The Comfort and the Caution of Christ’s promise, John 14:1-6 

When I was a boy, I remember my Dad, who was the pastor of our church, saying that his favorite song was “Mansion over the Hilltop.”  I guess it’s what’s called Southern Gospel and Elvis Presley, of all people, really popularized it by recording it in the early 60’s. I say it’s Southern Gospel because the lyrics use the word “yonder.”   My dad wasn’t a very good singer, but when the church would sing that song, he really seemed to enjoy it. The lyrics were not the most doctrinally correct perhaps, but the sentiment was sound.  It went something

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A new commandment given to the church, John 13:31-38

Imagine if you knew that you had 12 hours to live.  What would you want to say to your loved ones?  Well, that’s the exact situation that is facing Jesus in this passage.  He knows that He will be delivered up to be crucified the next day, and He has many things that He wants to tell His disciples while He still has an opportunity. In today’s passage, we are continuing in our study of Jesus’s Upper Room discourse.  There are five chapters in John which are dedicated to this one final evening of Christ’s ministry.  Five chapters of last

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Judas, an example of rebellion, John 13:18-30 

Last week we looked at the washing of the disciples feet as what I called an animated parable of Christ-like love, or sacrificial love.  And according to Christ, that kind of love is supposed to be the defining characteristic of the church.  Jesus said in vs.35 that “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” And I would suggest to you that this Upper Room Discourse is really a message on the foundational doctrines of the church. The disciples at this point constitute the church. Jesus is no longer publicly

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An animated parable about love, John 13:1-17

What we have presented to us in the first 17 verses of this chapter, is what I have called an animated parable. A parable is a story that is given to illustrate a spiritual truth.  And so what Jesus is doing by washing the disciples’ feet is providing a living illustration, or an animated parable, in order to teach a spiritual truth.   Now that is important to understand.  Because the illustration is not the object of our attention, but the illustration serves to present a lesson.  There are some that take from this text the idea that we need

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The last invitation, John 12: 36-50  

Just a couple of months ago I was driving behind a great big John Deere combine tractor which was going down the road, moving from one field to another, and it reminded me of a verse of scripture, which to my mind is one of the saddest verses in the Bible.  It is found in Jeremiah 8:20 which says,  “Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved.” Every year around the end of fall it seems that this verse comes to mind.  Once Labor Day passes, it is obvious around this town that the summer season has

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Glory through suffering, John 12:(23-26)27-37

The Bible says that God’s ways are not our ways.  Nor are His thoughts our thoughts.  And in John’s gospel we see ample evidence of that.  In fact, John shows that what man might think is logical,  natural, and common sense, may not be the truth of God. The truth of God is often counterintuitive.  A classic example of this is found in verse 25, as Jesus says, “He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.”  Jesus said that same statement slightly differently in Mark 8:35

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Triumph through death, John 12:12-26 

In the Christian church today, I think we are sometimes guilty of saying things, repeating phrases, or even going through certain ceremonies, which are part of our tradition, but which we don’t really understand.  For instance, you may have heard the word “hallelujah” in church.  We may sing or say this word in various liturgies or songs.  Yet a lot of us may not know what it really means.  It’s a Hebrew word which means “praise the Lord”.  “Amen” is another one we hear often.  Amen is another Hebrew word, which means “truly,” or “so be it.”   Today in

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Mary’s sacrificial love for Christ, John 12:1-11   

For the last couple of weeks, we looked at the last miracle that Jesus did which is recorded in the book of John, which was the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  And now we have come to the final week of Jesus’s ministry before His crucifixion.  And in anticipation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross 6 days later, John presents us with a dinner that is being held in Bethany to honor Jesus.  It’s now been a few months since Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and as He heads back to Jerusalem to meet His predetermined destiny with

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Seven Principles of the Seventh Sign, part 2, John 11:16-57

Today we are looking at part two of a message I have called, Seven Principles of the Seventh Sign. This miracle that Jesus did in raising Lazarus from the dead, is the seventh and final sign or attesting miracle that John records Jesus doing in His public ministry. It is a long passage, and as such we don’t have the time this morning to exegete every verse.  However, the story as a narrative is pretty self explanatory.  But there are some important doctrinal truths which are illustrated by this story which is what I want to make the focus of

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Seven Principles of the Seventh Sign, part 1, John 11:1-15  

I have said repeatedly from this pulpit, that every miracle presented in the gospel is a parable meant to teach us spiritual principles.  I will say it again to make sure you get that; every miracle presented in the gospel is a parable meant to teach spiritual principles.  Now this is the seventh and final sign or miracle that Jesus did that is recorded in the book of John.  So we may presume that this miracle in particular is of great significance.  We might deduce that simply due to the length of this passage which details it, as well as

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