and believing of verse 35. The point is, if you have believed in Jesus, you are saved and will be raised one day to heaven. Are you struggling with assurance of faith this morning? Have you believed in Jesus? If you have, you may be a struggling Christian, but you are a Christian no less. Once justified, always justified, FULLY. Christian, do you doubt God is working in you? Have you come to him in faith for your standing before God? If you have, you may be resisting His work, but He is at work no less because Romans 8:29-30 says all who are in Christ are being sanctified as they wait to be glorified.”

“We could keep going—security, reputation, longevity. These are some of the most fundamental things we hunger and thirst after. And there is no amount of money or possessions, no position of importance, no degree of power, no measure of success that can satisfy our desires.”

ILLUSTRATION: Millionaire YouTuber - “I've tried everything, but there is still something missing.”

“If Jesus isn't our supreme satisfaction, something will always be off because Jesus alone is the bread of life. On the other hand, the more we feast on Jesus, the more our desire to feast on the world dissipates. I'm not thinking about a McDonald's cheeseburger when my belly is full of a ribeye.”

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “Faith is a motion of the heart, not a motion of the feet…It is an act of reliance upon Christ's great sacrifice, and wherever the Holy Ghost works it in men, it makes Christ to be theirs, so that they shall never hunger and shall never thirst.”

Jean-Paul Sartre - “That God does not exist, I cannot deny, that my whole being cries out for God, I cannot forget.”

Charles Spurgeon - “The love of Jesus casts out all hankering for other loves and fills the soul. If the ocean of divine love cannot fill us, what can? What more can a man want or wish for?”

APPLICATION:
Here is the BIG question: What are you feasting on? Where are you seeking satisfaction? Where are you going to quench your hunger and thirst for things like purpose, assurance, and acceptance? Here are a few questions to help you answer the bigger question:
- What do you find yourself reveling in more, your worldly success or Christ's atoning sacrifice?
- In disappointment, is your heart ruled by your subjective feelings or the objective truths of the gospel?
- What creates a sigh of relief in your soul most, your social acceptance or your heavenly adoption?

The world and all its sparkle and promises leave us hungry, thirsty, and sick every time. We don't always feel our malnutrition. Sin is like cancer; it eats away at us even when we don't know it. 

Oh, but there is great hope! Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. Come to me. Believe in me. Feast on me. And you will never hunger or thirst." This is the Savior's promise to you! More than providing our daily bread, Jesus came to be our eternal bread of life. So come, believe in him, for the first time or the thousandth time, and be supremely satisfied.

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Bless The Lord O My Soul (Psalm 103)
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
All Things
Praise His Name (Psalm 148)
We Hunger And Thirst

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
I Am the Light of the World - John 8:12

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Books that Shaped Us (Sovereign Grace Journal, October 2024)

By Churches, Sovereign Grace

Buy on Amazon

To download a FREE PDF version of this journal (and other past issues), please visit: https://www.sovereigngrace.com/journal

On this Easter Sunday, the question is—Where is my hope? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

EASTER SUNDAY 2025
TEXT: John 11:25-26
TITLE:  The Best Day of the Year
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
I. A Hopeless Situation
II. A Hope-Filled Proclamation
III.A Hope-Giving Demonstration

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes, and text emphasis, are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.

”Resurrection Sunday is the best day of the year. Those angelic words—He is not here. He has risen!—thunder true hope to all the world. On this Easter Sunday, the question is—Where is my hope? Hope is critical to life. Hope keeps us moving forward. Hope gives us life and strength to carry on. Everyone is searching for something to pin their hope on. Everyone needs hope.”

“Of course, we place our hope in many things. At times out of ignorance, at other times out of desperation, but we all put our hope in something. Relationships. Leisure. Education. Medicine. Behavior. Money. Rules. Staying numb. Sooner or later, those things will leave us feeling horribly hopeless. And as Proverbs 13:12 says—Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”

“In pursuit of true hope, we look to a familiar story in the gospel of John. Our passage is wedged within the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.”

“In verses 1-4, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was gravely ill. They had seen Jesus heal before, so they sent the word of Lazarus to Jesus, believing that he would come quickly and heal their brother. Jesus responded that Lazarus's illness would not lead to death but the glory of God. How encouraging is that!”

