If you saw a miracle, would you believe in Jesus? What if you saw 10 miracles, or 100 miracles? In John 12 verse 37 we read that many didn't believe even after seeing so many signs! But, then we find that Isaiah prophesied this about Jesus--that he would confirm the people's own decision to not believe. Jesus implores them in his last public teaching before the cross to listen to His Words, that they are from God, and that they are the words of eternal life.
Mar 23, 2014•44 min
Jesus speaks of his death as we continue walking through John chapter 12, picturing a grain of wheat that is basically useless until it is planted (dies in the ground), and then can generate a harvest of "fruit". Similarly, he applies for us that we can either hold on to our lives, and conversely lose them, but if we "lose our lives"--giving them to God for His use--we actually gain them!
Mar 16, 2014•42 min
After Mary anoints Jesus at the dinner at Bethany, John chapter 12 quickly moves to the scene of the triumphal entry of Jesus. While the religious leaders are considering and plotting against Jesus, and now Lazarus as well, they should have been studying the prophecy of Daniel, which would have pointed directly to Jesus as the Messiah! Pastor Steve covers this passage in a shorter study as we prepare for our monthly time of communion as a body.
Mar 02, 2014•36 min
As the news of the raising of Lazarus from the dead spreads, many are coming to faith in Jesus--the religious leaders in Jerusalem are very concerned as people turning to Jesus will raise the eyebrows of the Romans and potentially cause them to lose their "position" and power! Unknown to himself, Caiphas ends up prophesying that Jesus's death will be "one man dying for the people", true not to his own purpose, but to God's purpose to bring salvation through that "one man's" death. In chapter 12 ...
Feb 23, 2014•43 min
Today Pastor Steve takes us through the amazing and powerful story of Lazarus being raised from the dead--his crowning miracle that proves that He truly is "the resurrection and the life"! Only through God's power can life be given and taken away, and in this miracle Jesus shows Himself to truly be God in human flesh.
Feb 16, 2014•46 min
In finishing up the few versus of John chapter 10 we see both sides of Christ's ministry on earth--the Jewish leaders are continuing to want to stone Him and kill Him as they realize the impact of His claims to be God's son, and yet others are realizing the truth of His words (and John who came before Him), and the chapter closes with, and "many believed in Him". The scene changes as we start chapter 11--Mary and Martha, close friends of Jesus, have a brother, Lazarus, who is sick and near death...
Feb 09, 2014•41 min
Continuing our study in John chapter 10, at verse 22 we fast forward a few months to winter, and Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication--or Hannukah as we know it today. He is again talking with the Jewish leaders who want Him to plainly declare Himself as Messiah. Instead, he speaks again of sheep, and that if they were His sheep, they would know His voice. If you are one of Christ's then you hear Him and know Him, and follow Him, unlike those who don't know Him as their "good shephe...
Feb 02, 2014•30 min
One of our elders, Todd Giszack, continued our study in John by going through the first section of chapter 10 while Pastor Steve was away this Sunday. Listen in as Todd shares about Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who truly cares for His sheep.
Jan 26, 2014•50 min
Continuing our story of the man born blind, healed miraculously by Jesus, in John chapter 9, we see a continuing dialogue between the man who was formerly blind and the religious leaders. It is during these verses we see who is truly blind, as the religious leaders are offended that the uneducated, formerly blind beggar is "teaching" them about Jesus! In the end, the healed man is thrown out of the temple, but he is found by Jesus, who gives him a chance to understand that He truly is the Son of...
Jan 19, 2014•38 min
You can be physically blind but spiritually aware, and you can also have physical vision, but be spiritually blind. In the story from John 9, Jesus heals a physically blind man, but raises the ire of the religious leaders who He clearly shows to be spiritually blind! This is an amazing story, with application to us today--where are we spiritually blind even if we have our "sight", or have we not had our eyes opened to the truth for the first time?
