Sunday, April 30, 2017

Now What? FISH

There is a question all of us ask in life that needs to be answered.  We ask it when we are at a crossroads like graduation or a wedding or maybe the birth of a child.  We ask it during times of tragedy like the loss of a job or the loss of a relationship or the loss of someone we love.  We also ask this when we are feeling dissatisfied in life like or when we are searching for something more and new and fresh that will bring joy or meaning or energy to our lives.  It’s a simple question but a profound one because it is the question that often leads us in a new direction – that question?  Now What?

This is the question the disciples asked themselves daily after Jesus rose from the dead.  What did the resurrection mean for their live?  What did it mean for their world?  What were the disciples supposed to do now that Jesus was alive but not leading them the way he had for the past three years?  I’ve been struck recently that while Jesus was alive, he was not with the disciples like he was before and he was not leading them the same way.  Jesus was no longer walking with the disciples – literally.  Sometimes Jesus was with them, but most of the time he was not.  Jesus was not publically teaching and preaching and he was not leading his friends the way he had in the past.  Some of the confusion or uncertainty the disciples faced during this time is found in the story we are going to look at today from the end of John’s gospel.  John 21:1-14.

Some background here… Jesus was crucified, rose from the dead and first appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem but here we find at least 7 of the disciples back in Galilee.  Galilee was 70 miles from Jerusalem and without any means of transportation besides their 2 feet; it would have taken them 6 days to get there.  So it was a big decision to return to what was home for the disciples.  The question is, why did the go there?  And why did they go back to fishing?  In Matthew and Mark’s gospel we hear that told his disciples that he would meet them again in Galilee so maybe after seeing Jesus in the upper room in Jerusalem they felt like they needed to go back home to see him again.  Maybe they just didn’t know what else to do.  Why they went back to fishing, we don’t know.

They may have needed the food or the money, or it could be that they just didn’t know what else to do so they returned to what they knew best.  The death and resurrection of Jesus literally rocked their world and so during this time of uncertainty when they didn’t know what their future held, maybe the disciples just went back to what was known and comfortable for them - fishing.  But what happened to them while they fished tells us what we need to do whenever we get to a place where we are asking God, Now What?

The first thing we see here is that on their own, the disciples are pretty helpless.  They went back to fishing but they hadn’t been able to catch anything.  On their own they weren’t getting anywhere.  On their own they were coming up empty.  Does that sound familiar?  How many times do we struggle to do things our way only to find we are getting nowhere?  We rely on our own wisdom or strength and come up empty?  When we are looking for direction or needing strength to make it to the next day or looking for healing, hope and new beginnings, the first thing we need to do is admit that we can not make it on our own.  We need to confess our own insufficiency and weakness so that we can begin learn to lean into and trust God.  God wants to be our strength but He never can be as long as we trusting in ourselves.

The apostle Paul was a man who throughout his early life trusted in his own strength and ability.  He trusted in his family history that gave him power and position.  He trusted his own education that had gotten him far in life, but now, all that he once trusted, is coming up empty and it is from this place of emptiness that Paul hears God say, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  God’s power can not enter our lives as long as we are trusting in our own power to see us through.  God’s wisdom can not lead us as long as we trusting in our own knowledge and insight to give us direction.  God’s presence can not lead us as long we are trusting in our own ability to make our way in life.  Paul said he would boast and delight in his weaknesses because when we are weak – God is then able to be strong in us.

It is when we can boast in our weakness or at least acknowledge how much we lack on our own that we are then able to turn to God and begin to find God’s strength and power and grace to help us move forward.  When the disciples could no longer find fish on their own – Jesus showed up and told them to fish off the other side of the boat and when they did they got everything they needed – and more.  But the disciples only got more because they were willing to follow what Jesus told them.  They only got a huge catch of fish because they listened to Jesus and did what he asked them to do.

Now let’s be clear, this miraculous catch of fish did not answer all the disciples’ questions, it wasn’t meant to.  The fish were to open their eyes so they could see the one who does have all the answers.  They didn’t know what more Jesus would be asking them to do, but they were faithful in that one step and that opened the door for more.  What this means for us is that we need to follow God one step at a time.  If we are searching for anything in life, the answers don’t usually come down from heaven in a manual with all the steps laid out, it usually comes from being willing to take one step at a time.

Look at Philippians 3:12-16.  Let us live up to what we have already attained.  Let us obey what we already know of God because when we do that – God will lead us forward.   Abraham was one of the first people called by God so in many ways he is the prototype for all of us who want to follow God and what God told Abraham was to leave his home and go to the land that I will show you.  Abraham didn’t know where that land was so all he could do was leave his home and trust that God would lead him to a new home.  In many ways the disciples are learning that they too are going to have to trust Jesus to lead them one step at a time into a new life and that only happens if we will listen and obey.

Several years ago I went hiking in Acadia National Park and the top of many of the mountains there it is all exposed rock and so the trail is marked with cairns.  If it is clear out, you can see all the cairns and your destination, but I when I got to the top there was a dense fog.  All I could do was make my way to the next cairn and then look for the next one.  When we are uncertain about our future and asking now what?, we need to stop and say, how can I be faithful and obey God today?  What do I know of God that I can follow today so God can lead me into tomorrow?  Trusting and obeying God today will lead us into the future and obedience really is the key.  We don’t have to have all the answers, we just need to obey one step at a time.

Once the disciples obey Jesus and throw their nets over the other side of the boat, they haul in a catch of fish so large that it starts to sink the boat.  As soon as this happens, Peter is convinced that it is Jesus on the shore because it was Jesus who provided a catch of fish just like this years earlier.  When Peter knows it is Jesus it says he jumps in the water and quickly makes his way to Jesus.  Peter is eager for fellowship.  Peter runs to be in the presence of Jesus and this is a powerful picture of what we need to do when we are uncertain and confused and looking for God’s direction in our lives.  We need to run to Jesus.  We need to let nothing stand in our way of being in the presence of Jesus.

We live in a culture where everything tries to keep us from the presence of Jesus.  We are distracted by 24/7 news, sports and entertainment which can be tailored to meet our specific tastes and interests.  This means there is always something somewhere that we can watch or listen to and if all else fails, we can turn to social media and see what things other people are doing.  With all this distraction and with jobs and demands that hound us all through the day and night, being in the presence of God takes some intentionality and work.  This is why worship is so important in our lives and why we seek to make it a priority.  Worship together as the church is at least one time a week where we can intentionally put ourselves in the presence of God and set aside some of life’s distractions.  Worship is important not because I am going to say something profound that will answer all of life’s questions, it is important because it is here that we might experience the God who can provide direction and give us all answers and all his love and power.