“In verse 5, it says that Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. One would think he would go to Lazarus immediately. He didn't. Jesus decides to wait a couple of days, according to verse 6. When Jesus decides to make the short trip to Lazarus, his disciples try to change his mind because of the danger to Jesus. Jesus' response is puzzling—read 9-16.”

“Jesus is speaking very cryptically. His illness does not lead to death. He has fallen asleep. Lazarus has died so that you may believe it. Something is brewing. Never a dull moment with Jesus. But Jesus finally arrives on the scene in 17; it's too late. Lazarus has been dead for four days. It seems like a very hopeless situation.”

“Not all Jews believed in a resurrection on the final day. The Pharisees did, but the Sadducees didn't. But Martha did believe, saying in 24—I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. What follows in our text is stunning; look at 25—I am the resurrection and the life. This is the fifth of seven I Am statements by Jesus. Claims of deity connected to real-life situations during his ministry. Take note: Jesus doesn't say I will raise Lazarus on the last day. He says—I am the resurrection and the life.”

“Don't miss this. Some in this story are focused on the past—Lazarus would still be alive if Jesus had come immediately. Martha is focused on the future—I know my brother will rise in the resurrection on the last day. But Jesus is focused on what is in the present. He is drawing the audience to himself by identifying, not with a theological teaching or future event, but with the very event of resurrection and the reality of eternal life.” 

“Jesus is saying—Martha, I'm glad your eschatology is sound, but believe in me today. I don't just teach the resurrection—I am the resurrection. I don't just preach God's power for life—I am God's power for life. Jesus' claim is not a job description; it's a self-revelation of the One who doesn't just do glorious things; he is glorious—I AM the resurrection and life.”

“Now, Jesus expands and explains this astonishing statement when he says in 25, look at it with me—Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. At first read, this sounds confusing and even contradictory: whoever believes, though he dies, and in the next breath, everyone who believes shall never die. Which one is it? Do we live or die?”

“Ephesians 2 says once we were spiritually dead in our sin. We were alive physically but dead spiritually. But God, who is rich in mercy, resurrects us spiritually, giving us eternal life in Jesus. The moment you are saved by grace, you have beaten death. You still die physically, but spiritually, you never die. Physical death cannot destroy the eternal spiritual life that comes by faith in Jesus. The day this body dies is not the day I die.”

“The day my physical body dies is the day I come into the most excellent and glorious awareness of reality. I will live in the majestic presence of my Savior, first in spirit, then on that great resurrection day when Christ returns, in a glorified body in the new heaven and earth.”

“This is the height of hope! We have an intuitive sense of eternity, a God-given awareness that there is something beyond this life. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says—God has put eternity into man's heart. So philosophers have philosophized, and spiritual gurus have speculated about it throughout the ages. Even the ancient man Job wondered: If a man dies, shall he live again?—Job 14:14”

“Jesus, the Giver of eternal life, says—Yes, Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.”

“The commanding voice of Jesus, not whispered, but the text says with a loud voice, echoed into the tomb—Lazarus, come out. The voice of God Almighty, who spoke creation into being with the power of His word, speaks with that same power—Lazarus come out.”

“At his divine command, Lazarus's brain began to work; his rotting flesh began to heal, the air started to pump through his lungs, and blood pulsing through his veins once again, strength returned to his ligaments and muscles. And even after four days in the grave,  Lazarus walked out of the tomb alive as a display of God's undeniable power and glory.”

“What a preview to an even more glorious resurrection. The Giver of Life would die on the cross to secure the forgiveness of sinners. But three days later, wrapped and sealed in his own tomb, God rolled the stone away, and Jesus walked out of the grave, defeating sin and death forever for all who believe in him. And Christ's physical resurrection is the first fruits of ours. This is why the resurrection is the most crucial event in history. The empty tomb validates all Jesus claimed about himself—like I am the resurrection and the life—and it is God's cosmic AMEN to his atoning work on the cross that guarantees our physical resurrection to glory as forgiven and justified children of God.”

“Consider the most hopeless situation in your life right now. If God can raise Jesus from the dead, he can handle your circumstance! Do you believe this?”

QUOTES:
R.C. Sproul - “The greatest enemy of man, that enemy that hangs over every human being like the sword of Damocles every day of our lives, the ultimacy of our own personal death, which threatens everything that we do, everything that we say, everything that we learn with ultimate chaos, with what the existentialists call the abyss of non-being, of annihilation—that enemy is conquered by the resurrection.”

