Today is the last day of this year, this century and this millennium. I realize that many, if not most people, celebrated this marking of time last year, but they were one year early. Our calendar does not start with the year Zero A.D., but with 1 A.D. I only mention this because of a quirk in my personality that if possible, I like things to be accurate, and that according to the calendar system we follow here in the United States, the twenty-first century, the third millennium, does not start until tomorrow.

My little poem sets the tone for the message this morning. We are in a cultural battle and it includes our holidays. People look for there to be a special magic in this season. They desire to enjoy the blessings of gifts, family, friends and shared love, yet, as much as they may desire those things, many, if not most people in our society no longer know why this should be a special time of the year for those things. And unless there is a foundation in truth that explains the reason for this season, they will eventually find that even if they do get what they are seeking, it will leave them hollow.

Last week I introduced the topic of the conflict that Christians have with their surrounding cultures. The Christian's worldview, that is, the overall perception they have of reality, is different from the non-Christian's worldview. Our philosophical presuppositions, our understanding of history, the present and the future are all different from the non-Christian. This inevitably results in conflicts both great and small.

This morning I want to put an extension on to our study of spiritual warfare in its practical aspects of everyday life as manifested in the society in which we live. We need to understand clearly that our major involvement in spiritual warfare is going to be in the conflict that Christians inevitably have with the cultures in which they live.

This morning we come to the 5th piece of spiritual armor. The Helmet of Salvation. We have already covered the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace and the shield of faith. Each and every piece is important in our warfare against the spiritual forces of wickedness that surround us. While the battle is all around us and is at times very severe, we have nothing to fear as long as we use the provisions God has made for us. Make sure your armor is on!

Shoes. All sorts of shoes. Big shoes, little shoes. Expensive shoes, cheap shoes. Dress shoes, casual shoes. Work shoes, play shoes. Specialty shoes for nearly anything you can think of. Why? Because your feet are important. Try getting around without them sometime and you will see what I mean. As important as shoes are to us and to the athletes who make a lot of money promoting their favorite brand, the shoes of the Roman soldier were even more important. His very life depended on them.

Some of you may remember the story from ancient history of the Thracian slave named Spartacus who led a very successful uprising of slaves against ancient Rome. Spartacus defeated the Roman army seven times before he was defeated by the great Roman General Marcus Licinius Crassus in 71 B.C. Spartacus started with a small band of slaves that were being trained as gladiators. At first, little attention was given to him, for it was thought that even a small force of Roman soldiers would easily defeat him. Yet with a smaller force, Spartacus was consistently able to defeat larger forces. Why? Spartacus learned to attack late at night or early in the morning when the enemy was not prepared to do battle. He attacked when they did not have their armor on!

This morning I want to speak to the issue of Spiritual Warfare. Several years ago when I preached through the book of Ephesians I spent 13 weeks on the subject. I do not intend to repeat that, you can pick up the tapes if you would like, but I do want to spend enough time in this subject to remind you of who our enemy is and how we are to stand firm against him. This subject is important because spiritual warfare really does involve our daily lives. There is much confusion and even nonsense given out about spiritual warfare, but there does not need to be. In the next couple of weeks I hope to clarify what God's word says about it.

What is the purpose of your life? In the past few weeks I have been striving to stress one aspect of the purpose of the Christian's life is to live worthy of their calling (Eph. 4:1). The Christian is to live a holy life separated from the world and unto God (1 Peter 3:18). Their mind is to be set on things above and not on the things of this earth (Col. 3:2). They set their minds to think about what is good, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report, things that are virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phi. 4:8). The Christian is to be a living and holy sacrifice to God that is not being conformed to this world, but being transformed by the renewing of their mind that they may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1,2). By living in this manner, the Christian brings glory to God and will prove themselves to be useful in His service.

For the last few weeks I have been speaking to you about the importance of being sanctified. Those of us who profess to be Christians should have lives that match that profession. Jesus Christ has purchased us for Himself with His own blood. We are now separated from the world and set apart unto Him.

This is my third message on Sanctification. A subject very foundational to the Christian life, and yet one sadly neglected by most Christians. The word "sanctification" has the same root as the word, "holy." It means to "be set apart" and in the context of the Scriptures it means to "be set apart unto God.

We are taking a break from our study of the Gospel of John in order to deal with several important topics. We are in the midst of a short series on sanctification. Last week I talked about having a sanctified mind. This week I want to talk about having a sanctified body.

We are taking a short break from our study of the Gospel of John to bo back and examine a few basic issues in the Christian life. A couple of weeks ago we looked at the basics of Christian Conduct from 1 Thessalonians 5:12f. For the next three weeks we are going to be looking at the basics of sanctification in mind, body and life.

We are taking a short break from our study through the Gospel of John to examine a few topics that are on my heart. Last week we dealt with the reality of eternal Hell, but this morning we will be looking at the wonderful subject of Heaven. Before we do so, I want to stress the point from last week that if we believe there is a heaven, then we must also believe there is a hell and that the duration of both is the same. Jesus made this very clear in Matthew 25 when He describes both in the same passage with the same words. There will be those He will send away to eternal punishment and those He will invite into eternal life. In addition, Hell was not made man, but for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41). Humans go because the do not know God or obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:8). Only those that place their faith in Jesus Christ as the substitute payment for their own sins have their names written in the Lamb's book of life, and whoever does not have their name written in that book of life will be cast into the eternal lake of fire.