More importantly, it is in the presence of God that we are given courage and confidence to take that next step of faith and it is in the presence of God that we can receive the love and grace that can bring healing or hope or the assurance that we are loved by God and those are things that can take us to the next step in life.

Being in the presence of God is not just someplace we go once a week, however, it needs to be a place we run to every day.  Listen to how David talked about this during his life.

I run to you, GOD; I run for dear life.
You’re my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide.
Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you.
I’ve put my life in your hands.
You won’t drop me,  you’ll never let me down.
I hate all this silly religion,  but you, GOD, I trust.
I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
you saw my pain,  you disarmed my tormentors,
You didn’t leave me in their clutches but gave me room to breathe.

Be kind to me, GOD— I’m in deep, deep trouble again.
I’ve cried my eyes out; I feel hollow inside.
My life leaks away, groan by groan; my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out, turned my bones to powder.
Desperate, I throw myself on you: you are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in your hand, 
Safe from the hands out to get me.
Warm me, your servant, with a smile; 
Save me because you love me.
What a stack of blessing you have piled up for those who worship you, ready and waiting for all who run to you
(From Psalm 31 – The Message)

Something happens when we run to God, God welcomes us and God feeds us.  When Peter and the disciples finally get to shore, Jesus feeds them.  Jesus provides for them and cares for them.
We talk a lot about ministering to others and yesterday we were out serving and that kind of love in action is vital to our faith, but before we can do that consistently with our lives we need to first allow God to feed us.  Before Jesus sent the disciples out into the world – he fed them.  Before we can go and do anything and before we can fully live into the future God has for us we need to allow God to feed us and we need figure out how to consistently eat at God’s table.  This is so important because if we do not learn how to do this, we will eventually be running on empty.  What was the first thing we talked about today?  On our own we are nothing.  We are ineffective until we can learn how to be nourished by God.  

One of the greatest truths we need to learn in life comes from a very unlikely and today somewhat unpopular place – the airlines.  During the safety instructions we are told that when the air masks drop from the ceiling we are to attach our own first and then help others.  It is important to make sure we are being fed and cared for a nurtured ourselves before we can live a life of helping others.  We need to learn how to eat first before we can feed others.  This isn’t being selfish, it is the reality of life.  We need to make sure we are getting all we can from Jesus so that we can effectively love and care for others.  While times of worship, prayer and the study of God’s word can fed us, we are also fed through times of fellowship.  When we come together to talk and eat and serve and eat, we are encouraged and spiritually and emotionally fed by God  This is when we know that we are loved and cared for which then helps us go out to love and care for others.  Fellowship feeds us and if there is food involved –even better.

There are times we all get to that place in life or in faith when we stop and ask ourselves, Now What?  While those can be frustrating and confusing moments, God shows us how to make it through and find what we need.  This needs to be the core of our faith:
Confess our weakness
Obey what we already know
Run to be in the presence of God
Eat all we can of what God provides

If this can become the core of our lives and our life of faith – step by step God will lead us into the future that he has for us.


Next Steps
Now What? – FISH

1. Where have you seen your own strength, wisdom and ability fail and let you down?  Take time at the beginning of each day this week to acknowledge your own insufficiency.

Almighty God, too often I am trusting my own strength to get me through, my own wisdom to lead the way and my own ability to provide for my needs.  Forgive me.  Show me the futility of that thinking and teach me to live depending on you alone.  For it is in the powerful name of Jesus I pray.  AMEN

2.  Obey what you already know of God.  Every day, review and/or write out what these basic teachings of God tell us and commit to following them this week.
10 Commandments – Exodus 20
Greatest Commandment – Mark 12:28-34
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (part 1) – Matthew 5
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (part 2) – Matthew 6
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (part 3) – Matthew 7
Great Commission – Matthew 28:16-29
Rejoice Always – Philippians 4:4-9

3.  Spend time in the presence of God every day this week.   Set aside intentional time to pray and worship God.  Commit to being in worship next week.  Make worship a priority for you and your family this summer.

4.  Allow God to feed you and love you.
Read John 21 and identify all the ways Jesus showed his love to the disciples
Acknowledge every day that God loves you.
Read a psalm every day this week.
o Psalm 8, 18, 23, 27, 42, 46, 121

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Now What? FAITH


Have you ever missed out on an event that everyone else got to see and be part of?  Maybe you weren’t able to be at a family wedding or you missed some big news event and so felt completely in the dark as everyone was talking.  Or maybe you took a day off work and that was the day the boss showed up and decided to take everyone out for lunch.  We’ve all missed out on something through the years and so we can understand a little of what Thomas must have been feeling the week after Jesus rose from the dead.  For whatever reason, Thomas was not with the rest of the disciples when Jesus appeared to them.  We don’t know where he was or what he was doing but can you image how Thomas felt when he got back together with his friends and they all start telling him that Jesus was alive and that he had stood right there with them.

How disappointed Thomas must have been.  How frustrated and upset he must have been with himself and maybe even Jesus for appearing when he was away.  Maybe it was that frustration and disappointment that made Thomas defensive so defensive that he said he wouldn’t believe it until he could see it with his own eyes, or maybe Thomas really was struggling to believe something that contradicted what he knew was true – which was that Jesus had died on the cross.  For centuries Thomas has gotten a bad rap because he struggled to believe something that all the rest of the disciples got to see and because of that people have called him doubting Thomas.  The truth is that Thomas has more to teach us about faith than doubt.

All that we know about Thomas comes from the gospel of John.  We hear Thomas speak three times in the gospel, which may not sound like much, but since we never hear many of the disciples speak, that we hear from Thomas three times is significant.  If we listen to what Thomas says, we find that he is really more of a man of faith than doubt and maybe we need to model our lives and faith on him.  

