Peter Restored: John 21:15-25

Peter Restored: John 21:15-25

Continuing in our series of the twelve disciples, today we are going to look briefly at Peter, a man who embodies the reality that God often chooses the weak and flawed to do extraordinary things. Peter's life is a powerful illustration of the sovereignty of God in salvation and service.

Initially, we meet Simon, a common fisherman – rough, uneducated, and likely impulsive. Jesus sees something more in him, renaming him "Peter," which means "rock" (Greek: Petros). This new name wasn't immediately reflective of his character, but rather a prophetic declaration of what God would make him through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Peter, along with James and John, experienced firsthand Jesus' miraculous power – the great catch of fish, healings, and even the raising of Jairus' daughter. These encounters began to shape his understanding of who Jesus truly was.

A pivotal moment is Peter's confession in Matthew 16: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus affirms this declaration, stating that this truth is revealed by the Father, not by human reasoning. He then famously says, "On this rock I will build my church," often interpreted as referring to the truth Peter confessed – the deity of Christ – as the unshakeable foundation of the church, not Peter himself. While Peter played a crucial role, the focus remains on Christ and the truth of His identity.

However, Peter's journey wasn't one of constant strength. Peter had many failures, which serve as stark reminders of our own human frailty. We see his impulsive nature in his attempt to walk on water (and subsequent fear and doubt), his cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant, and most significantly, his three denials of Jesus during His trial. These moments underscore the reality that even those closest to Christ can stumble badly.

But the story doesn't end there, which is where our Scripture picks up today. We must never forget the transformative power of God's grace. After the resurrection, Jesus specifically seeks out Peter, restoring him and commissioning him to "feed my sheep." This highlights God's unwavering love and forgiveness, even in the face of significant failure.

“Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep…..Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

And Peter did!

Following Pentecost, Peter emerges as a bold and powerful preacher, a true "rock" in the early church. His sermons in Acts are filled with conviction and a clear understanding of the gospel. He leads the early church, performing miracles and fearlessly proclaiming the name of Jesus, even in the face of persecution.

A study of Peter's epistles reveals a mature leader, urging believers toward holiness, perseverance, and a proper understanding of Scripture. His letters show his growth in grace and his commitment to sound doctrine, warning against false teachers and encouraging steadfast faith in the face of suffering.

In conclusion, Peter's life is a powerful testament to God's sovereign grace. He was a flawed and impulsive man whom God transformed into a foundational leader of the early church. His story reminds us that God doesn't require perfection, but a willingness to be used, and that even in our greatest failures, God's forgiveness and restoration are available through Jesus Christ. Peter's journey, from fisherman to apostle, underscores the truth that the power is not in the man, but in the God who calls and equips.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank you for this great confidence that comes to us through Your Word.  What a joy it is as we put ourselves with those disciples on that day who heard these thrilling words of hope 

and promise. You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Keep us faithful and filled with joy as we anticipate the ultimate triumph yet to come. Use us this week to proclaim that Jesus is indeed who He says He is. For Christ's glory we pray.  Amen.

The Christian Code of Conduct

Click here to listen to the audio message of – John 15:12-17

This of course is the Memorial Day weekend. In many areas there will be parades and celebrations tomorrow to memorialized soldiers who gave their life for our country. The day has also been termed the official kick-off of summer. And of course once Memorial Day is here the kids know they only have a few more days of school.

Many men and women and even children have sacrificed their lives to fight for or preserve our freedoms here in the United States and other places around the world. People serving in the Armed Forces follow a particular code of conduct.

The first article of the code states: I am an American, fighting in the armed forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

Article II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.

Article III: If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.

Article IV: If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information nor take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.

Article V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.

Article VI: I will never forget that I am an American, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America.

We too as Christians follow a code similar to that. We are Christians fighting the good fight. Fighting the war on truth. We should be prepared to give our lives for the fight.

We will surrender our will to that of God’s will. If we are captured by the lures of the world we will rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver us. If we become a prisoner because of our beliefs we will keep the faith.

When questioned, we will respond with the Gospel message, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We will never forget who we are. We will trust in God. We will love and serve God throughout our lives.

We see in our scripture this morning. Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

The commandment to love each other is not new. From the Old Testament, we are commanded to love God and love our neighbors and I have said before that your neighbor is anyone that you come into contact with.