We will be taking a break from out study of John for the next several weeks. This week and next I want to deal with the eternal destiny of the human soul. Heaven and Hell are both real places and we should understand clearly what God has revealed about them.

The Declaration of Independence states that one of the reasons for the formation of this country, this society we call "America" was to be able to engage in the "pursuit of happiness." And Americans are certainly engaged in that pursuit. Of course everyone seems to have their own twist to what will make them happy. For some it is money, others power, prestige or fame. Some just want a simple life without care, while others want to live in the fast pace life of the Rat Race. Some look for happiness within themselves, and others outside themselves. Some search for it in the accomplishments of man, others in the natural environment. And yet, with all this pursuing of this elusive state of happiness, there are so few who find it.

At times we can make such an emphasis upon the deity of Jesus Christ that we downplay His humanity. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus is not a "high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as [we are, yet] without sin." This morning we will see a glimpse into His humanity and how He overcame its weakness. We will also see the blindness of unbelief and it consequences as well as the results of having the fear of men instead of God. Turn to John 12.

What is the value of human life? The answer to that question will vary a lot in our society. Some people value life so much that they spend their lives seeking to protect others and help them live longer. Others do not place a high value on life

The response that different people have to Jesus Christ has always been mixed. We have already seen that throughout our study of the gospel of John. We also see it all the time when we tell others about our Lord. Some respond with raptured interest, and others with utter disregard. Some respond favorably, and others with disdain even for you that you would dare to have mentioned Jesus to them.

This morning we are going to be looking at the responses to Jesus' miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, but in the midst of this we see God's sovereign hand at work in a way that gives us a glimpse into the age old question of how God' sovereignly works while at the same time giving man the freedom of will to defy Him.

Mankind has always had a fascination with death because it is one enemy that always wins. Regardless of how many medical breakthroughs are made and the length of life is extended through them, death eventually claims everyone. As one person has quipped, the greatest killer in America is death, ten out of ten people die. Because of this, the great quest of man has been how to prepare for and deal with death.

Why do people get sick? That is one of the great questions of mankind, and if we were all honest each of us would admit to having questioned God on at least one occasion of why He let us get sick. We will reason, "Lord, what value can this sickness have?" "Couldn't I do a lot more for you if I were healthy?" "God, you could demonstrate your power and mercy if you would heal me right now!" "Lord, you would even demonstrate more of your power and mercy if you never let me get sick again, especially if you let me remain healthy when all the sinners around me at work get sick." So it is that we will reason and seek out for what we think is our own best interest and God's.

This morning is the conclusion of our Vacation Bible School program. I hope that both for you parents that are our guests this morning as well as for the rest of the congregation, the program the children have just presented to you has given you a sense of what has occurred here all week. We have had a great time.

A promise can sound wonderful, but unless the promise is able to be kept, then it is just empty words regardless of the intent of the one saying it. Sometimes we get caught in making promises beyond our control. Have you ever promised to take the family on an outing only to have bad weather cancel your plans?

Today is "Father's Day" and I will be speaking about what it means to be a "real man" today. You men and boys need to pay close attention so you know what you are supposed to be. You young ladies also need to pay attention because these are the characteristics you should be looking for in the man you will marry someday. You married ladies also need to pay attention because these are the qualities you need to encourage your husband to aspire too. Please note I said, "encourage" and not "nag." Where you see that your husband lacks, you need to build him up, not tear him down.

This morning we already read Psalm 23 in which David views God as his shepherd. The analogy of shepherd and sheep is used throughout the Old Testament for it was a common scene in ancient Israel and thus and easy way to illustrate a point. Since we are not in an agrarian society, we do not easily understand the analogy used of God as shepherd and His people as sheep, but those of ancient Israel should have, but even they, as we shall see this morning, could miss the point.

Physical blindness is a terrible thing. I have known many blind people throughout my life. A few of them were born that way. Others became blind through disease or accident. When I was growing up there was a couple in the church in which both were blind. He had been born blind and though that to be an advantage because he could not comprehend life with sight and therefore felt no loss. She had lost her sight and felt that was an advantage for while she knew what she lost, she could still imagine how things looked when they were described to her. The only experience I have had that has given me a clue to what it would be like to be blind is going deep in a cave and having the tour guide let us see it in its natural state. She turned off the lights and blackness filled the room. Nothing could be seen. I thank God for His grace to me in giving me sight even if my vision has to be corrected with glasses.

