As we continue in our study of the book of John, I would remind you that John has given a theological treatise, or opening argument in the first 18 verses that is unparalleled in scripture establishing the divinity of Jesus Christ. And then starting in vs. 19 he brought forth his first witness to testify to his premise which is stated in chapter 20vs.11, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” That is the purpose of his epistle.

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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 that enables our culture to think that we are so much more advanced than previous generations. 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

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There is a lot of sentimentality at Christmas time. For a multitude of reasons, the holiday season evokes a lot of nostalgia, and it plays upon some of our deepest emotions. That is why Christmas is sometimes such a stressful time for many of us. It can seem ironic to wish people a Merry Christmas and yet find yourself almost overcome with sadness. The solution, of course, is to remember or be reminded of the real meaning of Christmas. But unfortunately, even the Christmas story has become so sentimentalized that the real joy to be found in the advent of

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As we are still in the prologue of the book of John, I think it would help us to realize that John is not occupied with merely presenting a biography of Jesus. We are all, I’m sure, more or less familiar with the history of Jesus Christ. So to simply retell the story of Christ’s life on earth would have limited benefit. But what John is presenting in his gospel is doctrine: the facts about Jesus which according to his stated purpose in chapter 20:31, “have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son

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There is no doubt but that John is the author of the Gospel of John. John was younger than his brother James, who were both known as the Sons of Thunder. And of the 12 disciples, John was the youngest as well. His mother was Salome, who had enquired of the Lord if her sons could sit on either side of His throne when He came into His kingdom. His father was Zebedee, who was a fisherman, and who had passed on his trade to his sons. He would seem to have been a disciple first of all of John

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So this is the last chapter in the book of Acts. And I really struggled with how we should finish this book. I suppose I could have broken down this series of events and exegeted each one, tried to find a parable or outline in each and preach a sermon. But as I considered it, I could not help but feel that the Holy Spirit was telling us something that was greater than the summary of each individual event. I couldn’t help but wonder how this grand epic of the gospel could just kind of wind down with a series

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The story we are looking at today shows a godly man, a man chosen and used by God as an apostle, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, yet who suffers incarceration, deprivation, a nightmarish couple of weeks at sea in the midst of a major nor’easter, and ultimately ends up being shipwrecked and having to swim for land. It’s an amazing account of hardship, but I hope that you will see why the Holy Spirit gives us this story in this passage. I hope to show you that God allows His people to go through storms and even shipwrecks

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As you all are aware, yesterday was a major holiday that is celebrated in the United States. Halloween, or as it was once known, All Hallows Eve. Believe it or not, All Hallows Eve was originally a religious holiday. When I was a kid, we just thought of it as a time to dress up in costumes. It was pretty harmless. Unfortunately, today it seems to have gained an association with the dark side that I do not think is beneficial. I won’t go so far as to say that I think that Christians cannot participate in some way, but

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I don’t know about you, but I think a lot of people have a problem with procrastination. Putting things off. Speaking for myself, it’s one of the few things I am really very good at. I put the “pro” in procrastination. I’ve been working on renovating my bathroom for almost a year now. Maybe longer. I try not to think about it. It makes me feel guilty. I just tell my wife that God is using me to teach her patience. My latest excuse is that I’m waiting for winter when I will need something to do indoors. But the

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For the sake of context, let me remind you of the circumstances which have occurred prior to this chapter. Paul had arrived in Jerusalem, and gone to great extremes to try to make sure he did not offend the Jews, even to the point of helping certain Jewish men consummate their Nazarite vows, which Paul may have participated in as well which included purifying himself, shaving his head and making a sacrifices in the temple. But certain Jews from Asia had come as well and having seen a certain Greek man in the city with Paul assumed that he had

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