Jan 12, 2014•45 min
As we finish up John chapter 8--with this intense conversation between the Jewish/religious leaders and Jesus--Jesus finishes the chapter with a clear claim to be God. He says "before Abraham was, I AM" Even if you don't get the "language" of the I AM statement, you can see it was not lost on the religious leaders: they immediately picked up stones to stone Jesus for blasphemy. Instead of having a demon, as they had tried to slander him in verse 48, he was the exact opposite--He was and is God i...
Jan 05, 2014•39 min
Pastor Steve looks at Jeremiah's visit to the potter's house as a message for the New Year--not for resolutions, but to think about *revolutions*: another year revolving around the sun; the potter's wheel going around and around. In this new year will you be pliable in the Master's hands, ready to submit to Him in what He has in store for you?
Dec 29, 2013•38 min
Listen to our Christmas Eve message from 2013, looking at the baby in the manger as 'no ordinary child'!
Dec 24, 2013•21 min
Continuing our study of John, we are in the midst of a long conversation between Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. In this section Jesus makes a claim that "truth will set you free"--what did they (and we!) need set free from? The bondage of sin--when we commit sin it takes control of us and we become its slave. As hard as it was for the religious leaders to hear this message, it is hard for us today--we want to say "we have never been a slave to anyone!", but if we are in sin, we ar...
Dec 22, 2013•40 min
As we continue through the discussion underway in John chapter 8, in verses 21-30 Jesus and the religious leaders cover some difficult ground--Jesus makes it clear that if they don't believe that he is the "I AM", they will die in their sins. Steve covered the common misconception that "God sends people to hell"--rather, we understand from Jesus that people who reject the cure for the disease of sin are the ones who choose hell by refusing the free antidote to the problem of sin found in Jesus.
Dec 15, 2013•38 min
Continuing our study through John, we reach the second "I am" statement from Jesus midway through chapter 8: "I am the light of the world!" Pastor Steve expressed the pictures that "light" and "darkness" bring, both in our tangible world, but also the concepts in the spiritual realm. Living in darkness is impossible when we allow the light to shine into our lives, and Jesus wants to be the light that dispels darkness in our lives and in every corner of the globe!
Dec 01, 2013•36 min
Who do you thank when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner? Who allowed you and enabled you to be blessed in the ways that you are? God speaks to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8 of the danger of forgetting how and why our blessings came to us--especially after a time of want and need when we cried out to God and realized our dependence on Him. As our life is blessed, maybe because we cried out to Him, the warning from God is to not forget that He is the one who enabled those blessings as you find...
Nov 24, 2013•41 min
Pastor Steve briefly closed out the remaining verses of John 7, and covered in detail the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8. What a powerful story--where again the tables are turned on the religious leaders, who believe they finally have a slam dunk way to discredit Jesus. While it was never about the woman (it was about their trapping Jesus), Jesus again shows the power of His grace to bring forgiveness where there is shame and sinfulness!
Nov 17, 2013•37 min
As Jesus has attended the Feast of Tabernacles on his own time and terms, He is now in direct conversation with the religious leaders and the gathered Jews attending the feast. Many are arguing and trying to resolve his "origin"--the Messiah would just appear, but they know where Jesus is from? The leaders are angered at his claims and responses which put them to shame. But--it is his statement on the last day of the feast that grabs the scene: Whoever is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! A...
Nov 10, 2013•48 min
How can we know that God's Word is true? On what authority is Jesus's teaching compared to the rabbi's and teachers of His time? In John 7, Jesus attends the feast of tabernacles in Jerusalem under his own terms and timing, and when he reveals Himself he also claims that His authority is from the One who sent Him! And a good test of truth? If the words of a teacher bring glory to himself, then we need to be careful--but if those words bring glory to God, then they are trustworthy (v.18)!