The difference with the type of love that Jesus is talking about is the fact that it is a sacrificial love that is modeled after His own love. And it is produced through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each of us.

Love is key to a Christian. I am not talking about an emotional or sentimental love. I am talking about the self-sacrificing love. The type of love that Jesus has for us, the love that took Him to the cross. That is the type of love that each of us as believers and followers of Jesus Christ should display throughout our lives.

If we don’t display that type of love in our life, then do we really love God? As I said, Jesus was filled with this type of love and is the perfect example of all things for us.

The two main characteristics of this type of love is obedience to God and laying down our lives. If we really are setting our minds and our hearts to follow Christ then we must show those two characteristics in our life.

First, we must obey God. We must do what He tells us. Now this doesn’t mean we will always perfectly obey Him. We are sinful people living in a dark world and we will fail at times. But the pattern of our life will be in obedience to Him.

One of His commands, of course, is to love each other. It is indeed a sad thing to see believers attacking each other, tearing each other down, talking about each other, arguing over trivial things.

One of the unique characteristics of the United Methodist Church is its focus on worshipping with other Christians. As I have said before, we have an open communion table. Anyone who is a believer is welcome in any United Methodist Church to come and worship, fellowship, and partake in the body and blood of Christ. Many other churches are not like this.

Secondly, we are to lay our lives down for others. Most of us would probably say that we would and quite honestly if the situation arose the Holy Spirit would give us the strength to lay our lives down for others.

For the most part we are pretty safe here in the United States, especially from religious persecution and especially out here in the country where we live. Most people just leave us alone because they think we are crazy for living in the middle of nowhere.

So for us, Jesus is not really calling us to die as He died, although we should be prepared to die if needed. Jesus is really calling us to live as He lived. We should lay down our lives for others. When we see people in need, we are to help, even if and especially if it is a sacrifice for us.

These types of things could be helping people financially, food, clothing, shelter, or simply visiting them. Doing these type of things is much more difficult that dieing for someone. This type of love comes at a price. But they also have their own rewards.

In particular, Jesus promises three things for those who obey His commandment to love.

First, He promises us that we will be filled with joy. In John 15, Christ is almost at the cross, yet He is filled with joy. He has a deep sense of satisfaction and peace. He knows He is obeying the Father’s will and will soon be seated at His right hand side. The reward is worth the cost.

Second, Jesus now says that He is our friend, not just our Master. He has experienced life as we experience it, only He didn’t fall short of perfection. He knows and shares in our feelings. That is true friendship. When we obey His commands, we too enter His circle of friends. We have fellowship with Him that is deep, rich, and meaningful. The reward is worth the cost.

Finally, Jesus answers our prayers. Our prayers activate the power of God. That is amazing! We have influence with the Creator of the universe! That reward is certainly worth the cost.

We must remember, however, that none of this is us. It is all God’s graciousness too us. He calls us. He sustains us. He empowers us to bear fruit. All of our goodness is simply a testimony to God’s grace and love for us.

Now you be a testimony for the world, by loving each other sacrificially as Jesus loves you.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. We thank you for the many men and women who have served our country and gave their lives for our freedoms. Help us to be as committed to living out your word as they were committed to this country.

We continue to ask your blessings upon this nation and help us to truly be one nation under your care and guidance until you return again for us.

AMEN.

Seeing Christ

Click here to download the audio message of John 20: 11-18

Seeing Christ

What a wonderful Scripture reading this is on this Easter morning. There are so many things we could say about it, but this morning I want to focus on Mary Magdalene and her encounter with the risen Christ.

It had been a long morning for her already. She was up early, before dawn. Her and a few other women were on their way to the tomb to finish the burial process of placing the spices on the body.

She was determined to give her Lord a proper burial because she loved Him. Sure, Joseph of Arimathea did what he could by wrapping the body and placing it in the tomb, but Joseph didn’t have that same knowledge and love of Christ that Mary had.

So Mary and the other women make their way along the dark trail to the tomb. Their discussion is focused on how they are going to get into the tomb. The last thing they saw last night was a large stone rolled in front of the tomb and Pilate placing guards in front of it. What are they going to do to get inside?

