John #36: Between World and Spirit (John 15:18-16:15

I heard someone tell a story from his boot-camp days in the military. He said that one day a new recruit got off the bus with water skis and a fishing rod under his arms. Apparently, the recruiting officer told him that the boot camp was on an island (which was true), and that people could ski and fish (which was also true, if by “people” he didn’t mean the recruit, but civilians if they were allowed on the island). The recruit soon found out that skiing and fishing were not on his drill instructor’s agenda – and had he known what really awaited him on that island, he never would have gone.

Sometimes people evangelize people like that recruiter – promising that if we follow Jesus we’ll have out best life now, with plenty of fun and nary a tear….but Jesus didn’t play those kinds of games with us. He wanted us to be prepared for what a life of following him would mean.

We’re going to be reading John 15:18-16:15 this Sunday and Jesus will make just that sort of warning.

The book of Acts plays out Jesus’ prediction here – and the first 300 years of the church’s history is one of cyclical persecution. To this day you can track how Christians are persecuted and hated all over the world through organizations like Voice of the Martyrs, so I think its safe to say that Jesus wasn’t being paranoid in his predictions.

In all fairness, we have to acknowledge the many times in history that the church has been guilty of promoting it’s own brand of persecution against people of other religions or those they have deemed sinners. There is no excuse for it and it is a blight on our history, all we can do is mourn such folly. The Gospel is the final victim of that sort of stupidity.

Nevertheless, the church’s mistakes don’t diminish the reality of social conflict that comes with following Jesus – and it was sort of promised to us by him.

In this passage, in light of the world’s system rejecting the gospel, ch 15:26-27 tells us God’s response and what our intended response is supposed to be. Is it back out of the world? Is it give up and leave them to themselves? Is it to get angry and fight back? What is the response of God and his church to rejection and hatred?

Chapter 16 outlines how the Holy Spirit will interact with this world and with us.  Do you get the picture of human ingenuity spreading the gospel… or something else? What picture do you see? Who does Jesus say will lead us into all truth?  How would you understand your role, or the church’s role in this activity of God’s Spirit?

I hope this will be a challenging, albeit sobering study this Sunday! Hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #35: Vine and Branches (John 15:1-17)

This Sunday we’ll be looking at another, very likely familiar, passage from the Gospel of John. We’ll be reading John 15:1-17, Jesus’ famous discourse on the Vine and branches.

In our study last week, we considered how Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and live in us. In this section we’ll be reversing that, and we’ll consider how we are called to live in Christ. Jesus employs a metaphor that is pretty straightforward to understand the principle of, but a little more tricky to identify how to apply it.

Before digging in to that application, it’s really important that we ground this text within the larger scope of the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament as we’ve called it). Read Psalm 80, Jeremiah 2 and 12, as well as Ezekiel 15, 17 and 19. Also Hosea 5…oh, and don’t forget Isaiah 5. (I linked a few of them…I’ll leave you to look up the rest) The thing is, a grapevine or a vineyard was often employed by the Hebrew prophets to describe Israel and her connection to God.

What might it mean that Jesus is now applying that same metaphor to himself, even identifying himself as the true vine? How might that help us understand how his word pruned his disciples? Does that shed any light on v6, where Jesus warns about not remaining in him. Clearly, Jesus intends a shift in perspective about who God’s covenant people are.

On a more localized level, we can apply this metaphor to our own lives. Still, how do you understand the idea of remaining in Jesus? What do think the practical meaning of bearing fruit is?

Note that v12 and v17 bracket everything Jesus talks about with a repetition of the command he gave back in ch 13. In fact, v9-17 have a repeated word, what is it? How does Jesus describe love in v13? Does this give us any indication as to what a fruitful life might look like?

While this may be a familiar passage, I really believe we can discover a lot in Jesus’ words to us. I’m looking forward to digging into this together – hope you can join us!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #34: Our Closest Friend (John 14:15-31)

Over the years I’ve heard people wish again and again that they could have been alive during the days that Jesus walked the earth. Often this desire is expressed when facing something perplexing about our faith, and the assumption is, if I could just see Jesus and ask him I wouldn’t be confused right now.

That, however, is flawed thinking. One consistent element of all the Gospel accounts is the confusion and misunderstanding Jesus’ disciples experienced. There’s no evidence given in the Gospels that Jesus’ disciples had an easier time of believing than we do. In actuality, maybe just the opposite. Those who were closest to him were so unsure about him that betrayal and denial were still ready options. When push came to shove their lack of certitude about him made it easier for all of them to run and hide rather than stand with him in his arrest.

One could argue that they didn’t start taking shape as solid believers until after he wasn’t with them physically. That’s something to really ponder for a while, isn’t it?

The reason for that may be found in the passage we’ll be reading this Sunday, John 14:15-31.

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say “If you keep my commandments I’ll love you”. The only “if” of this statement is connected to our love for him. Obeying isn’t a condition required in order to be loved…it’s a symptom of a condition of love. How does living by Christ’s teachings reveal love?

Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit to us in this passage. Jesus seems to indicate that our journey with him will be that much more stable because he’s sent the Holy Spirit in his stead. Now, instead of being with the Holy Spirit as he’s operated through Jesus, he will be in us, guiding, teaching and helping us on our way. That indicates a quantum leap in our journey. Think of it – a 24 / 7 Counselor and Friend within us, available to us at all times. He will teach us and guide us and empower us. What of life’s puzzles and dilemmas do you bring to the Helper? How has His presence in you provided guidance for your life?

Just as he’s about to be arrested and crucified – with the launch of the church in view with all of the persecution and turmoil it has faced throughout history – Jesus says he will leave us with peace. How can we understand what he’s saying? How can we be peaceful even when there is turmoil surrounding us?

The characteristics of this relationship with God are profound. God IN us manifests in our lives as love, discovery and peace. For as much as I’d really like to see Jesus, I still think we’re better off where we are right now.

This should prove to be an interesting (albeit heady) exploration this Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #33: Assurance In Adversity (John 14:1-14)

How hard or how easy is it for you to live this encouragement out in real life? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by a troubled world or your own difficulties? Have you ever found yourself frustrated by verses like the one above because, try as you may to believe, your troubles seem relentless? I know I certainly have.

We’re going to be reading John 14:1-14 this Sunday, where Jesus issues the directions quoted above. It is couched in the section commonly called “Jesus’ farewell address to his disciples”. Judas has gone out to betray Jesus to the authorities and Jesus has made it clear that he will soon be gone from them. All in all, the evening has really turned into a bummer. Can you imagine the distress and confusion that is beginning to mount in the midst of this group?

So Jesus gives direction – truth to calm their troubled hearts. His encouragement isn’t given in a promise to make all the troubles go away – but rather, in providing a fresh perspective from which to view the looming wave of adversity.

This section is interesting because it contains three familiar passages that have often been isolated and often misperceived. Something we’ll take a look at as we go on Sunday.

Jesus’ first encouragement is a promise about his Father’s big, big house, with lots and lots of room (if you were a Christian youth in the 90’s, you’re welcome for the ear worm that should be playing in your head right about now). We mostly take this as a picture of heaven, which I think the idea may include, but it has more a sense of the bigger picture of redemption, which is unfolding right now in our lives.  How does thinking about the way that God redeems broken things provide a sense of encouragement and assurance in times of trouble?

This section also contains another of Jesus’ clear self-identifications as being united with God the Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. To trust in Jesus is to find the way home to God. Jesus actually promotes an intentional trust; “DON’T let your hearts be troubled” – don’t live there, don’t form your identity from your difficulties. Instead, we’re called to trust Jesus in an act of our will. What are some ways we can intentionally trust Jesus when all hell is breaking loose? Can you identify ways in which that intentional trust would promote assurance in your heart?

V13-14 are problematic verses in this section, in that they have inspired a certain level of materialism within one section of the church which tends to leverage Jesus’ words to name and claim good fortune for themselves. What might it mean to ask for something in Jesus’ name? Is that a magic incantation, or the html tag needed to close a heavenly code….or something else entirely? If someone requested something at your workplace in your name, what would that mean? How might the promise of Jesus’ authority on earth bring us assurance in times of difficulty?

I’m looking forward to exploring these verses together – I hope you can join us!

Click here for a pdf version of the teaching slideshow.

John #32: The Great Distinctive (John 13:18-38)

When a person has on a garnet and gold shirt with a feathered spear emblazoned on the chest, you can get a pretty good idea what college team they root for come football season. Same thing when someone stretches their arms out front, right arm over left and begins moving the arms up and down, you can easily guess what reptilian mascot they pull for. People’s loyalties will often have identifiable distinctives.

But what about a loyalty to Jesus? How can people tell that a person is committed to Him? Some believe that they have to be outspoken about their moral convictions and fight every impure aberration they encounter in order to demonstrate that they are, indeed, a Christian.

Some people are so zealous they could be described as being “in your face” about their faith – all in an attempt to be identified as belonging to Christ. Did Jesus give us any clues about how we could be recognized as his disciples, his followers?

The answer is yes. He told us very clearly, with words that are both ridiculously easy to understand and ridiculously hard to do.

We’re going to be reading John 13:18-38 this Sunday, finishing up the chapter. In this section we have three points – 1) a betrayal is forecast and the betrayer identified, 2) Jesus gives a new commandment, and 3) Jesus forecasts Peter’s denial. Jesus’ command is sandwiched between two revelations of faithlessness – which I believe is intentional to provide a contrast for his command.

When Jesus revealed that someone would betray him, what were the disciples uncertain about? Did they show any predisposition to assume Judas was the betrayer? It seems like Judas blended in with the gang quite well – so with that in mind, how much do you think  an outward show of conformity has to do with rightly representing Jesus?

When Jesus told them all he was leaving to a place they couldn’t follow, Pete zealously announced that he would go anywhere – he would die for Jesus. Jesus had some disconcerting news for him about events that would happen later that night. How much did outspoken zeal have to do with rightly representing Jesus?

