I am so grateful to you who follow the blog, all you regular readers, post likers and commenters. Thank you! I’m taking the next two weeks off, and I will return on October 8, 2022 with a preview post about John chapter 2 and the story of Jesus turning water into wine. Looking forward toContinue reading “Blog Update 9/24/22: I’ll be back in two weeks”
Monthly Archives: September 2022
How to experience greater things – John 1:43-51, Part 5
Last week my family awoke to the amazing sight of a couple dozen hot air balloons lifting off at sunrise, just across the fields near our home. As you can see in the picture above, they flew low right over our home. I took the photo from my front porch, so what you are seeingContinue reading “How to experience greater things – John 1:43-51, Part 5”
The importance of imitation to discipleship – John 1:43-51, Part 4
As we learned in the previous post, a man named Philip gives his friend Nathanael news that he, Philip, has found the Messiah, the promised deliverer of Israel, in the person of Jesus from the town of Nazareth. Nathanael rolls his eyes and says sarcastically, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Philip, who had onlyContinue reading “The importance of imitation to discipleship – John 1:43-51, Part 4”
What Jesus sees when he sees you – John 1:43-51, Part 3
If someone said, “I see potential in you,” would you believe them? Do you have a positive view of yourself? Or a negative one? Maybe you are just feeling that blase feeling so many of us have being feeling since the Covid pandemic and amid the turmoil in our world. Do you feel stuck? ReadContinue reading “What Jesus sees when he sees you – John 1:43-51, Part 3”
The second words of discipleship – John 1:43-51, Part 2
In our blog series last week, we learned the first important phrase Jesus demonstrates in the process of helping men become his disciples. That first phrase was “Come and see.” You can read about it in this post. Today we learn the second important phrase Jesus uses. In verse 43, we read that Jesus decidesContinue reading “The second words of discipleship – John 1:43-51, Part 2”
Did Jesus really tell you to do that? – John 1:43-51, Part 1
This past week a Pew Research released research data suggesting that if trends which began in the 1990s continue, by the year 2070 Christians will only be about 40% of the American population. Obviously, it is very hard to make good predictions about what will happen in 50 years. Things can change. Our nation couldContinue reading “Did Jesus really tell you to do that? – John 1:43-51, Part 1”
The important words Jesus says to his disciples on Day 2 – John 1:43-51, Preview
This past Sunday, I had a situation occur that has been quite rare in all my years of preaching. I only made it halfway through my sermon. As I did some final tweaking to the sermon early Sunday morning, I knew it was on the longer side, but I still thought there was going toContinue reading “The important words Jesus says to his disciples on Day 2 – John 1:43-51, Preview”
How to learn Jesus’ nickname for you – John 1:35-42, Part 5
Do you have a nickname? Did you have one growing up? Often nicknames are just variations of our actual name. Sometimes they are very…well…odd. “Bear.” “Peanut.” I used to call my daughter, “Girl Head Bean,” which was the weirdest of about ten other nicknames I’ve called her over the years. Like most nicknames, hers areContinue reading “How to learn Jesus’ nickname for you – John 1:35-42, Part 5”
What it means that the disciples found the Messiah – John 1:35-42, Part 4
Jumping back into the story of Jesus’ first interaction with his disciples, in John 1:35-42, we met two men who were already disciples of John the Baptist. John the Baptist points out Jesus, and the two men start following Jesus. Jesus, it seems, catches them in the act, saying to them, “What do you want?”Continue reading “What it means that the disciples found the Messiah – John 1:35-42, Part 4”
The first words of discipleship – John 1:35-42, Part 3
Two men, who up to this point have been disciples of John the Baptist, get caught in the act of following Jesus, and they don’t really know what to say. I wonder if they mumbled for awhile while they figured out what to say? “Uh…uh…umm” Clearly they had not thought this through. They just figuredContinue reading “The first words of discipleship – John 1:35-42, Part 3”
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