APPLICATION:
Darkness doesn't have the last word. Death isn't victorious. Victory comes by faith in the victorious Savior. Jesus is alive and his resurrection is our resurrection and life!

Do You Believe This? Here is the question everyone has to answer. Look at the end of 26—Do you believe this?

If you are not a Christian, the question is—Do you believe in Jesus as the only one who grants and guarantees eternal life with him? I want you to notice what Jesus says at the end of verse 44. What a picture of the gospel. Like Lazarus, you are dead in your sin and without hope. You can do nothing to make yourself worthy of and alive to God. But Jesus died in your place and rose from the dead. And just as he cried—It is finished—the empty tomb is God's declaration—It is sufficient! Today, through the gospel, Jesus calls to you—Come out. Turn from your sin and trust in Jesus, the only source of spiritual life. Through faith, he will unbind and loose you from the grips of sin and hell, setting you free and making you alive forever! His resurrection and empty tomb guarantee it—Will you believe?

To my Christian friend, the application is—Keep believing! Even on this side of the cross and empty tomb, with the Scriptures in our hands and the Spirit in our hearts revealing and guiding us, hope can be elusive. Does true hope seem elusive you today? The resurrection reminds you that your hope in Jesus is real. Your faith is not in vain. Your life is not a house of cards. The tomb is empty, and Jesus is alive. That means your sins are COMPLETELY forgiven. The power of death is TRULY broken. The penalty of sin is FULLY paid. God's love is ETERNALLY yours, and one day, you WILL live in Christ's glorious presence. But that eternal perspective the empty tomb brings is not simply a promise for an amazing future; it's a gift for today:

• The empty tomb ensures you He is there! He is Faithful! He is sufficient! 

• The empty tomb ensures God's promises are Yes and Amen! 

• The empty tomb ensures His throne is approachable as the place of unfailing mercy and all-sufficient grace! 

• The empty tomb ensures your forgiveness and justification before God is full, final, and forever!

SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
Sing
Rise My Soul The Lord Is Risen
Christ Our Hope In Life And Death
Because He Lives

NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
The Roles: Philippians 2:12-13

THE BOOK OF THE QUARTER:

The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin

By Lundgaard, Kris A.

Buy on Amazon

We are spending time defining and celebrating the different aspects of our Sunday gathering so that we will grow in seeing how glorious and important Sunday is to God. Lord willing, the fruit being a deeper joy in God and a greater commitment to our gathering. Today, we look at Worship. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES:  The Gathering: Why Sunday Matters
TEXT: John 4:21-24
TITLE: Worshiping God, God’s Way
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: True Worship is Worshiping God, God’s Way

POINTS:
1. The Biblical Fundamentals of Our Worship
2. The Biblical Expressions of Our Worship

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Romans 12:1 exhorts us to offer our body and soul as a living sacrifice to God as worship. For the Christian, all of life is worship. Today, we look at a narrow expression of Romans 12 worship—the 20-25 of our gathering when we sing together.”

“The woman at the well was a Samaritan. The Samaritans were Israelites who intermarried with non-Israelites. By the time Jesus came on the scene, the Samaritans had their own theological system, including Mt. Gerizim, not Jerusalem, as the place where God was to be worshipped.”

“When Jesus says You worship what you do not know— he is calling the woman and her religion out. She does not worship God in truth because she does not worship Him according to His self-revelation but according to their man-made revelation. It’s not that she was worshipping a false God; she was worshipping the true God falsely.”

“Jesus points the woman to his sacrifice that will transform where and how God’s people will worship Him. Since Jesus is the way, the life, the TRUTH (Hebrews 1:3), his words in verse 24—those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth—become the new order and formula he will create for all Christian worship under the new covenant.”

“To worship God in truth is to worship Him according to who He is and how He has prescribed we worship Him in Scripture. To worship God in truth is to worship Him according to and for His eternal character, sacrificial love, and gospel promises. It’s not that we can only sing God’s Word (Regulative Principle), but God’s Word must be the basis of our singing. Our theology informs, permeates, and fuels our Sunday morning worship. This is why the songs we sing are so important.”