V34-35 – what did Jesus say would be the identifiable distinctive of his followers? Is this romantic love, or sentimental love, or something else? How easy or hard is it for you to love people who are unlovely – those who’ve hurt you or offended you? How does loving people like Jesus loves us help us understand the process of loving others? This will be a challenging, albeit, hope-filled study – and I hope you can join us for it this Sunday at 10 am!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #31: Redemptive Love (John 13:1-17)

Imagine you’ve been asked to a dinner party for the small company you work for. As you’re waiting for dinner to be served and people are sitting and chatting, your boss has quietly gone to the corner of the room and stripped down to his underwear and with a jug of bottled water, starts going down the line of guests and begins washing their feet.

Besides being the basis for a huge lawsuit – how would something like that make you feel? Would it unnerve you? Would you protest this action?

We’re going to be reading John 13:1-17 this Sunday, and the events described above sort of play out in our text. Sometimes we pass this strange display off as a cultural thing, something that everyone was accustomed to – but there is no evidence that supports that assumption. Actually, just the opposite. Foot washing happened, but by and large, guests at a home would wash their own feet. Jewish servants were not even required to do this sort of humiliating and intimate thing. Only gentile slaves were known to do something like this.

John sets the stage for this event by saying that Jesus had become aware that all things were in his hands…that is, he wielded the supreme authority of God. So, with that knowledge, what was the first thing Jesus did with those hands?

I don’t have a lot of questions to prod you with this week – just that image to ponder. If Jesus is our greatest revelation of God…who IS God as we see him on display in this section? What is this God asking of us, based on the last part of the passage?

This is humbling, challenging and potentially life-altering stuff. Hope to see you this Sunday.

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #30: Famous Last Words (John 12:44-50)

This Sunday we will be reading John 12:44-50, which contains the very last thing Jesus says to the crowds during his three year ministry before the cross. After this, Jesus’ words will be reserved for the disciples, the religious leadership, and the people who watch him as he is crucified. Various crowds have been following Jesus for the last three years, and he has but a few moments to speak to them for the last time.

Up to this point in the story, Jesus has proven himself through miracles, healing, wisdom, and compassion. If it were me, I would be tempted to tell Jesus not to waste anymore time trying to explain who He is. I would say, if they don’t get it by now, they are not going to get it. Thankfully, Jesus is better than that. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t give up that easily.

With only a few moments left, what do you think Jesus will say to these crowds? Do you think Jesus will retract any of his previous statements? Or do you think that Jesus will reinforce them?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as I have been preparing my teaching this week. If this was my last time speaking, what would I want to say? What would I want people to walk away believing? Is it really possible to change someone’s mind with just a few words? And how do we make those words count?

We invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:00AM for our study in the book of John 12:44-50. Let’s see what we can learn from these few verses and let’s see what Jesus wants us to hear before he journeys towards the cross.

Click here for a pdf version of the teaching slideshow.

John #29: A Misperceived Glory (John 12:27-43)

Have you ever heard an audible voice from heaven giving you direction? I never have – though I know people who have had that type of experience. I used to think that if I could just hear God shouting out of the clouds letting me know he was there that I would never doubt again.

We’re going to see from our passage this Sunday that its really not that simple. Well be reading John 12:27-43. This passage includes a supernatural event like I described above, but it certainly doesn’t have the result one would expect.

As we read this passage let’s consider the reactions of the people towards Jesus. I believe there are some pitfalls we can observe and try to sidestep in our own journey to discover more of God and his ways.

For one thing – there were three distinct reactions to the voice from heaven. One, of course, was John who obviously heard the voice of God clearly enough to record for us what the voice said. What were the other two reactions? What do you suppose made the difference in what people heard in that sound from the sky? I find it interesting that there is often so much ambiguity when we encounter the divine. I think if a person is determined to do so, they can always find a way to rationalize what others perceive as a supernatural event. God seems intent on moving in such a way that he’s easily hidden if someone is determined not to see him. I also think there’s a bit of heart-testing in that ambiguity. How open minded are you when it comes to God encounters?

The other thing that I notice in v34-36 is a doctrinal barrier. In v34, the people don’t actually say “it’s written in the Scriptures“…what do they say instead? How would you explain their problem with Jesus and their understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures? How well do you know the doctrines that you hold to as non-negotiables? What are your doctrinal convictions based on – what is written, or what you’ve learned? In what ways could God get obscured by our doctrines. How can we be faithful to our convictions and still be open minded?

Finally, the last verse of this section (v43) is very telling. How can loving the praise or glory that comes from men (that is, the validation and affirmation that we crave so deeply) end up interfering with our loyalty to God? What measures can we take to prevent that from happening in our own experiences?

Should be an interesting study – hope to see you then!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #28: The Image of Triumph (John 12:12-26)

After many successful dodges of the authorities, and many hush, hush miracles, this week we’ll see Jesus boldy riding into Jerusalem to claim his throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We’ll be picking up in our text this week covering John 12:12-26. We’ll be covering a segment of scripture known as the triumphal entry.

