A boy is standing right in front of Jesus, and the boy has a packed lunch of five small loaves of bread and two small fish. He looks across the hillside and sees the crowd of hungry people that, like him, have come to experience the miracle-worker. How is it possible that he, a boy,Continue reading “The real purpose of Jesus’ feeding of the 5000 – John 6:1-21, Part 3”
Tag Archives: Gospel
What will Jesus do when a hungry crowd is following him? – John 6:1-21, Part 2
We Americans tend to default to thinking that bigger is better. But is bigger always better? No. Not always. “More people, more problems,” as the saying goes. On a mountainside in Galilee, Jesus has a problem…well…5,000+ problems, and he asks his disciples what they should do about it. What I am referring to is oneContinue reading “What will Jesus do when a hungry crowd is following him? – John 6:1-21, Part 2”
How supernatural does our faith need to be? – John 6:1-21, Preview
Over a decade ago, Faith Church sent a mission team to work with sister churches in another country, during which time we attended worship services in a couple local churches. In the middle of the first worship service, the entire congregation was vigorously singing praise to God, and a worshiper one row in front ofContinue reading “How supernatural does our faith need to be? – John 6:1-21, Preview”
Jesus on trial calls his first witness – John 5:31-47, Part 2
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”
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”
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”
How Jesus wants you to be the light of the world – Christmas 2022, Part 5
In this week of Christmas posts, we’ve learned that Jesus shines his light into our lives so that we can be a part of his family. In a previous post this week, I mentioned that one of Jesus’ earliest followers, a guy named Paul, wrote in 2nd Corinthians that people can be deceived so thatContinue reading “How Jesus wants you to be the light of the world – Christmas 2022, Part 5”
How Jesus fulfills a prophecy about being light in the darkness – Christmas 2022, Part 4
One of the guys who wrote the story of his friend Jesus, as I said in an earlier post this week, was Matthew. Matthew, like John, was one of the 12 disciples who followed Jesus around for three years, learning from Jesus how to shine light in the darkness of the world. Matthew tells usContinue reading “How Jesus fulfills a prophecy about being light in the darkness – Christmas 2022, Part 4”
Hope for those in darkness – Christmas 2022, Part 3
Where do we find light in this dark world? Where do we find hope? Sometime people seek answers in harmful ways and places. They seek answers by indulging in the pleasures of life, or in addictive substances. Could be in social media, pornography, or television. All kinds of entertainment. We try to bring light intoContinue reading “Hope for those in darkness – Christmas 2022, Part 3”
Why display lights for Christmas? – Christmas 2022, Part 1
One of the reasons I enjoy driving on a clear evening during the holidays is that there are so many Christmas lights out. In my opinion, LED technology has enhanced Christmas lights. They are precise and bright and fairly inexpensive. There are people who put candles in their windows, or throw a few lights aroundContinue reading “Why display lights for Christmas? – Christmas 2022, Part 1”
Engaging Scripture 