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New Life: But Not Yet!
Those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them. John 11:10. Jesus is now advancing towards the ‘hour’ of his death, resurrection and glory. Read: John 11:1-16. This is a crucial story: raising the dead is the ultimate proof of Jesus’ messiahship (only God can raise the dead, 5:21), and it […]
The Resurrection And The Life
I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live… Do you believe this? John 11:25, 26. I am a pastor, so I conduct funerals. The last four involved a young man who committed suicide by gassing himself in his car, a middle-aged woman who died during […]
Extravagant Worship
You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. John 12:8. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem for the last time, and revisits Bethany, before entering the holy city on the first Palm Sunday. Simon the leper treats him to a sumptuous banquet there, according to the accounts in […]
Prophets And Religious Institutions Rarely Mix
It is better… that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. John 11:50. This is the ultimate irony in John’s Gospel. From within the Sanhedrin, (the Jewish ‘parliament’, comprising both Pharisees and Sadducees) Caiaphas the high priest speaks more than he knew. They later got rid of Jesus (so they […]
Persons Matter More Than Anything Else!
It was a sabbath day when Jesus… opened his eyes. John 9:14. Read: John 9:13-34. A legalistic mind works like this: The law of Moses says you shall not work on the sabbath. But what is work and what isn’t? Is making clay work? Sure. Is healing someone work? Yes. Jesus reasoned differently: the Sabbath […]
No Life Except …
If [a grain of wheat] dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24. ‘The real value of ease cannot be appreciated without having known pain, nor of sweetness without having tasted bitterness, nor of good without having seen evil, nor even of life without having passed through death.’ (Sadhu Sundar Singh). Read: John 12:20-36. The meeting […]
Hail To The King!
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord – the king of Israel! John 12:13. W E Sangster has a sermon about the donkey Jesus rode upon in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Donkeys don’t have ‘presence’ do they? They are awkward, obstinate beasts. If someone calls you an ‘ass’ […]
Worship
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind… One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer… Acts 2:1, 3;1. Praise God from whom all blessings flow […]
Praying For Others
Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. 1 Samuel 12:23. In Christ in the Seasons of Ministry John Killinger tells of Sister Anastasia (‘Sister Resurrection’) who had been a wonderful piano teacher during a long and happy career. When she […]
Praise And Awe
[Jacob] was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, the gate of heaven.’ Genesis 28:17. A little jester was too small and lame to be a soldier, and thus entertained the royal family with his tumbling and juggling. One day a priest found him in […]
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