“Simply put, to worship God in Spirit is to worship Him from a heart of faith in Christ. We are God’s people, not because of ethnicity, geography, or outward work. We belong to God because, by His grace, we have an inward faith in Jesus.”

“When we worship in faith, not concerned with pleasing or impressing others, but believing from hearts of gratitude that God is good and the pinnacle of His goodness is providing Jesus as our Savior, no matter where you are, who you are with, or how off tune you sing, God is magnified because you are worshipping him in spirit, from a heart of gratitude and in truth, according to who He is.”

“This isn’t optional. You can’t have one without the other. They go together. To worship only in truth can be hard and cold. To worship God only in Spirit can lead to fleeting and shallow emotionalism. But to worship God with the head and the heart, that is true worship.”

“Is true worship about the heart? Absolutely! From beginning to the end of Scripture it’s clear—above all things, God is concerned with the heart. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that means what I do with my body when I worship is unimportant and irrelevant. It is very important and relevant.”

“The Bible says much about physical expression when we worship God. What do we mean by physical expression? Expressive worship is using appropriate physical motions that manifest the attitude and reflect the proper response to what we are singing about God.”

“Ultimately, the exhortation in 1 Corinthians 14:40, when we gather things should be done decently and in order, is our guiding principle. Our priority in corporate worship is not our individual expressiveness; it’s encouraging and serving one another in Christ. This is why pastors should teach, encourage, and model God-honoring expressive worship.”

“This shouting isn’t a rock concert—Hey SGC! We’re in the house. Are you ready for this? Connect the content to the shouting. These are shouts of praise fueled by the theology of God that is on fire in the hearts of His people in a way that cannot be contained.”

“Clapping in Scripture is a God-ordained response of appreciation, honor, and exaltation to the Lord for who He is and what He has done for us.”

“The point of Psalm 47 is that God is the King who reigns over all. He has defeated the enemy and delivered His people. So His people clap—Thank you God! How much more on this side of the cross do we have to clap as a worshipful response to the God of our salvation? He is worthy, isn’t He?”

“In the Bible, raised hands are associated with blessing. To bless the Lord is to exalt and celebrate Him. David expresses his hunger and need for the Lord, who is powerful and glorious and whose unfailing love is better than life itself. So he doesn’t just sing; David also raises his hands to express gratitude for who God is and how He loves him.”

“As a desperate child runs to their father with outstretched arms—Help me!—David raises his hands as an expression of need and surrender to God.”

“Again, connect the content with the expression. This is not— Raise your hands in the air like you just don’t care. This is theology that grips the heart so much that it overcomes our personalities and fears and pours forth through physical expression because it is too marvelous to be contained.”

“Bowing down is a posture of humility and submission. It reflects an inward attitude of reverence and respect before the Lord. As the people consider and praise God as the Rock of their salvation, their Holy Creator and sovereign Lord over all things, they bow down in awe and wonder. Isn’t He worthy of our bended knee?”

“Important distinction: No physical expression is worship itself. No expression makes our worship more genuine. No expression makes the individual holier than the next. Someone can raise their hands in exuberance on Sunday and be committing adultery or stealing from the boss on Monday. But when these physical expressions are fueled by theology and flow from a heart of gratitude, adoration, wonder, and awe, they are God-honoring responses to true worship taking place in our hearts.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 12:1
1 Corinthians 14:40

There are numerous physical expressions in Scripture that God has commanded and commended to us:
Voices
- Sing: Psalm 96:1-2, Psalm 47:6:7
- Shout: Psalm 33:1-3, Psalm 100:1
Hands
- Clapping: Psalm 47:1-2
- Raising Hands: Psalm 63:1-4, Psalm 134:1-3, Psalm 143:6
Legs
- Bow Down: Psalm 95:1-7

QUOTES:
Martin Luther - “A person who gives this [singing] some thought and yet does not regard it as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of [donkeys] and the grunting of hogs.”

D.A. Carson - “Christian worship is new covenant worship; it is gospel-inspired worship; it is Christ-centered worship; it is cross-focused worship.”