We first hear Thomas speak after Jesus’ friend Lazarus has died.  Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha and the three of them lived in Bethany and often opened their home to Jesus and the disciples.  Word came to Jesus that Lazarus had died and so Jesus said that they were going to return to Bethany in Judea to be with the family.  At this, the disciples raised a concern with Jesus; they reminded him that the last time he was in Judea, people tried to kill him.  Did Jesus really want to go back?  Jesus said he was going and it was Thomas who replied, Let us also go, that we may die with Jesus. John 11:16

What Thomas shows us is that real faith involves taking risks.  There is no doubt in Thomas’ mind about what will happen to them if they return to Bethany, they will die – but Thomas is willing to go.  He was willing to take that risk.  This is real faith.  Real faith is bold, courageous and risk taking.  Think of the people of faith we read about in the Old Testament – they all had to take risks.  Abraham had to leave his home to go to the place God would show him.  He had no idea where they were going; he just had to take a risk and go.  Moses had to step up and speak to Pharaoh and then lead God’s people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.  All of this was dangerous and could have led to Moses being attacked or killed.  David had to be willing to face Goliath with a slingshot, some stones and his belief in God.  The prophets had to risk their lives and reputations to speak the truth to the people of God.

Real faith always involves some risk.  The only reason we know about Jesus today is because there have been people in every generation who were willing to take some risks to share the message of Jesus with others.  The disciples took risks to tell others about Jesus.  The early church took risks to spread the gospel through the Roman Empire.  People were thrown to the lions and burned at the stake because they refused to deny their faith in Christ and their risk-taking-witness helped others believe in Jesus.

Missionaries took risks to take the message of Jesus to places like India and China and today we have brothers and sisters taking great risks throughout the Middle East to simply proclaim that they believe in Jesus.  Their witness is helping others come to faith and retain their faith in the face of death and danger.

I also think of our own mothers and fathers in the faith.  In their own way they took risks so that the church could be established and so their children and grandchildren might come to believe in Jesus.  People right here in Bellefonte sacrificed and gave so that we could be here today.  They didn’t just give so there could be a building, I think more about the faithful ministry and service of so many people who have taken risks to keep the work of Jesus alive.  Men and women gave their time and energy and gifts to make sure Sunday school continued and children were cared for.  People gave their time to sing in worship, lead in Bible Studies and serve in the community.  Ministry and service take some risks and sacrifices and we are here today because of the risk taking faith of others.

Faith in Jesus calls for taking risks and for the kind of courage we see in Thomas who was willing to die with Jesus.  Thomas’ love for Jesus was so strong he was willing to lay down his life.  Thomas is not a study in doubt but an example of faith because real faith is risky.  Will we take risks in our own faith?  Will we take risks at work and let people know that we are a follower of Jesus?  When others are making fun of the church will we take a stand and speak up for what we believe?  Will we take a risk with our finances and order our financial lives the way God calls us to?  It is risky to tithe and give sacrificially to the work of God in the world, but think of all those who have done this.  Their faith has made a difference.

Will we take some risks and step out in mission and service?  Too often we don’t think that we have anything to offer, or that our work can make a difference so we sit back, but instead we need to take a risk and step out.  Sometimes we are afraid of looking foolish when we step out to help others because we may not feel like we have the skills or ability to help, but are we willing to risk looking foolish or failing and just go.  Thomas really thought they would die by going back to Judea – he thought they would fail - but he went anyway.  Sometimes we just need to step out and go anyway.

Maybe it seems risky to volunteer for Serving our Seniors because we aren’t sure what – if anything – we can do and we don’t know who we might be working with.  Faith is signing up anyway.  It may seem risky to volunteer to work with our children because we don’t feel like we have the gifts to help in the nursery or with VBS but faith is stepping out to help anyway.  We have made a commitment today to order our lives after the example of Christ so that a child and family (which means all children and all families) can see and hear and experience the presence of God.  This means we all have to do something – we all have to be willing to risk something.

When the disciples faced the resurrection of Jesus and the uncertainty that this new reality brought to their lies, they had to be willing to overcome their fear and take some bold and courageous steps forward.  I’m sure they asked themselves, Now what?  My guess is that in time it was Thomas who answered that question by saying, we need to have faith and we need to take some risks.  Faith requires us to take risks.  What risk is God asking you to take today?

Thomas also shows us that faith means digging deeper into who Jesus is and what Jesus is all about.  The second time we hear Thomas speak is at the Last Supper when Jesus told his disciples that he was getting ready to go to his father in heaven.  John 14:1-7.  Now the truth is that none of the disciples understood what Jesus was talking about, but it was Thomas who took a risk and asked a question.  Thomas wanted to understand more about Jesus and what he was doing and where he was going.  Thomas wanted to learn more and real faith always has a hunger and thirst for more of Jesus.

While we think that faith means having all the answers, real faith is being willing to ask all the questions.  Throughout Jesus’ life and ministry the disciples asked a lot of questions, but none of those can compare to what they wanted to ask after the resurrection.  How did you rise from the dead?  Why did you rise from the dead?  What does this mean for Jesus, for us and for the world?  Now what are we supposed to do?  Now what was Jesus going to do?  These are still questions we ask today and we may not get specific answers but as someone who has asked a lot of questions during his life of faith – let me tell you that the process of asking questions leads to a deeper faith and trust in God.

It is important to ask questions because asking questions not only leads to finding answers but it leads to a deeper relationship with the one we are asking.  One of the most wonderful things and one of the most exasperating things, about children is that phase where they ask constant questions.  Why is the grass green?  Why is the sky blue?  Why does the cow go moo?  I heard a parent tell me this week that their child asked them, why did Jesus have to die?  (Always a good question.)  And of course don’t we all love it when children simply ask why – over and over again.

When children ask all these questions, there is a real desire to learn more about the world around them, but I often wonder if what they really want is simply a deeper relationship with the one they are asking.  Do all these questions just show a desire on the part of children to know their parents more?  I asked my grandmother lots of questions about my grandfather and my family because I wanted to know more but I also just loved the time with my grandmother.  

So developing a strong faith doesn’t mean we shy away from questions but that we ask them and seek to know more about Jesus and to know Jesus more.  This is why worship, Sunday School, Bible Studies and personal devotions are so important because they not only teach us about God but they open up our hearts and minds so we will ask more questions and seek more of God and the more we seek God the more we find him.  Our faith can’t get complacent.  We can’t get to the place where we feel like we have learned all we need to know because when it comes to God we will never learn all there is to know.  

Thomas shows us that real faith takes risks and asks questions, but real faith is also willing to let go of uncertainty.  After Thomas sees the risen Jesus and the wounds in his hands and side, we hear him speak for the last time and he says to Jesus, My Lord and my God.
With these words, Thomas has let go of his uncertainty, his questions have found answers and his love of Jesus has grown to the place where Thomas alone in the gospels proclaims Jesus to be God.  In many ways this is the moment that John has been leading us to.  All through his gospel, John has been telling us that Jesus is God and of all people, it is Thomas who really doesn’t doubt but has the faith to say that Jesus is God.