When they arrive at the tomb their concerns about the stone are irrelevant. The stone was already moved and the guards were gone. But so was Jesus’ body. Mary is devastated. She runs off to tell Peter and John about the situation.

The three of them run back to the tomb. John and Peter ran faster than Mary, so by the time she arrives at the tomb again Peter and John are done investigating the situation and return to the town.

According to Scripture they said nothing to Mary. So there is Mary at the tomb, all alone. Filled with grief, filled with sorrow. Her stomach is in knots and her eyes are filled with tears.

Then as she looks into the tomb again, she sees two angels where Jesus’ body was laid the day before. Of course, she didn’t realize they were angels. They ask her why she is crying. See the angels don’t understand, they know that Christ is risen. They must have thought that it was strange that Mary was here crying.

But Mary responds, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” She must have thought they were the caretakers of the cemetery or gardeners or something, but not angels. That thought never crossed her mind.

Before the angels can respond to her though a man appears behind her and asks the same question, “Women, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Mary thinks it is the gardener, so she responds, “If you took my Lord’s body away, please tell me so I can go get it.”

But this man is not the gardener, rather it is Jesus. The reason for Mary’s failure to recognize Jesus is unclear. It could be the fact that she had been crying and just couldn’t see clearly. Sometimes that happens.

Or maybe she remembered what His body looked like the night before. It was bruised and beaten and bloody and that image was ingrained in her head no doubt. So when she sees the resurrected Jesus she failed to recognize Him because His appearance was so much different.

Or maybe the simple answer is God prevented her from seeing Christ, much like He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. But for whatever reason she did not recognize Jesus standing there.

Then, Jesus calls out her name, “Mary.” Now, I don’t know how He said it, maybe in a nice soft gentle tone as in “Mary” or maybe in a “Mary, it’s me” kind of voice. I don’t now. But, whatever the reason for her failure to recognize Jesus before, the moment He spoke her name she knew who He was.

There was just something about the way He spoke her name. In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” What a true illustration we have of that point here with Mary.

Mary no doubt lunges forward to hug and hold Jesus at that moment. She clings to Him for dear life, because that is exactly what He is not only to her, but to all that come to Him. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Verse 28 of John 10 continues, “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Jesus sends Mary away, saying “You cannot cling to me now, but go and tell My brothers about what you have seen and what I have said.”

This is significant and most people miss it. Throughout Christ’s teaching and ministry He referred to His followers mostly as slaves, as servants, and even as friends. But now, He calls us brothers. We are sons of God. We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ.

After Jesus said these things, Mary went on her way and announced these things to the disciples. “I have seen the Lord,” she says.

What a thrilling and mountaintop moment this must have been for Mary. But in order to have that mountain top experience, she had to first be as low as she could go. Think about it, Mary’s experience is not that much different from our own.

At times, we are down and out. Filled with sorrow, filled with tears and grief. But then Jesus appears to us. Like Mary, we can’t see Him. But then He calls to us. He calls out our name. He sends us what we need and then He sends us on our way with that same commission that He gave Mary.

That same commission He gave to all of His disciples. That is to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel. There are still people out there who have not heard the Word of God, there are people out there that do not know He has risen from the dead, that He has conquered death for us.

This Easter – Resurrection Sunday morning let us not forget that encounter with Mary. She loved Jesus and she obeyed Him. We should do the same today. Christ has risen indeed, now tell others.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, be as real and present to us as you were to Mary. Open our eyes so that we may see your hand at work in our lives. Open our hearts to receive the love that you pour out on us. Give us the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to proclaim the Gospel message to all that we meet.

AMEN

True Discipleship

John 6:60-69
Length: 15:58

This is a message given on August 23, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

As we finish up John chapter 6 this morning, it should be clear now that there are really three groups of people that are forming. The one group of course is the Twelve Apostles. This is a definite group and they are Christ’s closest followers.

Now we see the crowd starts to split into the other two groups. There are the members of the crowd that follow Christ and there are members of the crowd that are antagonistic toward Christ.

If you remember from our scripture last week, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. I came from Heaven and I am going back there. This is where the believers and unbelievers start to separate. No doubt this was difficult for the crowd to comprehend.

That is where the belief comes in to play. If the people could not believe that Christ came from Heaven and will return to Heaven, then how would they be able to believe in and comprehend other topics like Jesus’ sacrificial and subsitutionary death, or His resurrection and ascension to Heaven, or His sending of the Holy Spirit?