The surprising thing is Jesus doesn’t ride in to town on a majestic war horse dressed for battle, he rides in on a lowly donkey clothed like the poor.  What might this suggest about the Kingdom of God? What might it mean for us his loyal subjects? 

We see the crowds hailing Jesus as Lord and savior, hoping for a conquering King to finally free them from Roman oppression. Just when they expect to hear a battle cry from their hero, he says something completely opposite.  In vs 23-24 He gives a cryptic analogy  about a seed dying, and producing many more seeds filled with that same potential.  It hearkens back to the garden of Eden.  In the garden, the serpent sowed a seed of doubt in Eve’s heart regarding God’s goodness and His intentions for mankind.  That seed grew doubt in her mind that led to death, spiritually and physically for all of humanity.  In our text this week Jesus offers another seed, his very life offered on our behalf to restore all that was lost in the garden.  What does the image of Jesus on the cross reveal about God’s heart for humanity? What difference does the depth of his love for you make in your daily life?

He goes on to explain that a love for our own life in this world will again produce death but that a hate for it will result in life renewed and eternal.  The key to this is the phrase “in this world”.  Of course he doesn’t want us to hate the life He’s given us. The hyperbole he employs emphasizes his point that nothing “this world” or its systems have to offer should be more important to us than our commitment to Christ. A stark contrast to the commitment to self permeating our society.

The choices we face today are the same ones they faced in the garden. Go our way or go God’s way. At some point we have to realize that Father knows best.  

Does the pursuit of possessions or positions (circumstances) dominate your daily life? Do you wake up each day in hopes of being one step closer to that happiness you’ve always dreamed of? What priority does the pursuit of holiness hold for you?  

Jesus invites us to follow him to the cross, to embrace a life of sacrificial love, that reveals his unsurpassable love for our neighbors and all of mankind. He says that in portraying his image into this world, we’ll find that full and purposeful life that our heart is truly longing for.

Have you ever experienced a let down or a low after working so hard in pursuit of a possession or position? Does knowing the temporal nature of what this world offers help to dull the draw towards them?

Our last verse holds a remarkable promise.  vs 26 says that those who serve Jesus will be honored by the Father.  The word honored means valued or prized.  Does the thought of being valuable to God, mattering much to the King of the universe inspire different priorities in your life?

It should be a challenging and promising study this week.  Hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #27: Anointed As King (John 12:1-11)

History is filled with accounts of royal coronations. Emperors, kings and queens ascend their thrones amid pomp and ceremony, all of it designed to celebrate the new rule and power over people. Sometimes the ceremony is meant to inspire fear, other times there were assurances of peace and prosperity, but all of it was focused on the new ruler’s power. Coronations of kings and priests run as a thread all through the Hebrew bible – and very rarely did the ruler placed on the throne do well with that power.

It all leads to Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords. If we had in mind the grandeur of history’s celebrations of new rulers, we’ll be deeply surprised at how this goes down in Jesus’ anointment as King.

This Sunday we’ll be examining John 12:1-11.

The scene that John describes is one that would have been awkward and uncomfortable in our culture to be sure, but in actuality it would have been weird in Jesus’ day too.  Back in Luke 10, Mary upset her sister Martha by defying ancient protocol when she sat out with the men to learn as a disciple while her sister conformed to the domestic expectations of the day. Here again, Mary behaves in a way that for some people viewing it, might have cast her in an unsavory light. Letting down her hair to wipe Jesus’ feet, pouring out an entire box of oil when just a dab would have done…these were actions that were out of sync with the expected norm, and it created a reaction.

How do you think you would have reacted to Mary’s behavior? Who reacted negatively to this action? What seems to be the most important issue for him? What seems to be important to Mary?

All of the different characters and all of their responses. Who do we relate to the most in this section? The Chief Priests react with their one-note response…they want to kill someone. Let’s hope you don’t relate to that. Mary sacrificed a very expensive box of oil to pour out on Jesus. She also sacrificed her dignity and reputation. All because she wanted to demonstrate to Jesus her love for him. How much of Mary do you see in your approach to worship? How much of Judas?

Everything about Jesus disrupts and inverts the normal expectations of this world’s system, especially as it touches what it means to reign in power.

This should prove to be a challenging study this week! Hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #26: Following Broken Patterns (John 11:45-57)

Have you seen any of those videos that inform you that you are incorrectly attending to some menial task you’ve been practicing your whole life? For instance, most of us tie our shoelaces incorrectly. Or we hold the can opener the wrong way. There’s just a plethora of habits and patterns we’ve accepted in our daily lives that can be proven wrong.

That is a startling truth when in comes to how we, as Christians, carry ourselves in this broken world. There are patterns that the world has which we often adopt without thinking about it – patterns which Jesus and the Gospels challenge us about.

We’ll be continuing our study in John this Sunday, reading ch 11:45-57.

