This morning, we have some very special guests with us. As many of you know, we have a Girl Scout troop that meets here in our church building a couple of Sunday afternoons a month. They are the ones responsible for supplying several of you with Girl Scout cookies a couple of weeks ago. …
Shaped BY the cross into the shape OF the cross
Sermons on John
Last Sunday, we looked at a conversation that a mother, Mrs. Zebedee, had with Jesus. This morning, I want us to take a look at a conversation that a father had with Jesus. Now, I think it’s safe that mothers and fathers are very different and they have totally different parenting styles. Those of you…
The story is told about an old synagogue in Eastern Europe. When a particular prayer was said during their service, half the people in the congregation stood up and half of them remained seated. The half that was seated started yelling at those who were standing to sit down, and the ones who were…
One of the great joys in life as a parent is listening to our young children pray, because their prayers are so very honest. I heard about one mother who was eavesdropping on her young daughter one night and she overheard her praying, “Dear God, please send a new baby for Mommy. The new baby…
This morning, I want to begin a 3-week series of lessons based on Jesus’ prayer in John 17. We know from reading the gospels that Jesus prayed a lot, but the gospel writers hardly ever tell us what Jesus prayed or how he prayed. And even when we are told what Jesus prayed, it’s usually…
I sometimes hear Christians say something like this, “If only we had been there when Jesus was around! If we lived near Jesus and saw him every day, it would have made things so much simpler. We could ask him about all those difficult decisions we have to make — who to marry, which house…
In just a little bit, we’re going to take a look at the gospel of John, but before we do that, I want to spend a few minutes talking about some Jewish theology and then some Greek philosophy, and then we’re going to see how John tries to put those two things together. First…
One of the things that is so impressive to me about the Christians of the first century is how they were able to maintain their spirit of joy in spite of the hardships they went through. There was joy even during times of persecution. And of all the things that should characterize God’s people, one…
Our grandson Eric is in the 7th grade this year, and he was very excited to be able to take algebra for the first time. But what that means is that, once or twice a week, I’ll get a phone call from Eric asking me to help him with his algebra homework. He…
Those of you who are mothers, I’m sure you can relate to the story of the mother who put her 5-year-old son to bed. And, after a few minutes, she heard him call out, “Mom, can you please bring me a drink of water?” And she said, “Now you had your chance when we…