Thomas has now become the model of what it means to have faith in the risen Jesus.  Real faith means that we love Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and that our love moves us to take big risks to follow him.  Real faith means always being willing to learn more about Jesus and ask the questions that not only lead us to a deeper understanding but into a deeper relationship with God.  It also means being willing to let go of our fear so that with confidence we can proclaim Jesus to be God and to trust him as our Lord.

After Jesus rose from the dead, one of the biggest questions the people faced was Now What?  what do we do with this news of Christ resurrection?  What does it mean for our lives and for our world?  Thomas teaches us that what is needed now is FAITH.  We need to take some risks, dig deeper into who Jesus is and let go of our doubts and fears so that we can trust that Jesus is Lord and God.   Thomas is not the one who shows us doubt but the one who teaches us about FAITH.


Next Steps
Now What?  FAITH

1.  What events have you missed out on that everyone else got to see, hear and experience?  How did missing out make you feel?

2 Read about Thomas in the gospel of John.  John 11:1-16, 14:1-7, 20:21-29

3. Real faith is willing to LOVE God and take risks.
What risks have you been willing to take for your faith?
What risk is God asking you to take?
o At work
o With your finances
o In mission and ministry (Sign up today to serve our seniors this coming Saturday)

4. Real faith is willing to LEARN more and ask questions.
Join a Bible Study, small group or Sunday school class to ask questions about Jesus and to learn more.
Commit to regular worship this summer to learn more about faith.  (This Summer we will be exploring the Apostle’s Creed)

5. Real faith is willing to LET GO of uncertainty and move forward.
What is keeping you from taking risks?
o Move beyond these doubts and fears.
What is keeping you from being part of a group that is committed to learning more about Jesus?
o Step out and join a group this summer?

Sunday, April 16, 2017

He Is Risen Indeed!

Christ is Risen!   He Is Risen Indeed!!

Great – but what exactly does this mean?  What does it mean that Jesus rose from the dead?  Do we just celebrate that 2000 years ago a man miraculously came back to life or is there something more?  What we celebrate today is not just that Jesus rose from the dead but that his resurrection confirms who Jesus is,  validates all that Jesus said and did throughout his life and proclaims that sin and death have been defeated once and for all.

We have learned that from the very beginning of John’s gospel, John has been trying to help us see that Jesus is the fullness of God in human form.  Jesus was the word of God in the flesh and the fullness of God in this world.  That Jesus rose from the dead confirms that Jesus is God because only God can create life and only God can restore or resurrect life.  Jesus is confirmed as God which validates all that Jesus said and did during his life.  The resurrection of Jesus tells us that all the teaching of Jesus is true and needs to be followed.  It means that loving one another and serving those in need is the way to experience ultimate meaning and power in life.  The resurrection of Jesus tells us that we will get more out of life when we forgive those who have hurt us instead of seeking revenge and that putting others before ourselves will help us experience a full and abundant life.  The resurrection of Jesus validates all the teaching of Jesus and every example he gave to us.  

The resurrection of Jesus also proclaims that sin and death have been defeated.  The apostle Paul said that death has been swallowed up in victory – the victory of Jesus Christ.  This is not only what we proclaim when those we love have died, but this is where we place our hope throughout our lives.  That sin and death have been defeated means that no matter where we find ourselves in life – there is hope.  When our own sin and failures seem too great to overcome, the resurrection proclaims that all is not lost because there is forgiveness and reconciliation.

When our jobs or marriages or families are broken and all seems lost, the resurrection proclaims that there is hope for healing and hope for strength and new opportunities because the power of God is at work in our lives.  When we think we have nothing to offer the world and that no one cares about us and that our lives simply don’t matter, the resurrection tells us that we have value and worth and that we are deeply loved because God overcomes sin and the grave for us – for you and for me.  God did it all for love – for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son...

The resurrection proclaims that there is hope for our lives and in the Easter story we see this hope in the person of Mary.  It is Mary who comes to the tomb early in the morning and Mary comes as someone who is feeling a profound sense of hopelessness.  When Jesus died and was laid in the tomb, Mary not only lost a person she loved deeply, but Jesus was the one who had forever changed her life.  Mary had been possessed by 7 demons and while we don’t know what these demons did to Mary, we do know that when Jesus drove them out, her life changed.

Mary was completely dedicated to Jesus because of what he did to help her and she not only supported Jesus during his life but it was Mary who was at the cross when Jesus died and at the tomb when he was buried.  It was Mary who then risked her safety by going to the tomb early in the morning and it is Mary who is overwhelmed with sorrow because the body was gone.  Not only had Jesus died but now someone had taken his body.  She has lost everything.

Twice it says that Mary wept and we can understand her tears.  All the good she experienced in her life had suddenly been stripped away.  All the hope she had for her future had come to an end.  The one that she loved had died.  We know this pain.  All the good we had hoped for is suddenly stripped away, the hope we had for the future seems to come to an end and those we love have died.  In different ways we know Mary’s tears and what Easter tells us is that in the middle of our tears God comes to meet us.  In the midst of our despair and hopelessness, God comes offering us light and life.
Through her tears it says that Mary looks into the tomb and saw two angels.  Now every gospel account of the resurrection talks about angels or messengers at the empty tomb and here John tells us there were two of them and they are inside the tomb, one at the place where Jesus feet would have been and the other at his head - John 20:11-12.  We have learned during this Lenten season in our study of John’s gospel that John always provides details that are symbolic and important for us to consider and here it is the placement of the angels.  The angels at the head and feet forms another picture in our minds - two angels with an empty space in the middle points us to the two angels that sat on the Ark of the Covenant.



In the Old Testament, when God gave directions for the ark to be built, there were two cherubim that were to be placed on the lid of the ark and the empty space in the center was known as the mercy seat - Exodus 25:22.  This was God’s seat and it was known as God’s place on earth.  It was from this seat that God spoke to his leaders.  The blood of a sacrifice was to be sprinkled here to make it holy and this was where God met with his people.  What John wants us to think about is how the mercy seat is no longer the lid of an ark or even the empty tomb but that God would now meet with his people through the risen Christ.