The whole section is the fallout from the amazing miracle Jesus performed in raising Lazarus from four days of death. Instead of rejoicing and seeking God to see what such a miracle meant – the religious leaders begin considering the political ramifications of Jesus’ popularity, and come to the conclusion that he must die.

The motives of those religious leaders mirror the motives of the systems of this fallen world. Their story is a cautionary tale for those who claim Jesus as their Lord. We’ll examine those motives on Sunday and identify the responses that would more likely fit a follower of Jesus.

When the religious leaders discuss their Jesus problem – what is their main concern? Try reading the passage in different translations. Who does it seem like they are most concerned with? To what lengths are they willing to go in order to preserve their positions of privilege? How does that contrast with Jesus’ ministry so far in this gospel – and where we know that it’s going?

What are the possible broken patterns that the church today is following, and how might we change those patterns in our own lives?

These will be interesting things to ponder – I hope you can join us this Sunday!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #25: Resurrecting Hope (John 11:1-44)

It’s the sad refrain of a broken world: “If only”. “If only he’d entered the freeway five minutes sooner…”, “If only I would have kept my mouth shut…”, “If only the lab results had shown it…”, ….. “If only God had heard my prayers…”.

We live in a world that is painful and confusing so often, and for people who want to seek after God, adding to that pain and confusion is the regular complaint that one prayer or another has gone unanswered. It’s very tempting to assume that God has forgotten, doesn’t care, or has no plan at all for us in the vast scheme of things. If you’ve ever felt that way, please know that you’re not alone. Every honest seeker of God will wrestle with this at some point in the journey.

We’re going to be reading a large portion of text this Sunday, John 11:1-44, which begins the revelation of Jesus’ glory and power – but which also sheds a remarkable light on the subject of delayed answers in prayer.

The text plainly says that Jesus loved this family, yet it also says even though Lazarus was sick, Jesus waited two more days to head to Bethany. Does that seem like the behavior of someone who loves someone else? His reasons for delay are somewhat disclosed in v15 – does this give us any clue as to why God sometimes allows our prayers to seem unanswered? How can we view an apparent silence from heaven differently in light of this?

When Jesus arrives both women confront him with “If only you’d have been here”. In answering Martha, Jesus makes another statement of “I am”, calling himself the resurrection and the life. He was revealing that in some mysterious way, the future hope of God’s plan of redemption was reaching back to the present and infusing life with abundant possibilities, beyond what we can see (HT N.T. Wright). But this wasn’t just a theological exercise for Jesus – he isn’t portrayed as a dispassionate observer of human plight. V33, 35 and 38 make that abundantly clear. If Jesus is the fullest revelation of God and God’s heart toward the human race – what does his reaction tell us about God’s heart in the midst of our plight?

What happens next is one of those too good to be true moments. It forecasts what Jesus himself will soon experience and the hope of Easter morning. But it serves also as a parable for us. What are the bleak situations or hopes that have died which we’ve rolled a stone of resignation over? Even though Jesus didn’t respond when we wanted him to, and things don’t look the way we expected them to…can we allow for the possibilities of him bringing new life in ways we never thought of? Have you experienced this already? Have you faced some pain and seeming disinterest from heaven, only to find that God has revealed some new and unexpected life in ways you hadn’t anticipated? What lessons about God, his patterns and his heart toward us can we learn from this text?

I’m really looking forward to this study – hope you can join us!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #24: Who Is Jesus? (John 10:22-42)

My husband Matt loves movies. Last I checked we owned over 1,000 dvd’s. If you don’t know, DVD’s are a disc that has a movie on it and it’s kind of like a CD… which if you don’t know what a DVD is then you definitely don’t know what a CD is. Either way, my husband organizes all of the DVD cases not in alphabetical order, or by genre, but by the color of the DVD case. He does this for me because I really love the look of it all together on a shelf and the way that one color feeds into the next. When we lived in Jacksonville, we came home one night to find that our apartment had been robbed. They took computers, instruments, and anything else they could find that seemed valuable at the time. They also cleared a very large bookcase of DVD’s before they left. 

I know, it sounds like a heartbreaking scene for someone like my husband who loves his movies so much.The good news, or great news even, was that my husband never keeps his DVD’s in the case. He keeps them in a large binder stored directly next to the DVD bookcase. This means that there was a point in time when the robbers went through every single DVD case to find absolutely nothing inside. I wonder if they gave up checking after they realized the first few were empty, or if they sat there in a pile of empty cases checking every last one. Either way, the DVD’s and the binder were safe at home and the cases have never been seen since.

There are certain spoken and unspoken rules about how things should be organized in our culture. Books, movies, and files are often organized alphabetically or by genre, and stories are often told chronologically in the order the events happened. John, and several writers from the Bible, played by different rules. Their culture certainly had priorities about how history should be preserved, but chronological order was not always of greatest importance. This Sunday, the verses that we study will jump from one festival to the next. This is because John organized his gospel by thematic events. However, this was not put together hastily or without thought. On the contrary, what we discover is a literary design that is incredibly complex and meticulously structured.

