Sermons on John (Page 3)
In order to recognize counterfeit currency, you must be completely familiar with the real thing! In our study this morning, we’re going to take a few minutes considering real and counterfeit Christians—apostates and authentic believers. When considering this subject, it is essential that we know and understand who Jesus is and how we can come to know him better, because He is the definitive measure of truth!
As we reflect on our church mission statement, we see that the last portion of this statement says that we are to “Equip People to Be On Mission.” But what does it mean to be “On Mission”? What will that look like in my personal life? We want to think about what it means to Live On Mission right here, right now, right where you live. My goals for you are to 1) help you overcome any anxiety/fear that you might have about being on mission for God, 2) equip you to serve God according to your giftedness, and 3) enable you to take ownership of your daily—even hourly—walk with Christ, because being On Mission for God requires more than one hour per week!
When we speak of the mission of Christ, our minds most often turn to the end of the Gospel of Matthew or the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles—“The Great Commission.” All four of the gospel accounts provide passages that clearly teach the mission of Christ. Dr. Luke also makes this mission crystal clear in Acts 1:8. In a nutshell, Christ’s mission was to seek and save the lost. But Christ’s mission is not found only in these books—His mission is found throughout Scripture. Our focus for this sermon series will be Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Today, we will take a moment to explore Paul’s understanding of the mission of Christ and how that His mission should also be our mission!
As we consider the ways that people in Scripture connected people to God, we want to encourage you to think about what you should do to connect people to God too! The goal of this series is to motivate you to consider the spiritual needs of those in your circles of influence and do whatever it takes to get them connected. In this study, we will see who Jesus is and what we need to do to know Him as our Savior.
Today, people are constantly saying things like this: “That may be true for you, but it’s not true for me.” In postmodern society, God has been removed as the foundation for morality, human dignity and truth. People in a postmodern society determine/create truth that promotes their agenda. There is no right or wrong—true or false. They do not have any moral absolutes; rather, postmodernists believe that all different perspectives should be celebrated. With this kind of worldview, how can we communicate the truth of God’s Word to them?
When it comes to the spiritual leader named Jesus, everybody has an opinion. Jesus has a polarizing effect on people. You can talk about God and spiritual things all day long, but people don’t always like it when you talk about Jesus.
Who is Jesus? Is He a man? Was He a man? Is He a myth? Or is He God? The answers to this question are as varied as the people who supply them. People have been asking this question for the past two millennia. In fact, Jesus Himself was the first to ask this question. Who did Jesus claim to be?
Hell is the absence of God and every good thing that His presence brings to this world. If hell is the absence of God, then it is also the absence of everything good—joy, pleasure, laughter, music, art, food, water, etc. Can you imagine? God patiently offers us the free gift of eternal life with Him, but when man exercises his free will and chooses not to follow God’s plan, then his choice has determined his fate. John 3:17-18 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Four events occurred in a dramatic succession on that Easter weekend: The Upper Room, The Garden, The Crucifixion, The Resurrection of Jesus. Let’s look at each of those events and their implications.