Jesus is on trial. The religious leaders have accused him of breaking the Sabbath law and of blasphemy. They want to kill him. So they ask him to provide authentication of the authority by which he broke the law. The religious leaders don’t believe Jesus had any authority. The crowd watching feels the tension inContinue reading “Jesus on trial calls his first witness – John 5:31-47, Part 2”
Tag Archives: christians
Does Jesus have authority to break the law? – John 5:31-47, Part 1
I often wonder if our church’s outdoor sign has any impact. While I think it is good to have a sign with basic information such as our name and website, we don’t need to have a sign with a message board. Most people learn about us online anyway. But the message board is a smallContinue reading “Does Jesus have authority to break the law? – John 5:31-47, Part 1”
Being radical…right or wrong? – John 5:31-47, Preview
Have you ever scolded someone for being too radical? Maybe they’re young, idealistic and are making plans that you, in your years of experience, know will almost certainly fail. So you step in, clip their wings, giving them what you believe is a much-needed dose of reality. “They’re so immature. So young,” you think toContinue reading “Being radical…right or wrong? – John 5:31-47, Preview”
How to know if you are a true believer – John 5:16-30, Part 5
How do you know if you are a true believer? Many people have wondered, and sometimes their wondering has caused anxiety. Some of have said, “Well, we won’t know until we get heaven.” But is that true? Thankfully, no. Jesus says there is a way to know now if a person is a true believer.Continue reading “How to know if you are a true believer – John 5:16-30, Part 5”
How Jesus brings us life – John 5:16-30, Part 4
As we learned in the previous post, Jesus not only disobeyed the law, he said that could do so because he is God. Thus he put himself in a very precarious position. Some of the most powerful leaders in the land want to kill him on what they believe are justifiable grounds. What will JesusContinue reading “How Jesus brings us life – John 5:16-30, Part 4”
Why Jesus sometimes disobeyed the law – John 5:16-30, Part 3
Did you know Jesus was a law-breaker? In fact, he broke the law so much, it got him in big trouble. In the previous post about John 5, verse 16, we read that the religious leaders are persecuting Jesus. When you read that word, “persecute,” don’t think of it as extreme. They’re not whipping him,Continue reading “Why Jesus sometimes disobeyed the law – John 5:16-30, Part 3”
What is the Sabbath? – John 5:16-30, Part 2
What is the Sabbath? It goes back to Genesis chapter 2, verses 1-3. Page #2 of your pew Bibles, so you know this is going back to the beginning. Well, almost. Actually, we’re going back to the story of creation, and we read it described like a week. God creates the universe on the firstContinue reading “What is the Sabbath? – John 5:16-30, Part 2”
Is Chick-fil-A’s decision to close on Sundays really necessary? – John 5:16-30, Part 1
My son will nearly every Sunday on our way home from our church’s worship service ask if we can get Chick-fil-A. If you know about Chick-fil-A, you know that my son is either being very forgetful or joking. I can tell you that he’s not forgetful, at least when it comes to getting Chick-fil-A. Instead,Continue reading “Is Chick-fil-A’s decision to close on Sundays really necessary? – John 5:16-30, Part 1”
Are you living your best life? – John 5:16-30, Preview
A group of friends are joking around on a hill overlooking a town, so they take a photo and post it on Facebook with the caption, “Living our best life!” A person is enjoying their bowl of Lucky Charms one morning, so they take a selfie of the moment, post it on Instagram, captioning itContinue reading “Are you living your best life? – John 5:16-30, Preview”
What we can learn from Jesus’ ominous warning to a man he has just healed – John 4:43-5:15, Part 5
Jesus heals a man, and then he says something ominous to the man. John 4, verse 14: “Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Woah. What got into Jesus? Why so dark after healing the man? IContinue reading “What we can learn from Jesus’ ominous warning to a man he has just healed – John 4:43-5:15, Part 5”
Engaging Scripture 