'Jesus' Tagged Posts
Cornerstone
Can you explain what is a cornerstone? Has anyone ever shown you one before? If you happen to be someone who has a background in construction, you may know much more about it. As for me, I am thinking that the cornerstone represents the stone that is set down on the foundation of a structure before any other stone. In addition, it is set down at what would be the corner of the structure, and thus the name, “cornerstone”. Perhaps?…
What Child is This?
This coming Sunday morning, December 19, we will be all in for Christmas during our worship time together. On this day of Christmas celebration, we will have the kids light the fourth Advent candle, we will give a special Christmas gift to the children, and I will share a Christmas message entitled, “What Child is This?” Most of us have a list of favorite Christmas songs; on my favorites list is the song with that title. But it’s not just a…
Because Jesus is the Light of the World, Then I as a Disciple…
As you get ready for this coming Sunday morning, I am asking you to read two chapters from the book of John: John 7 John 8 Through this season, we are spending our time looking deeply at the life of Jesus from the book of John, learning and connecting the dots on how the entire Bible is built around Jesus in our years-long series, “The Book of Jesus.” But last Sunday morning we crossed a continental divide, theologically. We saw…
Warning Label
Are you turning back also? When Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life,” he actually said it twice—in John 6:35 and again in John 6:48. The statement came on the heels of last week’s story, the famous feeding of the 5000. Remember Scott Jackson’s phrase from the sermon: Jesus had “bread power”! We were challenged again to truly come and make a decision as to who this Jesus really is to us: A Quid Pro Quo Jesus, the trade-off…
The Only Way to Be Set Free
I want to give examples to our church family on how to build a lifelong habit of reading and absorbing the Scripture on your own. Over these few weeks I’m showing you how I read the Bible each morning; maybe you will be able to develop a similar pattern. This is just an example of my devotional thoughts—not so you can use my devotional, but so you could instead cultivate your own time with God. Currently, I am reading every…
“For God So Loved the World…”
“For God so loved the world…” I would guess that for many of you, if I gave you this opening line, you could finish it for me. You might be able to tell me where to find it in the Bible. Many of you have seen this famous verse on a billboard signs at stadium events, or even painted on the uniforms of a famous football player. If I ask you to think a little deeper, you probably could tell…
One Day in Cana
Have you been invited to a Jewish wedding before? Even though I used to live in New York and I have many Jewish friends and colleagues, unfortunately, I have never been to a Jewish wedding before, and so what I know about Jewish weddings comes from what I know from the movies. I know that the groom wears a skullcap, or yarmulke, to cover his head. I know that everyone shouts “Mazel Tov!” a lot. Lastly, I know that the…
Biblical Hope
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the Year of the Rat. And according to Chinese superstition, the rat symbolizes new beginnings, fertility, wealth and plenty. Once every twelve years, the Year of the Rat promises to bring beneficial situations, opportunities, encounters with special people, and luck. But I don’t suppose I need to tell you 2020 has turned out to be anything but those things. We still have a few weeks left to go, but I think we are…
Did You Know?
2020 Advent & Christmas Season Sermons at LifeWay What comes to mind when you think about Jesus? What picture or image or even famous painting comes into your head? Images are extremely powerful and lasting. In every one of our lives there will be a few powerful images that emerge from our past experiences that we can never shake—some of them extremely positive, and some, in the opposite way, highly terrifying. What is the image that you see when I…
Darling of Heaven Crucified
By the time our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, the Romans had already been putting people on the cross for a while. But the Romans were hardly the first ones to use crucifixion to punish the hardest criminals. Studies show there were crucifixions dating back to as early as 500 B.C. when King Darius I of Persia crucified 3,000 of his enemies in Babylon. Some may have been even earlier. Even though the Romans did not come up with the…
Covenant: Understanding God’s Covenant to Mankind
Genesis 12:1-3 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Sunday morning’s message is found in Genesis 12:1-3. This is the…
The Shattering of Our Nobility
There is nobility in being human. That’s what we studied this past weekend. That’s also what we feel deep down inside. Well, if that’s true, then what happened? Why does it all feel so dysfunctional, chaotic, and even deeply wrong? Because we have “shattered the image” that we were created to be. Homework Here is your homework assignment as we prepare for this weekend. Read ahead As you prepare for this coming Sunday morning, read these passages: Genesis 3 &…
The Nobility of Being a Human
Memory Verse for the week of October 4: So God created mankind in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.Genesis 1:27 (NIV) I love the creation story. I find myself pausing often to marvel at the creation in its glory at all seasons of the year. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we have the advantage of seeing the grandeur of the creative artwork of God when Mt. Rainier pops above…