This Sunday we will be reading the second half of John chapter 10. We find Jesus in the festival of Hannakuh and the people are asking Jesus to explain who he is. The verses in the translation I’m using say: “Tell us plainly who you are”,,, but another translation could be “Stop annoying us and tell us who you are.” Jesus responds to the question by not only saying who He is, but who we are as his followers.

Some people do not take the straightforward answer well. Others are intrigued. We invite you to join us this Sunday at 10:00AM to discover more about who Jesus is, the themes John presents to us in the book of John, and where we fit in the narrative.

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #23: The Good Shepard (John 10:1-21)

One of the challenging things about reading Scripture is trying to figure out the imagery employed from an ancient culture. As the saying goes, the bible was written for us, not to us. I’ll admit that there is not a lot in my life thatWe’ll be reading John 10:1-21 where Jesus gives a discourse that provides a contrast to the corrupted religious system that had just rejected the formerly blind man, and Messiah who went to find him.

The story is the closest thing to a parable that we find in John’s gospel, and it uses imagery that would have been familiar to the first hearers but which is almost totally foreign to us.

He describes a practice of shepherding where there was a common sheepfold used by multiple shepherds. This pen would likely be a circular stone walled enclosure with one gap which would be guarded to ensure the security of the sheep. The shepherds would be known by the gatekeeper, and their sheep would follow them by the sound of their unique call, or whistle, or a tune played on a flute.

This good and proper practice is contrasted with sheep rustlers who sneak over the fence to steal sheep – forcing them to go with them.

Then Jesus changes the metaphor, where HE is a gate for the sheep. This still stays within the shepherd mold as well. Shepherds would sometimes sleep in the gap of the enclosure, as the first line of defense against robbers or predators that might threaten the sheep. He would literally become a door to the pen.

He talks about motives – the motives of hired hands and the motives of a good and true shepherd.

All of this is meant to contrast the values and purpose of the kingdom of God over against a religious system. As you read this description by Jesus,what are the main characteristics of his relationship to his followers? In what ways can a religious system manifest the characteristics of the robbers Jesus described?

Jesus seems to be trying to encourage people like the formerly blind man that religion may reject them, but it doesn’t really matter. Following Jesus is where real life is found. But this begs the question…how do we KNOW we’re following Jesus and not a religious system? How can we discern what or who we’re following by the clues Jesus gives us in this story?

This is an important issue to consider. I’m looking forward to digging into this on Sunday – hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #22: Blinded By Sight (John 9:1-41)

This Sunday we’ll be reading a familiar but challenging text in our study of John. We’ll encounter a man who was born blind whom Jesus healed – and the miracle of this man gaining his eyesight effectively blinds the religious leaders in the story. It’s another classic “gospel reversal” which we encounter frequently in John’s gospel. We’ll be reading Chapter 9:1-41.

This is honestly an entertaining passage – it reads like a Shakespearean comedy. There is witty dialogue, imbecilic folly, but also pathos and drama. It’s a great story with a powerful message.

The story begins with a stunning miracle performed by Jesus, as well as some insight as to the nature of suffering – but that part is really only the set-up the real point – the reaction from the religious elite.

As we read this passage, it’s easy to identify with the man healed from blindness. It’s the oft repeated theme of the powerful oppressing the weak, and it reveals the absurdity of obsessive rule-keeping. But as members of the church in 21st century America, we need to recognize in the folly of the religious leaders a cautionary tale about the symptoms of religious blindness.

In v14 we find out why the healing of this man is controversial at all – it took place on the Sabbath. No work was to be done on the Sabbath day – and according to the Talmud, kneading was a forbidden work – something Jesus did when squishing his spit together with dirt to make a paste of mud. An activity that required the use of three fingers stirred up an outrage that ended with one man being excommunicated from the hub of Jewish society, the synagogue.

We could wag our heads at these religious leaders and wonder how they could be so blind…but as the modern church, do we have similar blind spots? Can you think of any examples where the rules of what we might consider righteousness have become more important than people? Have you ever witnessed the church pushing the requirements of holiness at the expense of people?

As you think about it, why did John include this story in the good news about Jesus? What do you think his purpose is; what is he trying to reveal about the religious order of that day contrasted with the plan of God as it unfolded through Jesus?

How can we keep ourselves from succumbing to religious blindness? How would you rewrite the Pharisee’s story if they were truly able to see?

Can’t wait to cover this one…hope to see you Sunday!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #21: Spiritual DNA (John 8:31-59)

DNA testing to discover our ancestry has been all the rage for the last several years. People have looked into their histories and found new family members or had surprising results that indicated they were not who they had always thought they were.

In the passage we’ll be reading this Sunday Jesus will be discussing family lineages, though not biological or genetic ones. We’ll be tackling John 8:31-59, the last installation of a very long conversation/argument that Jesus had with the leaders and the crowds while in Jerusalem.