Look what happens to Mary.  Mary turns from the angels and comes face to face with Jesus.  She doesn’t recognize him at first, but when Jesus speaks her name, her eyes and heart are opened.  God is not on the mercy seat, God is now with us and God has come to turn or sorrow into joy, our fear into faith and our despair into hope.  The people of Israel used to have to go to the ark or the Temple to seek the presence of God – now God comes to us.  God comes to us and offers mercy and love – forgiveness and grace and God comes to offer us the light of hope no matter where we find ourselves.  The victory of Jesus over the grave is a victory we can experience in our lives because the resurrection tells us that God is always with us.


Even before Jesus appeared to his disciples to assure them he is alive, there is another detail John provides that points to Jesus resurrection and that is found in what the disciples saw when they looked into the tomb.  It’s interesting that they didn’t see the angels when they looked in but what they did see were the empty grave clothes.  The linen wrappings that had secured the body of Jesus when he was taken down from the cross were lying there completely undisturbed.  The wrappings weren’t strewn all over the place as grave robbers would have left them if they stole the body of Jesus and the linen napkin or cloth that was wrapped around Jesus head was neatly folded nearby.  What these details tell us is that the tomb was in order.  

John wants us to understand that Jesus had not unwrapped himself because he hadn’t really died and the body hadn’t been stolen because if it had they would either have taken the entire body, wrappings and all, or they would have unwrapped him quickly and left the clothes behind but in a complete mess.  With the tomb in order we are being told that Jesus has risen from the dead leaving the grave clothes behind.  There is no other explanation for the empty grave clothes except that Jesus rose through them and rose from the dead and that this an act of God.

It is significant that the disciples were the ones who saw this because they were the ones wrapped up in their own grave clothes.  The disciples’ failure to stay with Jesus weighed on their hearts.  They were filled with a grief and guilt and shame that wrapped them up in fear.  The resurrection of Jesus and the empty grave clothes tell them that they can be forgiven and leave their burdens behind.

What grave clothes do we need to leave behind?  What is it that has kept us bound up that we need to let go of so we can experience new life.  The resurrection of Jesus tells us that God gives us power to overcome all those things that try to keep us down.  Whatever we struggle with, whatever tries to undermine our faith or steal our hope or destroy our lives can be left behind if we will trust in God and the power of Christ’s resurrection.

The disciples experience this power when Jesus comes to them later in the day – John 20:19-20.
Their sorrow has been turned to joy and their doubt or fear begins to be transformed into faith.  Everything changes when Jesus comes to them and everything changes when Jesus comes to us – and he does come to us.  The risen Jesus found Mary in her sorrow and he found the disciples in their fear and God will find us wherever we are today and he will offer us a love that forgives, a power that will bring hope and a peace that will sustain us now and forever.  This is what it means when we say Christ is Risen – He is risen indeed!

But there is one more detail that John gives us that no one else does and it is important for us to think about it so let’s go back to John 19:41.  Not far from the cross was the tomb and the tomb was located in a garden.  Now the garden is not going to be a flower garden like we think of, they really didn’t have those, the garden was where they grew produce – like grapes.  In Jerusalem, not far outside the city walls, is what is known as the garden tomb.  While we aren’t sure this is the actual tomb of Jesus, what makes it so interesting is that it is a tomb located in the middle of a garden and the reason we know it was a garden was because they discovered these – this is where they would have crushed grapes to make wine and these wine vats would be located in gardens because you didn’t want to have to transport the grapes a long distance.

But why was it important for John to tell us that Jesus was placed in a tomb that was in a garden?  Perhaps because John started his gospel by reminding us of another garden, the Garden of Eden.  John started his gospel by saying; In the beginning was the word.  In the beginning God created a garden and now the world would begin again in a garden.  Mary even thinks that Jesus is the gardener – maybe not a bad image of the resurrected Jesus – the gardener who brings forth new life.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were told to tend the garden and care for it – now as the new Gardener Jesus sends out his disciples to tend the new garden of God.  Jesus said to his disciples, As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.  John 20:21

The Easter story is never complete without understanding that it asks something from us in return.  It is not just a confirmation of who Jesus is and a validation of Jesus life and teaching and a proclamation of Jesus victory it is also a call for us to offer the light and life of Jesus to our world.  Just as Mary shared the good news of Jesus’ resurrection with the disciples so are we to share the good news of God with others.  After the resurrection, Jesus sent the disciples out to continue the work that He began, so the resurrection tells us that what Jesus began – we need to continue.

We need to tend the garden of God or bring God’s kingdom into this world.  Sometimes we will be the ones planting the seeds by sharing the good news of Jesus through our teaching and witness and service.  Sometimes we need to tend and water the garden by caring for those whom God has given to us n the church and in the world.  And we are to also bring in the harvest which maybe just means living out the mission of God in the everyday activities of our lives.

Adam Hamilton has said, Every conversation we have, every decision we make, every action we take is an opportunity for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.  When we intentionally live in God’s garden and take every opportunity we have to share the light and life of God in this world we are bringing in the harvest and working to complete what God began.

So Yes!  Christ is Risen.  He is Risen Indeed
This is not just something we say today, this needs to be how we live every day.  Let us live knowing that God is with us and let us give ourselves to the mission of working in the garden to bring about the kingdom of God.

Next Steps
He Is Risen Indeed!

1.  This week read John chapters 20-21.
Use the following questions during your reading:
What is said in this passage about Jesus?
In this passage, how does Jesus bring life to me?
What response do these verses require of me?

2. The resurrection confirms who Jesus is, validates all that Jesus said and did, and proclaims that sin and death have been defeated.  Which of these is most needed in your life?

3. Jesus filled Mary’s life with hope and possibility.  Where in your life do you need to experience this kind of hope?  Ask Jesus to shine God’s light into this situation.

4.  Who do you know that needs to hear words of hope?  How can you share the light of Christ with that person this week?

5.  The disciples found the grave clothes that wrapped Jesus body completely undisturbed and the tomb in order.  Jesus literally rose (through the grave clothes) from the dead.
What “grave clothes” do you need to leave behind?
What burdens does God want to remove from your life?

6. Jesus’ resurrection took place in a garden and Jesus was mistaken for a gardener.  He then sends his disciple into the world to continue the work God has begun.
How are you being called to carry on the work of Jesus and tend to the garden of God?
How can you help bring the fullness of God’s Kingdom into this world?

