Gospel of John

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

John 15:1-17 uses a vineyard to symbolize our relationship to God the Father. Jesus uses this imagery to reveal truth about our relationship to him. When you read, “apart from me you can do nothing,” how do you react? Does this statement stir up anger or confusion? No one likes to feel unimportant or worthless but what does Jesus mean when He talks about us being so useless apart from Him?

The verse above doesn’t mean that we are unable to carry on ordinary activities such as waking up on time, preparing a meal, and driving to work. Jesus is actually talking about our inability to produce anything with eternal value. No matter how hard we try on our own, we can never create something that will last forever.

Pastor Mark Lile used a great analogy in his sermon this week that relates to this concept. He asked who the richest man in the world was one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred years ago. Do you remember their names? No matter how successful we are on our own, everything we produce on earth will wither and die. Mark went on to mention the names of disciples like Peter, John, Matthew and James which were all ordinary men before they became a part of Jesus core group of followers. Jesus radically changed each of their lives so much that we still name our children after them.

As we move through the week, reflect on what God promises us when we abide in him and him in us. He is the only one that can impart eternal value into our lives. Praise God this week for the strength and joy he gives us through his sovereignty.

Matt

Gospel of John

John 14:6

How many ways are there to God?

This is an important question today. It is important because almost everyone claims to believe in God. It is important because almost everyone wants to establish some kind of relationship with God. It is important because people want to find a way to connect with God.

John offers us only one answer:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How does this relate to sports? How much faith, trust and need for a connection do we put into “our” teams and individuals and what happens when inevitably both are broken because our focus is on things of this earth rather than God? Feelings of despair, betrayal, anger and insecurity emerge.

There is only one that wipes away all those negative feelings, Jesus Christ. Athletes speak of the sacrifices they made for their careers, but let us not forget who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He longs for a relationship from us because he is “the way and truth and the life.”

Stephen

Gospel of John

“The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”

John 12:25-26 (New International Version)

We find these words in the twelfth chapter of John. The Apostle John continues to point to Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus words in this section challenge us to ask one simple question, “What do you love?" Do you love your life more than Jesus? Would you rather enjoy the pleasures of the world more than loving Jesus? These are tough questions to consider. Jesus offers us a great assurance in this section; our desire to serve Jesus over ourselves is seen by the Father and will be honored. Jesus often challenges us to consider our love for Him over our love for other things. John himself would write in 1 John that we should not love the world.

If you are like me, you realize that this is challenging. Loving God is my desire, but yet, I find the pleasures of this world so tempting. My desire for success, money, and satisfaction in this life will only leave me empty. I have experienced this first hand and can attest to the truth that the world does not satisfy. There is no greater joy in life that losing my life for sake of finding and serving Jesus Christ. For I have tasted His goodness and have found the treasure that will not be destroyed.

This is an ongoing question for each of us to consider, where does your love lie? Friends, as you read these blogs week in and week out, our goal is that it points you to Jesus. Not just the Jesus who is recorded in history, but the Jesus who gave His life for you and me. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior.

I hope you know Him today.

Tim

Gospel of John

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep… I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”

John 10:11,14

There is a very intimate relationship that is revealed here by the connection between a Shepherd and his sheep. The more we understand about a shepherd, the more we understand about God.

One of the great attributes of God is his personal love for each of us like a shepherd does for his flock. The Bible paints a picture of what it means to be a “good shepherd.” Young David explains to the king below his responsibilities as a shepherd over his father’s sheep.

In 1 Samuel 17:34-37, a new picture is painted of what being a shepherd is really all about.

“But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’
Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you.’"

Jesus is our good shepherd. He knows each of us. He loves each of us. He gave the ultimate sacrifice for each of us.

Matt

Gospel of John

“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’”

John 8:7

The message that Jesus teaches in chapter 8 is that we are all flawed and sinful. It is easy to pick out the sin and shortcomings of others. Jesus identifies that we must first search our own hearts for the areas in which we too come up short.

I recently moved into a home together with my wife. Just like living with anyone, we learn so much more about our spouse or roommate when living in close quarters to each other. It’s so easy to pick out flaws in one another while never self examining the issues that we each have in our own lives.

Jesus concludes his story in John 8:11 by saying “Go now and leave you life of sin.” When we realize the sin that has entangled us, Jesus commands us to change. Our challenge this week is to take some time for self examination. Once we have identified our sin, it is time to leave it. When we leave our sin behind, then we are able to run faster towards the truth and life.

- Matt