Nov 03, 2013•38 min
Coming to the end of a long, and somewhat difficult, chapter in John, we find at the end of chapter six that the "hard teachings" of Jesus have driven many in the crowd to no longer follow Him. While Jesus most definitely has compassion on the crowds, He is not going to tone down the true message to keep the "numbers" up--His will and direction are clear, and He is doing the Father's will even while many turn away. Of course the disciples themselves know there is no one else to turn to--"only yo...
Oct 27, 2013•41 min
While Pastor Steve is away this weekend, one of our elders, Todd Giszack, continues John 6, looking at the "hard teaching" of Jesus about eating his flesh and blood, as a follow-on metaphor to his claim to be "the bread of life". This is definitely a hard saying for the Jews based on their law, but they continue to miss the intent of Jesus to teach them a spiritual lesson.
Oct 20, 2013•49 min
What if instead of you searching for the source of life, the source of life was searching for you!? Continuing our study in John, in chapter 6 Jesus declares Himself as the "bread of life"--but not just temporary "bio" life, eternal life that starts now and continues forever! For those who come to Him, He will not lose any; we are safe and secure when the One who gives life finds us and draws us to the Father. There is an amazing amount of the theology of our faith as well as comfort in these fe...
Oct 13, 2013•51 min
Continuing in our study of John chapter 6 from last week, Jesus gets to the heart of the matter with those "seeking him" (v. 26)--He points out that they are currently looking for Him only because of what He did for their stomach (in feeding them), and they have missed the intent of the signs. The key application for us--"don't work for the food that perishes"! We spend a lot of energy on that which does not satisfy; instead, Jesus calls us to seek Him, who can satisfy us fully with his spiritua...
Oct 06, 2013•39 min
In John chapter 6, Jesus performs another amazing miracle--in essence creating bread/food from nothing, to meet the people's physical need for food. In this, however, he tests his disciples to see what their solution(s) will be. What they learn, and what we can learn, is that we are not sufficient to handle the issues of life, especially the needs of ministry and of people that will overwhelm us in our own strength. Jesus wants to meet the need as we submit the little we have to Him and watch Hi...
Sep 29, 2013•36 min
Finishing up John chapter 5 today, Pastor Steve walked us through the "courtroom scene" as Jesus calls witnesses that declare He is who He says He is. Understanding that someone can delude themselves (his own testimony could be tossed aside), he calls others who witness to the truth of His divinity and Sonship to God the Father. You really cannot call Jesus a good teacher--just as C.S. Lewis portrayed in his own writings, He is either liar, lunatic, or He is truly Lord!
Sep 22, 2013•40 min
After Jesus heals the man with the infirmity by the pools of Bethesda, the religious leaders are angry that He has healed on the Sabbath. Jesus' answer reveals his connection with the Father, and more importantly, reveals his divinity. This is not lost on the religious leaders who want to kill Him not just for breaking the Sabbath, but now claiming to be God! Is Jesus God? Listen in and hear Jesus's own claims from John chapter 5.
Sep 15, 2013•45 min
"Do you want to be made well?" Jesus asked this seemingly strange question in John chapter five of the man with the physical condition of 38 years! But, maybe it wasn't so strange, as sometimes people become defined by their addiction, or problem, or infirmity, and to have it go away would require changes, and a possible loss of excuses. Jesus did heal the man that day, and He is possibly asking each of us "do you want to be made well?", too.
Sep 08, 2013•37 min
Continuing our study through the gospel of John, today Pastor Steve finished chapter four with the story of the healing of the nobleman's son. For this communion Sunday, Pastor Steve focused on the aspect of our faith, and looked at Hebrews 11 as well leading into the communion time, praying in faith for those who have need!
Sep 01, 2013•32 min
What drives you? What's your "food" that feeds you? When the disciples find Jesus talking to the woman at the well, they expect he will want to eat--but He wants to discuss spiritual food with them. Jesus, while he did need physical food, wanted them to understand that doing the Father's will is what truly drove Him. His spiritual focus on doing God's work was more important to Him than physical food!
Aug 25, 2013•40 min