If it bothers the crowd that Jesus said He is the bread of life, then they will never believe in all of the stuff that is about to happen. People in the crowd admitted it is a difficult statement to listen to.

Jesus saw the crowd was not believing Him. He knew they were grumbling. This is the point where many teachers would maybe slow down, soften their message, or even change their methods a little bit to get the crowd back on board and in tune with each other.

But not Jesus. Jesus knew the hearts of men. He knew they did not and would not believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of God. These false followers were simply attracted to Him for His physical miracles, His healing and His feeding.

They enjoyed listening to His teaching up to this point, but now their hearts were made known. They failed to understand the true significance of Jesus.

Jesus was on a Heavenly time schedule and He would not compromise it. So He simply summarizes His teachings in three verses that we see this morning.

He calls the people from their fleshy ways and their fleshly thinking to spiritual ways and spiritual thinking. He calls the people to faith by challenging their unbelief. Jesus reminds the crowd of God’s presence in their life. God is the One who opens our eyes to see Him and His ways.

As a result of this sermon, many of the followers left. They went back to their old ways, their old habits, their old jobs and so on. Not only did they give up following Jesus, but they gave up on Jesus. They gave up what he represents and teaches. They are not fit for God’s Kingdom.

I figure I have preached close to 100 sermons in the past few years and I am not aware of anyone ever walking away from Jesus because of my message. Maybe I am doing something wrong. We see Jesus preaching to literally thousands of people and by the end of the day most of them are gone.

I am not sure if this is the most successful or unsuccessful sermon every preached by Jesus. It defiantly separated the believers from the non-believers. This is a significant turning point in Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus starts to reveal more and more about Himself and what He must do, but He also shifts from the public ministry to a more private training of the Twelve.

Jesus asks the Twelve, “You don’t want to go away also, do you?” Of course, Peter answers, “Lord, to who shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

Right here we see the key to discipleship. Many people skip over it and don’t even realize it is in this verse. But here it is. Two things that make a true disciple.

Faith, Peter says, "Lord, we believe." Peter is saying "We are sure who You are, and we believe.'

You know what the other one is? Faithfulness. "Lord, where would we go." See. "Not only do I believe You, but I stay where You are. I want to be with you and follow you."

Jesus said, "If you continue in My Word then are you disciples truly." In other words, faith is the birth of the true disciple. Faithfulness is the character of the true disciple.

And so Peter says in that little statement the whole of the Christian life in one thought. Faith and faithfulness. This is just living with the awareness of Christ's presence in your life, isn't it?

Peter couldn't stand to be away from Jesus. He always wanted to be where Christ was. This is illustrated so many times throughout the Gospels. Here he says, "Lord, I'm not going anywhere, You couldn't get rid of me."

That's the kind of Christian life that's the real life of the disciples, just constantly practicing the presence of Jesus Christ knowing He's right there beside you. "Lord, share my life, share my trials, share my joys, share my decisions, share my temptations." Constant involvement with Jesus Christ. That's discipleship. Lord, I have faith. Lord, I have faithfulness. That's what you want. I believe in You and I'm staying where You are. There's the whole Christian life right there.

Now Peter and the Twelve probably didn’t completely understand everything Jesus was teaching, but they got the main point correct. That is of course, life comes through Christ.

That is the question this morning. Do you know where life, eternal life, abundant life comes from? And not just know it, but believe it! Are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

As we follow Christ and grow in our faith we too may be tempted to turn away because of situations that occur or difficulty with understanding what God tells us. Some people like the majority of the crowd in our scripture this morning will simply give up.

Others will skip over those biblical teachings they don’t like or agree with. But the true follower of Christ will ask God for guidance. They will ask God to show them what the Scripture means and how they can apply it to their lives. They ask God to give them the strength and courage to act on God’s truth each and every day in all situations and circumstances of their lives.

What about you? What do you do? I agree with Peter. There is no other way. Jesus alone is the way to Heaven and eternal life. Either you accept it or you don’t. There is no in between.

1 John 5:20 says “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23)

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank you for our time in your word this morning. Help us to be true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Help us to realize and enjoy the bread of life that has been given for us. Help us to be discerning of those around us so we are not led down the path of the crowd, the way of destruction. Take our lives and lead us to eternal life. AMEN.

