Belief through the Word; John 4:27-54 

There are many degrees of faith.  Often, Jesus rebuked people for not having enough faith, or because they only had a little faith.  So as believers, it is important for us to consider our faith and examine it in light of what the word of God says.  There are a lot of ecclesiastical statements out there which attempt to clarify what constitutes faith, but the best definition of faith is found in the scriptures themselves.  Several places in the scriptures speak of faith, but Hebrews 11:1 defines it very succinctly; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the

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Worship in spirit and truth, John 4:19-26 

Today in 21st century Christianity, one of the most misunderstood words or principles in the church is the word worship.  If I were to ask you this morning to write down a succinct sentence describing worship, I would not be surprised if there were as many definitions as there are attendees.  Today when we think of worship, we think of a church service, or what’s called worship music, or perhaps even a performance by a worship pastor or band.  Usually the connotation is  a church’s music service.   But as I indicated, I believe that’s a misunderstanding of what worship

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The living water; John 4:1-19

I cannot read the story of the Samaritan woman at the well without thinking of something I used to hear people say when I was growing up.  They would sometimes say that a certain person would rather cross the street than have to speak to them.  Obviously, they believed that a certain person disliked them so much that they would go out of their way to avoid them. There is a phrase in the Greek text in vs.9 that basically is saying the same thing.  It’s a word that conveys the idea that the Jews so despised the Samaritans that

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The Light of Truth, John 3:17-36 

The other night as I was walking my dog after dinner, I was able to witness a particularly beautiful sunset.  There were these clouds that had reflections of all these colors in them and the sun’s rays shining through.  It was really amazing.  It’s almost sad though because it changes right before your eyes and soon it’s gone.  I can’t help but think that sunsets are kind of like life.  They are so beautiful, and yet so fleeting.  By the time you think it’s really going great it’s basically starting to dim. But as tragic as that thought is, imagine

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A universal solution to a universal predicament, John 3:16       

In His conversation with Nicodemus, which we began to look at last week, Jesus has presented a universal predicament.  A universal problem.  And that is, that no man can ascend to God.  That no man can be right with God through his own merits.  The very best of mankind, the most religious, the most zealous person is still light years away from God.  There is nothing we can do to leap across this great chasm that exists between God and man.  So last week we were introduced to Nicodemus, the teacher of the Jews, a leader of the ruling religious

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You must be born again, John 3:1-15  

The phrase “born again” is one that is not unfamiliar to most people today.  However, I’m afraid it is not understood by the majority of people.  Unfortunately, in a lot of circles it has taken on a denigrating characterization  which is attached to someone that is considered to be sort of a religious right wing fanatic.  However, in this passage, we find it’s origin in the words of Jesus Christ Himself, which He uses to describe those that will enter the kingdom of God.  In fact, He said it is a requirement of the kingdom of God that you must

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Lord of the temple, John 2:12-25  

In chapter 2 John begins to show certain signs that Jesus did which illustrate or prove that He was the Messiah, the Son of God.  The first sign that Jesus performed was at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, which was primarily only known to his immediate family and disciples who were there and the servants of the house.  Today, we are going to examine the second sign that Jesus does, and this one is not miraculous necessarily, at least not in the way we would think of a miracle, but it nevertheless illustrates the divinity of Jesus in a

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The first sign, John 2:1-11   

 In our study of the first chapter of John, we saw the apostle John under the inspiration of God in his opening statement present the theology of Jesus Christ; that Jesus is God in the flesh, He was with God from the beginning, He is Light and the light of the world, and that He is the Life of men, the Creator, the giver and sustainer of life.  That was John’s opening argument in his gospel, which is given as an apologetic as well as an evangelistic message. That opening passage fulfilled the purpose of his gospel which is stated

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The testimony of John the Baptist, John 1:19-34   

The world is a very different place in the 21st century than it was in the days of our parents.  But I am not talking about the obvious advancements in technology and science and so forth.  The difference in our day from our father’s day is that at least in western civilization,  man has become more egocentric rather than theocentric. A good illustration of that is that in our father’s day, young men cheerfully signed up  to fight the Nazis, risking and even losing their lives for the sake of God and country.  Not that everyone was a Christian in

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The Word became flesh, John 1:14-18    

I for one am happy that the Apostle John does not dwell on sentimentalism, as he writes of the coming of Christ, but he focuses on theology.  Although most people may think theology and doctrine are dull and uninteresting, I believe that a proper understanding and belief of the truth is the path to true salvation. I passed a Universalist Church in Rehoboth the other day, and they had a sign out front on which was written, “We believe that there is not just one way.” While I knew that they believed that, I was amazed that they would come

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