Success and Popularity
For Sunday, July 26, 2015 – John 6:1-21 At this point in Jesus’ ministry he faces the twin problems of success and popularity. Problems? Many of us feel we could do with a little more of each. Isn’t greater success proof that we are accomplishing more? Doesn’t popularity mean greater influence? With these kinds of “problems,” we imagine beginning to […]
Born Again
For Sunday, May 31, 2015 – John 3:1-17 Too often the Pharisees get a bad rap. We imagine them as all the same when, like the rest of us, they come in a variety pack. Legalistic and self-righteous? Sure, sometimes—like me and you on some topic or another—but also hungry for truth, dedicated to seeking after God. One of […]
The Truth of Love
For Sunday, May 24, 2015 – John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 We say we want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But sometimes the truth is not easy to hear. Jesus speaks to his friends from the depths of his own truth, telling them he soon will depart, leaving them under the care and teaching of an Advocate. They must have […]
Everything, Given From God
For Sunday, May 17, 2015 – John 17:6-19 What if we were to begin to believe, as Jesus believed, that everything is given to us from God? Nothing is a mistake. Everything has purpose and meaning uniquely suited for our lives. The person who adores me, along with the one who does not like me so much—given. The tasks […]
