You Always Hear

So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” (John 11:41-42) Read: Jeremiah 27:1 – 28:17, Jeremiah 51:59-64,…

Believing is Seeing

Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” (John 11:40) Read: Jeremiah 37:11 – 38:28, Ezekiel 1:1 – 3:15 Relate: Did you ever have one of those “aha” moments when an earlier conversation all of a sudden makes a bit more sense? Perhaps it was a joke somebody told and…

Roll the Stone

The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.…

Jesus Wept

Jesus wept. (John 11:35) Read: Jeremiah 31:15-40, 49:34 – 51:14 Relate: I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been teaching a Sunday School class or children’s church or some other kids function and some smart aleck kid tries to convince me that the verse they were supposed to memorize was John 11:35. It seems that…

If Only

Let me ask a question: “What is something you had wished God had done differently in your life” Does something immediately jump into our mind?

He Is Here

We cannot begin to understand Job’s grief. When God allowed Satan to attack him, that old devil didn’t pull any punches. His property, gone. His home, destroyed. His children, dead. His body, tormented. To top it all off his wife has turned to him and in the bitterness of her own grief shouts out, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?!”

Who You Are

“Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” John 11:27 Read: Jeremiah 16:1 – 18:23, 35:1-19 Relate: The economy of words is a talent that all of us cherish but few of us possess. Perhaps the greatest demonstration of…

Never Die

No preacher, keep your false sympathy and your empty platitudes to yourself. It’s all bull. Believing in Jesus didn’t raise Carlie up. It didn’t protect her. Believing in Jesus is what got her killed.

Rise

Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” (John 11:23-24) Read: Jeremiah 8:4 – 11:23 Relate: Martha was clearly not on the same page as Jesus. I wonder how often we do this. Jesus was talking about right now. Martha was thinking about…

Whatever You Ask

Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:21-22) Read: Jeremiah 7:1 – 8:3, Daniel 2:1 – 3:30 Relate: Two verses come to mind when I hear Martha make this bold statement of faith.…