Death

And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!” (John 8:50-51) Read: Isaiah 1:21 – 5:30 Relate: Death is a choice. I know, I know, that old adage says that the only two…

Levels of Truth

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32) Read: 2 Kings 14:28 – 15:29, 2 Chronicles 26:22-23, Isaiah 6:1-13, Amos 7:1 – 9:15 Relate: One of the first blog…

Jesus and Judging

The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.” Jesus told them, “These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don’t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I…

Then Nicodemus

This blog is best read after reading both Nicodemus and The Crowd. Then Nicodemus, the leader who had met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. “Is it legal to convict a man before he is given a hearing?” he asked. They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Search the Scriptures and see for yourself—no prophet ever comes from…

John 6:60-61 (Hard Teaching)

Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:60-61) Read: Psalms 79 – 82 Relate: Cannibals. That is what Jesus was asking his disciples to be. Worse than that. He was asking…

John 6:57-59 (Eat and Live)

I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live…

On The Waters

When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”  (John 6:19-20) Read: 1 Kings 1:1-53, 1 Chronicles 29:1-22 Relate: The other night I woke up to a storm. It wasn’t one of those warm summer rains…

John 6:7-9 (One Boy’s Lunch)

Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” (John 6:7-9) Read: 2 Samuel 17:15 – 19:30, Psalm 3, Psalm 63…

John 5:45-47 (In Writing)

“Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (John 5:45-47) Read: 2…

John 5:36-38 (Deep Down)

But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his…