Sermons, Lectures, & Teachings
Honoring the past context for God’s word.
Understanding the current relevance for God’s word.
Living in the future hope of God’s word.

I AM the Vine | John 15:1-17
Jesus often spoke in picture illustrations so that his audience would relate. He captured the ordinary and turned it divine. By likening himself to bread, he communicated that we need him to live, that he alone satisfies. By likening himself to a shepherd, a common profession in the time and region of Jesus, he communicated that he will lay down his life for us and protect us from enemies.

I AM the Light | John 8:12-18
Our passage for today is in John 8 (John 1), so feel free to turn there now. Jesus had just been at the Festival of Shelters. The Festival of Shelters, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, is a Jewish festival that commemorates the Israelites’ 40-year journey through the wilderness after the Exodus.

I AM the Bread of Life | John 6
The people were discontented with their current government and they were looking for a leader they wanted to follow. Someone who would solve their problems. But, as we’ve been reading this year in our Bible plan, the whole making-people-king-thing didn’t really work out for them in their favor in the past. Yet, here were the people again, following signs and miracles, wanting a king.

Palm Sunday: The Road to Easter | John 12:12-16 & 18:33–37
What a scene! There was a lot of shouting going on, drawing attention. “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” The people were crazy with excitement. They were anticipating something amazing: a new king. We see this in a few ways here.

The Human Condition Meets Love | 2 Chronicles 36:15-21 & John 3:16-21
But before we talk about the feel-good parts of God’s love, we must get our baseline, our foundation of why God’s love is so radical and transformative. We first start with the human condition.

Pursuing: Discernment & Listening | John 14:23-26
So how in this noisy world are we supposed to listen? And then, how do we take the next step into discernment, that is, deciding deciding and doing what that next step is?