Bob Kauflin - “God wants our worship to be intelligent and informed. He wants to stretch our minds to the limits as we consider the greatness of his being and the wonder of his works….Obviously, intellect can become an end in itself. We can become more impressed with our doctrinal formulations than we are with Jesus. We can end up leading a theologically orthodox but emotionally dead church. God receives no glory from that combination….God intends for us to remember that neither biblical truth nor deep emotion is out of place when we worship God; they’re meant to go together.”

Matt Boswell - “The Scriptures resound with singing. There are over fifty direct commands for us to sing, and singing is mentioned over 400 times in the Bible. Singing doesn’t merely play a one-dimensional function in the life of the church; it plays a multi-faceted, invaluable role as we worship God. We sing as an act of worship. We sing to disciple one another. We sing as a declaration to the world.”

APPLICATION:
Q) Are there any physical expressions of worship God has given in Scripture that I refuse or have never displayed?

• Not my personality to raise my hands

• Not respectable to shout (shouting in my heart)

• What will others think if I bow down? (fear of man)

• Expressions are cultural (their not)

• Didn’t grow up clapping 

What hinders you on Sundays? Fear of man? Personality? Warped sense of being reverent or respectable? Tradition?

The Bible doesn’t command we do every expression every time we worship. But if God has commanded and commended certain physical expressions, and I refuse some because I want to worship God my way, at my comfort level, well, I need to revisit my theology of worship. Because worship is not about me; it’s about Him.

In heaven, one thing we will do is sing. We will see our Savior, and with the angels, we will sing. We will sing loud, free of pride, fear, and ignorance. We will sing with clear minds and genuine hearts that can take in the glory of God unhindered by sin. We will sing with the strength to keep singing forever. It will be glorious! Until then, Be here on Sunday so we can sing together. How God made you will be reflected in your worship. But he gave us all a voice, hands, and legs to worship Him.

The gospel saves us into a life of service, first to God and then, as an expression of that service, to others. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Our 7 Shaping Virtues
TEXT: John 13:1-15
TITLE:  Servanthood
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: Understanding that the Lord Jesus is a servant, captures our hearts and makes us joyful servants.

POINTS:
1. Jesus is our Lord who served
2. We are Jesus’ servants who joyfully serve

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”Jesus, our faithful Master, defines service as true greatness… He ultimately demonstrated this greatness for us in laying down his life for us.”

“Jesus is the Eternal WORD - the divine LOGOS. He is the very Son of God, the Son of Man, the KING of kings, and the LORD of lords! Jesus is the LORD. And Jesus our Lord serves us!”

“…we cannot miss the cosmic profundity of verses 4-5. Just a couple of days before the Cross on which Jesus will hang willingly, suffering, and shedding His divine precious blood as the very Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world, He, OUR LORD takes the form of a slave and washes his doubting, of-weak-faith, confused, proud, and fearful disciples!”

“Jesus the kneeling-servant will become the suffering-servant of Isaiah 53 and serve to His death… for us.”

“Jesus’ question: “Do you understand what I have done for you?”

“In faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we now are beginning to understand, and this captures our hearts…so what does this lead and call us to do - The TEXT gives us the application!”

“His command is grounded in what He has already done! (The indicative always before the imperative!) This calling is more than simply following Jesus’ example. Moralism = Trying to serve like Jesus did on our own - if that was even possible. BUT, Joyful servanthood results from understanding who Jesus is (LORD) and what He has done for us (The Cross). Our motivation is one of obedience, but this call and action are fueled and motivated by The Gospel - by what He has done for us and what He has done for fellow believers.”

“Holding on to our Lord and Savior (who is THE Perfect Servant who has His grip on us!) with one hand, we serve others with the other hand, all the while handing them off to the Lord and their Savior.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 4:5
Mark 10:43-44
Mark 10:45
1 John 3:18
1 Peter 4:10
1 Corinthians 9:19
John 13:34-35

QUOTES:
Murray J. Harris- “Christian conversion may be described as an exchange of yokes. Slavery to sin, to evil powers, to evil desires, is replaced by slavery to Christ. Since life cannot be ‘yokeless’, conversion must involve an alteration of sovereignty, an exchange of masters, the assumption of a new yoke - that of service to Christ. Whereas the previous yoke was oppressive and chafing, the new yoke is pleasant and emancipating.”

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
Q. Why am I not serving?
Q. Is my lack of serving evidence of deep selfishness… self-focused Narcissism
Q. Who and where could I serve?