The Bread of Life part 2

John 6:41-58
Length: 20:13

This is a message given on August 16, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

We continue our look at the Sermon on the Bread of Life this morning. Last time we left off with Jesus telling the crowd about the Bread of Life. Of course the crowd wants this bread and Jesus tells them that He is the Bread of Life.

Our scripture can be divided into three distinct sections this morning. First, we see the reaction of the crowd. Second, we hear Jesus’ response. And lastly, Jesus reiterates the message.

Let’s start with the crowds reaction. The New American Standard Bible says, “the Jews were grumbling.” Did you know that grumbling is an offense to God? It shows a lack of trust in God. Think back to the time Israel spent in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2 says, “The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.” They were faced with scarce resources out in the wilderness and desired those things they had while they were back in Egypt.

They were grumbling, not trusting in God, even though God had just provided them with water. Now they didn’t have food, so rather than ask God, they grumbled. Of course, as we know, God provided them with manna.

A short while after this, they were tired of the manna and wanted some meat, so they started grumbling again. See, the Jews had a negative attitude in general and expressed it toward Moses and Aaron, who were obeying God’s commands. They weren’t trusting their lives to God.

Unfortunately, this is a common practice for many of us today as well. We don’t say we are grumbling against God. Rather, we are grumbling against, the teacher, our boss, the doctor, even the preacher, but not God.

But as this scripture tells us, when we grumble about God’s representatives, God takes it personally. If we reject the godly people in our lives we are rejecting God.

As we move back to the Gospel of John, we see the Jews doing the same thing. They are rejecting the authority God has sent. Not only that, they are truly rejecting God by rejecting Jesus.

They reject Jesus because He equated Himself with God. The crowd said, “but don’t we know your father and mother”, meaning Mary and Joseph? Many people today reject Jesus too. Now we see Jesus rebuke to the crowd.

Verse 44 tells us that we cannot come to Jesus unless God draws us. Well great, how does that happen? Verse 45, which is a paraphrase of Isaiah 54:13, tells us, “And they shall be taught of God, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

God draws us to Him through teaching, through what we learn about Him. This has really been the goal of my ministry, is to simply teach others what the Bible says and what God wants you to do. That is why so often my sermons sound like lectures!

We need to have the knowledge of the Bible. We need to know what is says. If we learn what God says in His book, it will lead us to Him. Now this isn’t just an intellectual knowledge about the Bible. There are many “scholars” that know this book better than all of us put together, but they don’t believe it.

Our hearts and minds must be open to receive the Word of God. We must plant the Word of God in our hearts. As we learn God’s Word, we will want to obey it. Live out His Word and His will for our lives. As we do this, we will learn to live a godly life in this difficult world.

Many times, people think God draws or calls those to Him that He wants and that is all who will come and be saved. This usually leads into a discussion about predestination. I always think back to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, he says, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”

Who are called? Many. Who are chose? Few. Why, because the few who were chosen, responded. To respond to God’s call, we must believe in Him, study His Word, and obey His Word. No one has ever been saved without submitting to the will of God.

Jesus finished His teaching by reiterating what He had just stated. These words are shocking to the Jews. Eating flesh and drinking blood. No doubt, the crowd is in an uproar and starts arguing again. As we have seen, the crowd takes Jesus’ words literally.

Obviously, we know that Jesus was not talking about cannibalism and drinking actual blood. Instead, He was referring to His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus voluntarily laid his life down for the sins of the world.

When we come up to participate in the Lord’s Supper and communion together, we are to remember what Christ did for us on the cross.

We are to trust in Jesus with our lives and live like Him and for Him. Our lives show how much we trust in God. Do we walk with Jesus and talk with Him? Do we live our lives like we love Him as He loves us? Do we work for Jesus while knowing that we can also rest with Jesus?

Those are some things to think about this week. If you find yourself grumbling this week, just remember that you are grumbling against God and the things He has provided for you. Don’t be like the crowd, don’t be like the Israelites, don’t be like the world.

Instead, be like Jesus and feed on the Bread of Life.





Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You this morning for Your Word. It is filled with so many important truths that we cannot begin to even comprehend it all. We pray, that Your Spirit will teach us. Help us to trust You with our lives and not grumble about the situations we are in.