Every conversation we have, every decision we make, every action we take is an opportunity for God’s kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.  (Adam Hamilton)

Sunday, April 9, 2017

John - The Gospel of Light and Life ~ Jesus Is King

Today is Palm Sunday which is the day that we remember and celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the time of the Passover.  We hear this story in John 12:12-15, 18-19.  What John really wants us to see here is that the Jesus has come as a king.  The palm branches were signs of victory that were waved when a king returned from battle and it was the prophets who said that the King of Israel would enter Jerusalem riding on the donkey.  John makes clear that Jesus isn’t just celebrated as the King of Israel, however, he is coming as the King of all Kings and the king of the world because it is John who tells us that the leaders of Israel were complaining that the whole world was following Jesus.

John continues this idea as Jesus as King and really drives it home during his account of Jesus’ arrest, trial and crucifixion.  John’s account of the final day of Jesus life is very different than Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Matthew, Mark and Luke focus on the suffering of Jesus.  We see from them the very human side of Jesus as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, struggled under the weight of the cross and cried out in agony before his death.  John however, wants us to see the divine nature of Jesus.  John’s entire gospel has been to reveal to us that Jesus is God in the flesh and so his focus isn’t to show us the suffering of Jesus but the glory of Jesus as King all the way to the cross.

We begin to see things differently when Jesus goes to Gethsemane.   In Matthew, Mark and Luke we are told that Jesus was in agony as he prayed.  His soul was burdened, he asked God to find another way for him to complete his mission on earth and even his sweat was said to be like drops of blood, but John doesn’t record any of this.  Listen to John’s telling of the story – John 18:1-6.

John tells us that the group of soldiers who came to arrest Jesus was a detachment or a cohort which was 600 soldiers.  In the face of this show of force and power, John tells us that Jesus made them all shrink back in fear by using just a few words.  When they ask if he is Jesus of Nazareth his response is I am he, but what he really says is  I AM.
The words that Jesus has used to describe himself over and over again and the very name of God is what Jesus says and when he says it – there is power.  Jesus is a real king who can strike fear into soldiers and leaders alike just by his words but then he allows himself to taken away.

From the very beginning we see that Jesus is the one who has all the power but he doesn’t use that power for himself, he lays it down so that he can save others.  Look at John 18:8.  Already we see that Jesus is giving his life in exchange for his friends.  Jesus has all the power and glory, he is the great I AM, and the King of Kings, but as the King, Jesus is willing to suffer and die for his friends and the world and it is because he is the king that his suffering and death is able to save the world.

After Jesus is arrested, he stands trial and the real difference in how John tells the story is that he records more of the conversation between Pilate and Jesus.  Pilate is symbolic of all worldly authority.  Pilate stands for the Roman Empire which in essence was all the authority in the world at that time and Pilate and Jesus talk about kings and kingdoms.  In fact, as we read through this part of John 18 and 19 the word king or kingdom is used 15 times which tells us clearly that John wants us to see Jesus as the king and that he has come to bring in God’s kingdom.  While Jesus doesn’t specifically come out and say, Yes I am the king, he does say, My kingdom is not of this world.  Jesus acknowledges that he is part of another kingdom and that he has come to bring this kingdom, God’s kingdom, into this world.  Jesus has come to bring the values and direction and love of God’s kingdom into our world and through Jesus we see the goodness and power of God’s kingdom at work.

Just before Pilate condemned Jesus to death, we are told that all this took place on the Preparation Day for the Passover which was the day people would killed and roasted the lamb for the Passover meal, John 19:14-16 .  In the other three gospels we are told that the Last Supper was the Passover meal, but here Jesus dies on the preparation day of the Passover and John does this for a reason.  John wants us to see the death of Jesus in the context of all the lambs being killed for the Passover.  John is making it clear to us that Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood is going to save the world.  Jesus is the King who saves us.

Let’s remember what the Passover was all about and why the people were sacrificing a lamb.  When Israel was living as slaves in Egypt, God said he would deliver his people by sending the angel of death through the land and anyone who had the blood of a sacrificial lamb over their door would be saved.  After that night, Pharaoh did let God’s people go – they were set free from bondage.  They were finally victorious and had their freedom.  Every year the people were told to celebrate God’s victory and their freedom by sacrificing a lamb.  By saying that Jesus died on the preparation day and putting that detail in right as Jesus is handed over to be crucified, John is making a clear statement that Jesus is THE Lamb of God whose blood will bring freedom and victory.  In this moment God is going to be victorious.  In Jesus’ death, God is going to be glorified.

So John tells us the death of Jesus took place on the Preparation Day but the other gospels tell us it was a few days later.  How do we reconcile this difference in timing?  Why does John have it on this day while the others place it on a different day?  The truth is we don’t know for sure, but one thing we do need to remember is that John was not writing his gospel as a work of history.  He wasn’t interested in getting all the details right, his primary goal was for us to see who Jesus really is.  So John didn’t care about getting the day right, he was more concerned that we would see Jesus as the Lamb of God and the king of glory.

Now all the gospels do tell us that Jesus died as part of the celebration of the Passover because they all wanted us to know that Jesus was the lamb of God, but this idea was so important to John that he chose to connect the crucifixion with the preparation day so we could clearly see Jesus as the sacrificial lamb.  Historical accuracy was not a concern to John, having us see Jesus as the Lamb of God is what mattered.

There is also a difference in how John talks about Jesus carrying the cross.  In John we are told that Jesus carried his own cross, John 19:17, but Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus had help carrying the cross from a man named Simon.  John doesn’t include this detail because he wants us to see the strength of Jesus who chose to make his way to the cross.  The cross was not something thrust on Jesus and he didn’t fall under the weight of what was going on.  John wants us to see that Jesus is the King so omits the detail about Simon so we see that Jesus is powerful and always in control.

John also tells us that the sign posted on the cross as Jesus died said Jesus of Nazareth, The king of the Jews - John 19:19-22.  John tells us that it was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek which were the three languages spoken throughout the Roman Empire.  Again, John is telling us that Jesus is the King not just of the Jews but of the entire world.  He is the king of Kings and the lord of Lords and it is on the cross that Jesus is finally enthroned in glory.  Jesus has embraced this way of being king because he knows it will be his blood that will wash away sin and make people clean. Jesus knows it will be his death that will bring new life.

John drives this point home by providing one more detail.  In the moments before Jesus utters his final word it says they lifted a sponge up to Jesus that was filled with wine vinegar to quench his thirst.  The branch that was lifted up to Jesus was the branch of a hyssop and John wouldn’t include that detail if it wasn’t important.  Hyssop branches were important to the people of Israel.  It was the hyssop branch that the people of Israel used to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes.  It was also the branch used in rites of purification for God’s people - look at Psalm 51:7.