As the discussion opens, what does Jesus point to as our source of true freedom? How does that compare to what most people think freedom is? The Israelites were outraged that Jesus would infer that they weren’t already free people (which is odd, considering that there were probably Roman soldiers standing guard, watching this increasingly argumentative crowd). They considered themselves part of the covenant people simply because they had the right last name and were part of the Jewish race. Yet Jesus equates freedom from sin with adoption into a family – we are freed from our bondage to a broken self will and elevated to the status of family members with God. In other words – being born as a descendant of the people of promise doesn’t automatically make a person part of the family – one must commit one’s self to Christ. How does this play out in our present day church environment? How can people make the mistake of thinking they are secure in God’s family when possibly they are not?

Jesus then makes a sharp delineation between families – indicating that those who are rejecting him and his teaching are showing off the family resemblance – only they’re revealing they’re part of the wrong family. How we respond to Jesus reveals our family traits. How will our lives reflect our response to Jesus?

In the last section, Jesus makes the profound statement “Before Abraham was, I AM.” – equating himself with God and inspiring the crowd to want to stone him on the spot. It’s an awesome thought to me that Abraham looked down the corridors of history in anticipation of Christ’s day and rejoiced…it reminds me that being part of a family with God has always been his design. God wants family, not drones of religion. How can we be inspired to live in a way that shows off the family resemblance? This will be a challenging yet encouraging study – I hope you can join us this Sunday!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #20: Our Guiding Light (John 8:12-30)

A few weeks ago, I had a friend tell me a story about his elderly cousin that he helps to care for. His cousin lives about an hour away and usually has a list of things for him to work on when he stops by. Recently, she had a light bulb in her kitchen go out. Since she was unable to fix it on her own she had to wait for one of his visits to come and replace the light bulb. My friend went into his cousin’s kitchen and in the dark he could see silhouettes of pots and pans that had been piled up. It had been too dark to care for the space or do dishes since there were no windows. He went in with his ladder, unscrewed the old light bulb, and put in the new light bulb. Can you guess what happened after that?

As the the new lightbulb was put in, he saw rodents scatter everywhere. The room was filled with them and they scrambled quickly to hide back in the safety of the darkness. I gasped in terror when I heard this story while he merely chuckled. I guess he has come to expect this sort of thing.

I think if it were me I would want to unscrew the new lightbulb and back out of the room slowly. In a situation like this, I’d rather not know what is lurking in the shadows. Sometimes, when light exposes things we don’t want to see, there can be a tendency to flip the switch off and say, “I’d rather not know. I’m good with the way things were.” 

This Sunday we will be reading John chapter 8:12-30. The first verse will start with the revolutionary declaration that Jesus makes about himself. Jesus says that He is the light of the world and that anyone who follows him will no longer have to walk in darkness.

This confronts everyone who hears this statement with a choice. Do we choose to follow Jesus and follow his light, or are we good with the way things are? Do we want to live in darkness with dirty dishes? I mean yes, there may be rodents, but at least we can’t see them! 

Or do we want to follow Jesus and live in the light? Do we want the honest truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be? The gospel is regularly confronting us with this choice and it’s one that we cannot answer for other people. Each one of us must look at our own lives, examine our own feet, and decide which direction to take our next steps.

I’m looking forward to digging into this passage. As always, there is so much beneath the surface that will be fun to unpack and discover together at church this Sunday. Hope to see you there!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #19: Spiritual Malpractice (John 8:1-11)

This Sunday we’ll be reading one of my favorite stories about Jesus. In it, we’ll see the Jesus I’ve put my whole trust in and the grace on which my hope is glued.

The problem is…most scholars don’t believe the verses we’ll be reading are from the original manuscript of John’s gospel. Worse…I believe them.

However, that doesn’t mean I don’t count this story as accurate or true. It’s sort of complicated – but we’ll get into it more on Sunday.

We’ll be reading John 8:1-11 in our study of John, the story of the woman caught in adultery – or, as I prefer to call it, the case of spiritual malpractice.

As you read this story, there are some very poignant questions you want to keep in mind. First and foremost is: Where is the man and accusations against him? According to Deut 22:23-24, both parties in this scenario were to be put to death. We assume she was betrothed since death by stoning is only mentioned for engaged people in the Law. Why might the religious leaders not be interested in the man in this relationship?

If the woman were engaged, she lived in a culture where her husband had been picked for her by her father. Have you ever seen Fiddler on the Roof? Do you remember the daughters who had different ideas about marriage than Tevye? It’s a very reasonable possibility that this woman had a young man in her life that she had fallen in love with and they gave in to their desires. I think it’s really interesting that so many paintings and movies depict the woman of this story dressed in red and displaying the stereotypical attributes of promiscuity. I seriously doubt that was the case.

Why do you think the narrator points out that Jesus stooped to draw or write in the dust, but didn’t provide the details of what he drew or wrote? If what was drawn isn’t important, what significance can you imagine would be conveyed by that action?

