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”
Tag Archives: Gospel of John
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”
Discipleship begins with the spiritual practice of questioning – John 1:35-42, Part 2
After hearing John the Baptist declare two days in a row that Jesus is the Lamb of God, in John 1, verse 37 we read that John’s disciples stop following John, and they start following Jesus. Jesus hasn’t uttered a word. And because of that, the scene strikes me as humorous. The two disciples justContinue reading “Discipleship begins with the spiritual practice of questioning – John 1:35-42, Part 2”
What is discipleship? – John 1:35-42, Part 1
Discipleship. What is it, really? Over the years we’ve talked a lot about discipleship, and there has been some confusion. Some have equated evangelism with discipleship. Evangelism is when we proclaim the story of Jesus in both word and deed. Though related, discipleship is different. When we are attempting to define discipleship, we are attemptingContinue reading “What is discipleship? – John 1:35-42, Part 1”
Who do you follow? – John 1:35-42, Preview
Who do you follow? If you have social media accounts, you might follow people or organizations on those accounts. When you follow people or groups on social media, you receive their updates in your news feed. Your following is informational. But perhaps your following of close family and friends, and of some organizations, is moreContinue reading “Who do you follow? – John 1:35-42, Preview”
John the Baptist’s mystery friend, and why we need prophets in our lives – John 1:19-34, Part 5
In John 1:19-34, John the Baptist makes a surprising statement that there was someone alive right there, nearby, perhaps even in the crowd that day as John was baptizing people by the Jordan River, someone of whom John is not worthy even to untie his sandals. Untie sandals…what’s that matter? In John’s culture, that wasContinue reading “John the Baptist’s mystery friend, and why we need prophets in our lives – John 1:19-34, Part 5”
John the Baptist’s testy interaction with the religious establishment – John 1:19-34, Part 4
Because John the Baptist said the darndest things, you can imagine it did not sit well with the religious leaders, especially when he called them snakes. And that brings us back to the passage we are studying this week: John 1:19-34. We learn in John 1:19 that the religious elite back at their HQ inContinue reading “John the Baptist’s testy interaction with the religious establishment – John 1:19-34, Part 4”
Was John the Baptist a wild man? – John 1:19-34, Part 3
Did John really go wild? In the previous post, I mentioned that much artwork depicting John the Baptist has him looking like a caveman. Why? Because in Matthew 3:4 we read this about John, “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts andContinue reading “Was John the Baptist a wild man? – John 1:19-34, Part 3”
The backstory of John the Baptist – John 1:19-34, Part 2
Who was John the Baptist? In this post we begin to learn the backstory of John the Baptist. While our current blog series is studying the Gospel of John, and while this week we are learning about John 1:19-34, to get the backstory of John the Baptist, we need to turn elsewhere. The full accountContinue reading “The backstory of John the Baptist – John 1:19-34, Part 2”
Engaging Scripture 