So right before Jesus dies when a hyssop branch is lifted to Jesus it is to remind us that it is Jesus whose blood will save us and it will be Jesus who will wash us clean.  It is Jesus who not only forgives sin but sets us free from the bondage of sin and death.  Everything in John’s gospel points us to Jesus being the king of all Kings and truly the king of the world.

Now the final word of Jesus on the cross that John records isn’t a cry of pain or rejection it is a cry of victory – John 19:30.  It is finished is really just one word – tetelestai – which isn’t a cry of defeat but a cry of victory.  Bishop Will Willimon said it’s like what Michelangelo might have said when he finally put down his brush after completing the Sistine chapel.  Or think about a buzzer beater to win a basketball game.  The ball goes through the net with the last tenths of second ticking off and every shouts – it is finished – as they run around the court in victory.  This final word of Jesus is a cry of victory.  The king has won – not through violence or physical force but through love.  Jesus laid down his life; it says he gave up his spirit. No one took anything from him.  From beginning to end, Jesus was in control and he had all the power and he chose to lay it down in love to bring life to God’s people and light to the world.

So from the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem that we remember and celebrate today, to the final word of Jesus on the cross that we will hear again on Friday, John shows us that Jesus is the king.  Jesus is operating from a position of strength and he is in control.  He has all the power and on the cross Jesus is showing us not defeat but victory – the victory of God’s love.  Remember what John said early in his gospel, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  God’s love has brought us the victory of life and for John that moment of glory is this moment on the cross where we see Jesus as the king.

Now all of this leads us to ask one very important question.  Is Jesus my king?  Am I part of God’s kingdom?  John doesn’t go through all of this so we can just sit back and say, wow look at who Jesus is, John goes to such great lengths to reveal to us Jesus as the king so we can claim him as OUR king.  This is a choice we need to make.  We have been given all this information and we have been shown that Jesus is God and that Jesus is the king, will we now make him our king and will we give ourselves over to God and live as part of God’s kingdom?

Pilate was given this opportunity.  Pilate knew in some way that Jesus was innocent and he tried to set Jesus free but in the end Pilate gave in to what was expedient and not what was right.  Pilate thought more about his career and what people would say about him and he thought about what was best for him and he gave into the religious leaders that pressured him.  Pilate chose to go with the kingdom of this world and not with God.  Pilate chose himself as king over Jesus.  What choice will we make.  Will we choose what is easy or what is right?  Will we choose to live for ourselves or to live for God?  

When we choose Jesus to be our king and when we choose to live in the kingdom of God – God gives us the gift of life and we are given the power of God’s light and glory to help us through.  With Jesus as King, not everything will go well in this world – look at Jesus.  We will have problems and struggles, but when we make Jesus our king we open the door to experiencing the power of God’s light and life.  When we make Jesus our king we receive the gift of forgiveness, we are filled with God’s love, we are equipped with God’s power and live in the light of God’s glory.  When we claim Jesus as our king, it does mean our lives might need to change as we lay ourselves down and give ourselves over to God but when we do this we are given light and life.

I want to invite you to make Jesus the king of your life.  Ask him this day to be your savior and your lord.


Next Steps
John – The Gospel of Light and Life
Jesus The King


1.  This week read John chapters 18-19.
Use the following questions during your reading:
What is said in this passage about Jesus?
In this passage, how does Jesus bring life to me?
What response do these verses require of me?

2. John’s account of the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus highlight the divine nature of Jesus.  Which is more comfortable for you to think about, the humanity of Jesus or the divinity of Jesus?  Why?

3. Why did Jesus choose the time of the Passover to come to Jerusalem to give his life and take up a cross?  (Read about the Passover in Exodus 12.)  What does the Passover tell us about who Jesus is and what he has done for the world?

4. John is clear to tell us that Jesus is the King and that he has come to bring God’s kingdom.
What does it mean for you to call Jesus your king?
Have you made this decision?
How has your life changed because of this decision?
How does your life need to change with Jesus as King?

5. Worship with us during Holy Week
Easter Cantata – This afternoon at 4:00 PM
Maundy Thursday Worship – Thursday at 7:00 PM
Good Friday Worship – Friday at 7:00 PM
Easter Sunrise Worship – Sunday at 6:30 AM
Easter Worship – Sunday at 8:15 and 10:45 AM


Sunday, April 2, 2017

John - The Gospel of Light and Life ~ Our Lord's Prayer

I have done a lot of funerals during my time as a pastor and there are two things I try to say at every one.  The first thing I want to do is provide some words of comfort and assurance.  Beyond celebrating the life of the person who has died, my presence as a pastor needs to remind people that death is not the end of life but the beginning of eternal life through Jesus Christ.  I always want to proclaim the good news of the gospel and remind us all that there is a home waiting for us in heaven that has been prepared for us by Jesus.

The second thing I want to do is encourage family and friends to try and find ways to keep the life and spirit of their loved one alive in this world.  I have often said that the best way to honor and remember a person is not by what is said at their funeral but by how we live after it.  When we follow their example we keep their lives going in this world.  Just yesterday I talked about how Ken Kopp was a very faithful man.  He was always there for his wife and always working to be present in the life of the church and we would do well to learn from Ken how to live with faithfulness to God and commitment to our families.

So I try to do two things- comfort people and challenge them.  I offer comfort by reminding us about the hope we have in the future when we trust in Christ and I try to challenge us all to keep going and keep following the example that has set.  Comfort and challenge is also the final message Jesus leaves with his disciples in his farewell discourse.  It is our Lord’s prayer for us all to find comfort and yet to also be challenged.

We hear words of comfort from Jesus in John 14:1-7.

We often read this passage at funerals because it does provide comfort.  It is this promise that Jesus makes that assures us that life in this world is not all there is but that Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven.  Some people have called this home a mansion, which is fine, but it’s helpful to understand the image that Jesus provides.   Jesus says that in his father’s house there are many rooms and that he is going to prepare a place - or a room for us in that house.
Among the Jewish people, when a son or daughter got married they didn’t go down the street and build a new house, the family would put a room onto the family house and they would all live together.  There would often be three or more generations all living together and if you became part of the family you moved into the house.  What Jesus is saying here isn’t so much that we have some kind of physical home in heaven that is all ours but that when we believe in him we become part of God’s family and that assures us of eternal life.  What these homes are like doesn’t matter as much as the comfort we find in knowing that there is life with God forever when we believe in Jesus.