We pray this morning for those to whom Your Spirit speaks, those who are being drawn by the Father. God, if some heart here is being drawn, may this be the day that they in faith say, "Christ, I come, I want You, take my life, forgive my sin." May this be that day. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

The Bread of Life part 1

John 6:22-36
Length: 17:27

This is a message given on August 9, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

The sermon on the bread of life is a unique sermon. What a wonderful message it is too. We see Jesus present Himself as the only source of eternal life. We also see the crowd turn from being interested in Jesus and His teachings to that of open hostility toward the things he has to say.

It is possible that this wasn’t just one quick hour-long message, but possibly a whole day’s worth of teaching. Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at this message in greater detail to more fully understand what is happening.

Our text starts off, the next day. This would be the day after the feeding of the 5,000 that we looked at two weeks ago and mentioned briefly last week. The crowd woke up looked around and didn’t see Jesus. They knew the 12 disciples left on a boat, but Jesus didn’t go.

So where was He? What had happened to Him during the night?

While they were no doubt thinking these things and discussing among themselves a game plan. Some boats arrive from Tiberias. The crowd wanting to see Jesus decides to get on the boats and hitch a ride to Capernaum where they believe Jesus might be.

Finally, they find Jesus and ask Him, “When did you get here?” Now you are probably thinking, that is a dumb question. But isn’t it human nature. Think about the last trip to your family reunion. What do you say to them? Usually, what time did you get here? How was your trip? Much traffic along the way?

Chit chat as we would call it today. Notice Jesus’ response. He never addresses their question. Instead he gets to the heart of the matter. He essentially tells them, “You are not here because you want me to be your eternal security, you’re here just because of your fleshly desires.

He tells them to look beyond the flesh and not to work for food that spoils. The idea is being conveyed not to work just for food that nourishes you for a while, but to really work for food which brings you to eternal life.

The crowd has spent a couple of days seeking Jesus and there is nothing wrong with that. Seeking Jesus is a job we are all called to do. But the crowd was seeking Jesus for the wrong reason. They simply wanted to satisfy their earthly desire, rather than receive eternal life.

No doubt, many people in the crowd were familiar with the Old Testament prophecies and the testimony of John the Baptist. They saw Jesus’ miracles and healings. They probably even heard about Jesus’ baptism. But the crowd still didn’t get it.

The crowd thought Jesus was saying they must do some work for God to receive eternal life. So they asked Jesus, “What work must we do for God?” The question is pretty straight forward and it is still a question that many people ask today. “What must I do for God, so I can receive eternal life?”
Jesus gives a very simple and easily understandable answer. He says, “Your job, your work, is to believe in me.” The only “work” God desires of us is to have faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God.

But your sitting there thinking faith without works is dead right? That’s in the bible, right? You are indeed right! Well how can this be? (James 2:17)

The answer is the fact that we don’t work FOR our salvation, but we work in response to it. There is no way to earn your salvation. No matter how “good” you are or how well you follow the laws and rules, it will not get you eternal life.

Faith is all your need. True faith in Jesus Christ gets you eternal life. Once you realize that, you will want to “do” things which demonstrate your faith. In fact, it will be almost impossible for you not to “do” good works.

It sounds simple. All I need is faith. And it is, until you realize the all encompassing attitude that it requires. Every part of your life will be rearranged in accordance with the will of God. You will use your time, talents, money, and energy, all that we have to serve Him.

After Jesus gives His answer, the crowd responds with another question. They essentially tell him to prove it. Prove that He is who he says He is. Perform a miracle for us and we will believe.

Jesus had already performed many miracles in their presence, there were healings, cleansings, feedings, calming of storms and so on. But the Jews want a sign from heaven, saying Moses fed our ancestors, the entire nation of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness.

“This manna they ate was from heaven, you just feed us earthly food. Give us a heavenly sign, a heavenly food and we will follow you” they say,

Jesus said I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. By rejecting Jesus, they are rejecting the very thing they are asking Jesus for, that is eternal life.

Jesus criticized the people for following Him for physical and temporary benefits rather than the spiritual life that will satisfy them eternally. Some people today come to the Church for physical comfort or other self-centered earthly motives.