Who is Jesus of Nazareth? There is no absolute God in Buddhism, so could only have been a great ethical teacher. The Hindus have a plethora of gods, but Jesus is not one of them, much less The God in human flesh. In Islam, Allah is "the God" and Jesus is just a human prophet of Allah. In Christian Science, Jesus is a mortal man and Christ is the "divine idea." The Jesus of the Unity church is somewhat similar, but is also recognized as being the same as the "Krishna" of the Hindus. In the Unification Church (Moonies), Jesus is no different from you or I except for lacking in original sin. To the Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus is the first born of Jehovah God, but is not Jehovah God. He is instead, Michael the Archangel. The Jesus of the Mormons is the first born spirit child of Elohim. Lucifer is one of his brother "spirit children."

Parenting issues are of a keen interest to Diane and me. Not only because we are in the middle of raising our three children, but because we see the centrality of the family to a healthy church and society. In a discussion I had a short time ago a man who had raised an adopted child as well as his own told me that he had become convinced that the character of a person was largely due to genetics. This man's reason for saying this is that his children became quite decent adults, but this adopted child got into trouble. In one sense I agree with him whole heartedly that there is a genetic problem determining character. Every one of us here is a descendant of Adam and has inherited his sin nature!

Some years ago the Miss Manners column in the Newspaper made some interesting statements concerning Mother's Day in our modern society. It bears repeating because the situation has not gotten any better.

Light is an amazing thing. Even from the standpoint of physics it is a marvelous aspect of creation. In some ways light behaves as material particles moving very rapidly, and in other ways it has all the qualities of waves - an energy force moving through a substance but not a material substance itself. Physicists now tell us that light is affected by gravity and theorize about black holes with gravitational forces so strong that even light can not escape. They also tell us that the speed of light can vary. Light can be concentrated or diffused. It travels in straight lines, but it can also be bent. Darkness is the opposite of light, or more accurately the absence of light, for where there is light, there can not be darkness. For those who are interested the properties and qualities of what God has created, light is a fascinating subject.

Hypocrisy is when you pretend to be what you don't intend to be. The word "hypocrite" means "two-faced" and comes from the Greek theatre where the actors would use different face masks to play different characters. Even in ancient Rome the hypocrite was despised. Cicero wrote, "Of all villainy, there is none more base than that of the hypocrite, who, at the moment he is false, takes care to appear most virtuous." Hypocrisy comes in many varieties, but the worst kind is self-righteous hypocrisy. What is even more tragic about this kind of hypocrisy is that the practitioner is often not even aware of it.

Where is Jesus from? That is still as good a question today as it was when the events in our text today occurred, for people still approach Jesus today as they did then. There are few that actually seek the truth. Most people make their decisions based on either their own presuppositions or the opinions of those claiming to be experts.

As we begin our study of John 7 this morning, we jump ahead in time from where we ended our study of John 6 last week. The "Bread of Life Discourse," as the end of John 6 is sometimes called, occurs about the time of Passover in 29 A.D. Chapter 7 begins with the following time indicators.

I received another unusual e-mail this week. A man sent me a copy of his letter to Randall Terry regarding the Christians in Vermont who were, as he put it, "protesting homosexual marriages getting the same benefits as straight marriages." I have no idea why it was sent to me except he says that I am part of the "you people" who "need to get a life." For those that are not aware, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that the state legislator had to find a way to give homosexual partners the same benefits as marriage partners.

I had an interesting call this week from a college student doing a paper who wanted a quote from a pastor about Al Gore and Hillary Clinton using a church in Albany last Sunday for political campaigning. That opened a door for a good conversation about both the purpose of the church and the hypocrisy in the news media regarding this issue.

St. Augustine is recorded as saying, "While the best men are well guided by love, most men are still goaded by fear." Fear is an emotion that can easily lead us into responding in ways that we wished we had not.

One of the many things in the Bible that should not amaze me, yet constantly does, is how much the characters written about are so much like me. That should not amaze me because the Bible speaks about ordinary people doing ordinary things, yet I still have it in the back of my mind for some strange reason that the people mentioned in the Scriptures were some how special. Maybe it is a hidden desire to excuse myself when I do not live up to the example they have set, or a means by which my pride can be puffed up when I do better than they did. This morning we are going to see an example of the disciples of Jesus acting just like we would, and we will see God's graciousness in dealing with them.

The most important question anyone will every face is, "Who is Jesus Christ?" How you answer that question will determine your place in eternity. Most people will use some reference of honor for Jesus even though they may not believe in Him. Many people will refer to Jesus as one of the great teachers in History or a great ethicist - a teacher of moral values. Others are a bit more spiritual and view Jesus as an "ascended master" who founded a great religion. Yet, whatever title or term of respect is applied to Him must be compared to Jesus' actual claim for Himself to see what people actually believe.

Today is "Sanctify of Human Life Sunday." This is an annual event is promoted by various Right to Life organizations in memory of the 38 million babies that have died by abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973. (Estimate by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, special research affiliate of Planned Parenthood Federation of America--the nation's largest provider and promoter of abortion). On this day a special effort is made to educate people about abortion and other attacks on human life such as infanticide and euthanasia. That is the reason for the special information in this mornings bulletin. There is also additional material on the back table including an audio tape of a sermon I preached two years ago on what the Bible says about the value of human life. You can pick up any those materials for free.