But let’s look at that word believe because it doesn’t just mean we intellectually affirm who Jesus is and what he has done, the word believe means that we are so persuaded about who Jesus is that we will now live our lives differently.  Perhaps a better word would be trust.  Have you ever participated in an exercise called a trust fall?  You stand in front of a group of people that you trust to catch you and then you actually fall back and allow them to catch you when you fall.  I could stand here and say I believe my friends will catch me, but just believing that doesn’t mean much – am I willing to be so persuaded that they will catch me that I am willing to fall into their hands.  Are we willing to act on our beliefs?

This is the kind of belief Jesus is talking about.  Are we so persuaded that Christ is the one who brings us life that we don’t even look for other ways to find it?  When Jesus says I am the way and the truth and life and no one comes to the father except through me, part of what he wants to do is give comfort and assurance that he is the way to God so we don’t need to go out and find other ways.   There is no other way so we can trust Jesus to bring us light and life now and forever.

Do we trust Jesus alone to bring us life and life eternal?  It’s easy to say yes, but how often do we still trust ourselves by trusting in our good deeds or wealth or giving?  Saying Jesus is the only way to God means that we stop trusting ourselves or anything else or anyone else save us and give us life because Jesus is the one who has prepared the place for us.

Part of Jesus’ final message is a word of comfort that we are part of God’s family completely and that nothing can separate us from that.  The room has been built on to the house and we are included in the family and we can trust God to make it happen and because it will happen we don’t need to be afraid, we don’t need to look for something else or to someone else and we don’t need to try and do it on our own.  We are secure and safe in the home of God forever.  No matter what happens in this world and no matter what happens to us, when we trust Christ, we are safe and secure with God.  God will never leave us.  God will never forsake us.  God will never give up on us.  God will never forget us or abandon us or turn on us because through Jesus we are part of God’s family.  Jesus may be leaving his disciples but he offers them comfort by saying that through him we are part of God’s family now and forever.

Jesus offers his disciples comfort but he also issues a challenge.  Several times during this final message Jesus tells them to keep following him.

John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands
John 14:21 - Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.
John 14:23 - Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.

John 15:10-13

The challenge Jesus gives his disciples is to continue to love him by following his teaching and obeying his commands.  Love is not just an emotion we are to have for Jesus but an emotion that leads to action.  We cannot say that we love Jesus and then not do what he asks us to do and live the way he has taught us and shown us to live.  The way we love Jesus is to live the way he has shown us.  Love and action always go hand in hand.  This is also what I try to say at funerals.
If we really love those who have gone before us then we need to make their lives part of our lives.  We need to love as they have loved us.  If they have been patient and kind with us then we need to be patient and kind with others.  If they have served us then we need to serve others.  If they have been faithful and committed to family, friends, church and community then we need to live a life of faith and commitment as well.  Loving others means that we follow their example and honor them by making the important part of their lives the foundation of our lives.  The challenge Jesus gives us is to follow his example and keep his command to love.

Comfort and challenge was the message Jesus gave and it is also what we see in the illustration Jesus provided as well.  John 15:5

I am the vine and you are the branch, remain in me and I will remain in you.  These are words of comfort.  Just because Jesus is going away doesn’t mean that we are left alone.  We are not being cast off like a branch removed from the vine where we will wither and die – we can remain in Jesus and he can remain in us and we can still be together.  When we trust him we stay connected to him.  When we love others we stay connected to him and this brings us comfort.

We also hear a challenge - produce fruit.  We don’t remain in the vine and stay connected to God just so we can feel good, we stay connected to God so we can bear fruit and that fruit is seen in how we live and love and serve.  John 15:9-10. This illustration is part of Jesus prayer that we find comfort and yet are challenged to love.

The final thought Jesus leaves with his disciples about comfort and challenged is that these are not things we are left trying to find or do on our own but something God actually helps us with through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will comfort the disciples because it will remind them of everything Jesus has said.  It will remind them that they are not alone and that their future is secure and the Holy Spirit will be a spirit of truth who will be with them and guide them into the light God has for them.

The Holy Spirit will also be there to encourage them as they try to live faithful and obedient lives.  When John talks about the Holy Spirit he uses the word paraclete which means advocate or encourager.  The Holy Spirit is the one who will walk beside us, go before us and stand behind us and give us all the strength we need to do all that God calls us to do.  So it is the Holy Spirit who will comfort us and it will be the Holy Spirit who will give us the strength to live out the challenge Jesus gives us.

Today it is also important for us to remember that Jesus gave this final teaching as part of the last Passover meal he shared with his disciples, what we celebrate as Holy Communion.  Think about how this meal sums up all of what Jesus is saying.  This is a meal that provides comfort because we know that God is here with us and we see once again that it is Jesus who has saved us.  Jesus is the way to God and the way to life and there is no other.  This meal brings comfort because it assures of forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life.

But this meal is also a challenge because to reminds us to live differently.  By taking the bread and sharing in the cup we are saying that we want to follow this example of Jesus.  Sharing in the meal says that we want to lay down our lives for others and that we are even willing to love the way that Jesus loved – giving all that we have to God and placing others before ourselves.

This is also a meal of the Holy Spirit because it is the holy spirit present here that makes this more than bread and juice but the real presence of Christ with us.  It is the Holy Spirit that provides comfort and it is the Holy Spirit that also challenges us right here.

Two things Jesus wanted to say to his disciples.
Be comforted.  I am not leaving you as orphans and I will not forsake you – I will be with you always.
Be challenged.  Live the way I have shown you and taught you.  Keep my commands and love one another.  And all this is possible through the Holy Spirit that brings us light and life.
Next Steps
John – The Gospel of Light and Life
Our Lord’s Prayer


1.  This week read John chapters 16-17.
Use the following questions during your reading:
What is said in this passage about Jesus?
In this passage, how does Jesus bring life to me?
What response do these verses require of me?


2. Jesus farewell discourse was to comfort his disciples.  How does knowing you are part of God’s family and have a place in God’s eternal home bring you comfort?


3. In what ways have you put your trust in Jesus?  Are there other things you trust to bring you light and life?  In what ways do you need to trust in Christ more and in Christ alone?


4. Jesus’ farewell discourse was also a challenge to his disciples.  Where in your live do you need to be challenged to obey God’s commands and follow Jesus’ teaching?


5. How have people shown God’s love to you?  In what ways did that love bring light and life into your life?


6.  In what ways can you love others?  How can you show the greatest love there is and “lay down your life for a friend”?


7.  What other concerns of Jesus do we see in his final prayer (John 17)?