Grace Bible Church - Gospel Of John

Following Christ

Sun, 19 Aug 2001 13:00:00 -0400

This morning we come to the end of our study of the Gospel account by John. Throughout the book John has been true to his purpose of writing down the actions and teachings of Jesus so that you "may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."

Do You Love Jesus ?

Sun, 12 Aug 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Have you ever felt like you messed something up so badly that you could never get it straightened out? Or perhaps you did something so hurtful that you felt you could not be forgiven for your wrong? I think that is the way that Peter may have felt after denying Jesus three times the night our Lord was arrested and put on trial. Could Peter be forgiven? Could be Peter used again? Turn to John 21 and we will see the answer to these questions and learn several important lessons to apply to our own lives.

Waiting On Jesus: Personal Power Or God's Provision

Sun, 05 Aug 2001 13:00:00 -0400

One of the more difficult lessons for many Christians to learn is how to wait on the Lord for His direction in life. Over the years I have learned to be more calm while waiting on the Lord, but I have to admit this is still something that I struggle with at times. I am a bit goal oriented and I would like the Lord to spell everything out that He wants me to do in detail, then I can just work down the list and accomplish it in due order. There can be quite a bit of satisfaction in having a list and checking off each thing as you accomplish it. Perhaps you are like that too to one degree or another.

Jesus Among His Disciples

Sun, 29 Jul 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Have you ever considered how hard it is to believe something that is outside your frame of reference? It was not uncommon for aboriginal people to be afraid the first time an explorer showed them a picture of themselves. Some even tried to destroy the picture and the person who took it for fear it had somehow captured their soul. They had no reference to comprehend what we take for granted - a picture. The same is true when such people first saw an airplane. They had no reference to comprehend what it could be other than some sort of strange bird. They had no experience with engines or cars or even hearing a rumor about such a thing being built. For them, it was something thrust upon them suddenly.

The Resurrection of Jesus

Sun, 22 Jul 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Matt 28:5 (NASB) "And the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying."

The Burial of Jesus

Sun, 15 Jul 2001 13:00:00 -0400

In our study of John 19 last week, we read the account of Jesus' death on the cross on Golgatha's hill. The accounts given in Matthew, Mark and Luke are also straight forward in telling of this gruesome event and Jesus' death. In the Bible there are four independent accounts of His death, one of which was written by an eyewitness (John) and another who had "investigated everything carefully from the beginning" (Luke 1:1-4). To these can be added the weight of the ancient historians Josephus and Tacitus who both record Jesus' death. It would seem silly to even suggest that Jesus did not die on the cross, yet that is not just a suggestion, but a belief by many people who should know better, and many others that have been left in ignorance. This effort to deny that Jesus died on the cross is not about His death, but about His resurrection. If Jesus did not really die on the cross as reported in the gospel accounts, then He could not have risen from the dead, and if He did not rise from the dead, then He is not the Son of God, the Messiah, and therefore has no claim on your life. The effort to deny that Jesus died on that Roman cross is not born out of scholarship and an effort to come to truth, but an effort to deny the implications of the truth.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

Sun, 08 Jul 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Please turn with me to John 19:16 this morning. We are going to be examining the crucifixion of Jesus, but before we do, I need to remind you of what has occurred to this point. It has been just over a month since we were last in our study of John, and it is important that we understand the context of any passage if we are going to understand its meaning.

Jesus Before Pilate

Sun, 27 May 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Quite a few years ago I was able to witness our justice system at work in the case of a friend of mine. As this man's spiritual leader and confidant, I knew what the truth was in the case. If the end result had not been so tragic it would have been funny to watch the two lawyers involved go back and forth trying to convince the jury that they were the ones trying to uphold the law. The tragedy was that neither of them were interested in the truth and having justice carried out. While our system of law may still be one of the better ones in the world, the reality I witnessed proved that it was not really a "justice" system. True justice will only come when Jesus Christ is on the throne as judge. Until then we can only attempt to fairly apply the law.

Betrayed, Tried & Denied

Sun, 06 May 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Betrayal. It is an act of treachery in which the trust extended to a person is used by that person against the very one that is extending the trust. All of us here have experienced betrayal to some degree even if only being swindled by a salesman. You trust what they present about the product only to find out later it was a fraud. Many of us have experienced the betrayal of a confidence. What we have told someone in private suddenly becomes a public matter. That hurts even if it was unintentional. I would hope that only a few of us who have been purposely betrayed by a friend, but there are probably more who have experienced this than I would guess. You place your trust in someone and then they use that trust against us as our enemies. That causes a deep heart ache.

Jesus Prays for His Own

Sun, 29 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

This morning we come to the end of Jesus' High Priestly prayer recorded in John 17. This prayer has come at the conclusion of Jesus' Upper Room Discourse in which He gives His final teachings to His disciples just prior to His arrest, trial and crucifixion. As we have already seen in the last two weeks, this prayer reveals the relationship between the Father and the Son and the eternal purpose of mankind.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

Sun, 22 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Most people are very respectful of prayer. If you ask someone if you can pray for them, it will be the rare individual that will not gladly accept your offer. Some years ago one of our missionaries actually used this as a means of outreach into the business community around him. He would go into the business, and after introducing himself, he would explain that he was a Christian and felt that God would like him to pray for the people in his community and then simply asked if there were any specific things he could pray about for them. He developed a lot of good relationships through this and was able to share the gospel with many of them when he went back to see how his prayers were answered. That is still a good idea for reaching people in our own community simply because people like to be prayed for. How much more would it mean to find out that Jesus Christ Himself was praying for them.

Jesus Prays for His Glory

Sun, 15 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

This morning is Resurrection Sunday when we celebrate the most glorious event in the history of mankind. Jesus Christ rose from the dead just as He said and in doing so proved His claims to be the Messiah to be true and that all of His promises would be kept.

Present Sorrow, Future Joy

Fri, 13 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

It was Friday of the Passover week. It should have been a time of great joy as more than a million Jews had crowded into the ancient city of Jerusalem to celebrate God's deliverance of Israel from its bondage in slavery to Egypt. Because of a differing method for accounting the start of the day, most of those from the northern areas had celebrated the Passover the previous night, as had Jesus and His disciples. Those from the southern areas were celebrating Passover that very day. The lambs were being brought to the temple where they would be sacrificed.

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Sun, 08 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

This morning our scripture reading and special music have all been related to Palm Sunday in celebration of the day that Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. That certainly was a special and exciting day. But the events of that week passed quickly and the crowd changed from shouting Hosanna to shouting to crucify Jesus by Friday. In our study of John, we are studying the Upper Room Discourse which Jesus gave to His disciples just prior to His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Persecuted by the World

Sun, 01 Apr 2001 13:00:00 -0400

Over the past several weeks we have been dealing with a section of Scripture often referred to as the Upper Room Discourse. Jesus has met with His disciples for their last meal together before His betrayal and crucifixion. Jesus has washed the disciples feet. Judas has left to perform his evil betrayal. Jesus has given new meaning to the elements of the Passover meal they were celebrating. It would no longer be a celebration about freedom from bondage in Egypt, but the bread and the cup would now be a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice to free them from the bondage of their sin.