Jesus’ answer is possibly one of the most quoted passages in Scripture, next to “judge not”. Usually, both are misapplied when used. If Jesus meant that a person had to be sinless in order to carry out the judgements of the Law, nobody would ever have been held accountable. It’s likely that he’s pointing out Deut 13:8-9 which commands the accuser to strike the first blow. He’s also saying something else – theses accusers need to look at their own hearts to determine if they’re in a position to rightly defend God’s righteousness this way. It’s sort of like: “If we’re gonna’ get this serious about defending God’s righteousness, we may need more stones than just for her.”

By saying this, Jesus brings to light the most heinous sin being committed that day. What were these men doing by leveraging God’s righteousness and the Law of Moses in order to get at Jesus? In what way were they using God’s word and their faith? How can we keep from doing the same thing in our own context? Where do we apply God’s truth, first and foremost?

The graceful words that Jesus wraps around this woman are beautiful to me. His final command, to “go and sin no more” has been puzzled over a lot. He said the same thing to the man he healed at the Pool of Bethesda after he had been busted by the religious leaders for carrying his mat on the Sabbath. In both cases where this phrase was used, the context is one where people are being abused by religious authorities. Since going forward and living a “sinless life” was, and is, completely impossible for humans in a fallen world – perhaps he meant “change the trajectory of your life because these guys are looking for a way to get me through you.” I certainly don’t know if that’s the right way to read it, but it sort of tracks.

Either way…that statement is placed at the very end of this story. How many steps can you discern that happened between Jesus’ first meeting this woman until that statement? Did he lead with a command about sin? When did he express grace and release her from condemnation, before or after this command about sin? What might we learn from that?

I’m really, really stoked about this study – I can’t wait to dig into the scriptures together! Hope to see you Sunday!

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #18: Gaining Clarity (John 7:25-52)

This Sunday we’ll be reading John 7:25-52 and we’ll be tracking the same themes we looked at last time: a misunderstood Jesus.

It’s not easy to find clarity in this life. Our world is generally a blurry place. There are so many things that want to influence us, but we see so little of the whole picture that it’s very difficult sometimes to make sense of life. That’s one of the things Jesus has come to do in introducing the kingdom of God – he provides a story from which we can start to make sense of the world around us.

In order to grasp that story though, we have to avoid some of the attitudes and reactions that many of the people in this passage had.

In v 25-29 the people draw a conclusion about Jesus based on the rabbinical teachings that Messiah would appear with no origin story. How does Jesus address this misunderstanding? What didn’t the people know? Does that imply anything to us about what we are sure we know about God and his ways?

In v 30-36, and 40-46 the leaders of Jerusalem want to arrest Jesus but the guards they sent come back stunned and empty handed. The leadership thought that they were in control of this situation, but clearly they were not. What do you fear losing control of most – and what can we learn about who is in control from this passage?

The people in power react to the growing support Jesus is gaining in Jerusalem in v47-52. What attitude jumps out at you from their statements? It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when we start thinking more of ourselves than we should. In what ways can we as the church start to feel superior to others, and how can we counteract that tendency?

The key to clarity is found in the middle of the passage, in v37-38 where Jesus makes an invitation. It’s a powerful moment which we’ll describe in more detail on Sunday. He’s addressing a spiritual hope in Israel, water being a symbol for the end of exile… but it also points to a deep human need – a longing for fulfillment and purpose. Come and drink and then be the conduit by which others have their thirst quenched. How can drinking in Jesus’ words, example and mission be a source of satisfaction and purpose in our lives?

Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

John #17: Overthinking Jesus (John 7:1-24)

Have you ever watched talent competitions on TV, like American Idol, and been amazed at how unaware people can be of themselves? There are countless examples of contestants entering these types of competitions convinced that they have what it takes to win the show, only to be shocked when the judges say that they have no business even singing in the shower, let alone in front of people. It’s a harsh reality that some people have trouble facing. While others may be aware of their own lack of ability, there are certain people who are blindly confident in themselves, even when they shouldn’t be.

This Sunday, we’re going to be reading John 7:1-24 and we will be reading about several different scenarios of people whose confidence is misplaced in their own knowledge and idea of who Jesus should be. And while Jesus isn’t a cruel British judge on a panel, he is clear when people aren’t hitting the marks of what his mission is all about. Not only does Jesus confront the misunderstandings, he also continues his mission of exposing the truth of what is in people’s hearts.

Jesus’ brothers are also introduced in the gospel during these verses. They are mentioned in a few other gospels and even some of Paul’s writings for the early church. We can assume they were often around Jesus and we can also assume they weren’t followers (YET). Since they have a close connection to Jesus, they offer some familial advice about how to fix the problems Jesus is facing. I like to imagine them laying on a couch somewhere and interrupting important conversations to share their solutions. “You know what you should do Jesus…” 

While it will feel easy to judge the people interacting with Jesus in these verses, it’s important to remember that scripture is meant to be a mirror we hold up to ourselves. What parts of these interactions can we relate to? How often do we dictate, with misplaced confidence, the direction that we want Jesus to go? Where does humility fit within our approach to understanding Jesus?  Join us this Sunday at 10:00AM as we read through and discover the answers to these questions together.

Click here for a pdf version of the teaching slideshow.