A true Christian is a follower of Christ from their belief. We must believe on Him whom God has sent. Satisfying God does not come from what we do, but from whom we believe in.

Listen to some scripture about salvation.

Salvation belongs to the Lord (Psalm 3:8).

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Accept Jesus for who He is. Your spiritual life for eternity depends upon this. Declare and believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God and grow in your lifelong journey of serving God. He is the bread of life, feed on Him.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly father, we thank you for feeding us not just with earthly food, but with the heavenly food, your word, the bread of life, Jesus Christ. Help us this week to be nourished by Him, so that we may live our lives for you in humble obedience to your word. AMEN.

Miraculous Jesus, Son of God

John 6:16-21
Length: 17:36

This is a message given on August 2, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

Our Scripture reading this morning is no doubt a familiar one to most of us. We usually refer to it as the miracle of Jesus walking on water. However, upon looking at the account as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, we see there are really four miracles here.

First, and most familiar, is Jesus walking on water. Second, from Matthew we read that Jesus enabled Peter to walk on water. Third, Jesus again calms the wind and sea. Finally, Jesus gets into the boat and immediately they arrive at their destination.

This story continues the theme we saw last week, which emphasized the sovereignty of Jesus, but also shows the people misunderstanding who he really is. Let’s take a closer look at what is happening with the Walking on Water miracle.

Jesus had just fed the 5,000 people as we saw last week. The people of course wanted to make Him King. The crowd is still around Jesus well into the evening. As the evening wears on and the crowd settles in for the night, Jesus tells His disciples to head to the other side. Jesus heads off to pray for a while and will join the disciples later.

Meanwhile, the disciples are in the middle of the sea, about 3 or 4 miles from shore. The disciples were no doubt tired and to make matters worse a storm was kicking up. A strong wind was blowing.

Think about what must have been going through the disciple’s minds here. They had just witnessed another miracle of Jesus when he fed the crowd. They too probably wanted to make Him King.

They were probably wondering why Jesus sent them away and not only that, but why were they sent into this storm at night. And where was Jesus, why didn’t He come with us and how is He going to meet us on the other side?

So far, we see two scenes. The disciples struggling on the sea in the middle of a storm and Jesus praying alone in the calm of a mountain top.

Jesus knows what is going on with the disciples and starts walking out to meet them in the middle of the sea. As He approaches the boat, the disciples see Him and become frightened. They cannot believe their eyes and they think they are seeing a ghost.

Honestly, this would probably be the reaction of most of us today too! Imagine seeing a human like figure walking toward you in the middle of the sea. It is a natural response. Jesus senses their fear and tries to calm them.

“It is I” he says, more literally it reads “I am”, which is an Old Testament name of God. Of course, Peter responds, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

The account of Peter walking on water is only found in the Gospel of Matthew and speaks of his faith and his failing. Peter often gets a reputation of failing and lack of faith. But we need to give him credit. Peter was the only one of the 12 who had enough faith to step out of the boat! The other 11 were still clinging to their seats, hanging on for dear life.

When Peter realizes that he is walking on water, he becomes a little distracted and starts to sink. Crying out to his Master he says, “Lord, save me.” Jesus stretches out his hand and pulls him into the boat.

The disciples marvel at this and say, “truly you are the Son of God.” Suddenly, they are at the shore and the lesson is over for now.

What can we get out of these lessons today. Obviously there are many things we can learn from this story, such as the need for individual prayer or the sovereign power of God at work in our life and in the world..

But I want to focus on something different. As I said at the beginning there were four miracles in this story. Jesus walking on water, Peter walking on water, calming the storm, and immediately being transported to their destination.

Many “scholars” have tried to minimize or explain away these miracles of Christ. With the feeding of the 5,000 they say the crowd really did have their own food. They just didn’t want to admit it until they say the generosity of the little boy.

Of the walking on water and the immediate transport to their destination, they say that the disciples were almost there and Christ was walking in a shallow part of the sea or maybe there was a coral reef or ridge or something in the water that He was able to walk on.

Nonsense, is what I say to them. Their hearts have been hardened and cannot perceive the power of God through Christ.

The disciples too had a hard time believing in everything they saw and experienced. Even though they confessed that Jesus was the Son of God, they had at times trouble believing and understanding it.

Maybe they couldn’t figure out why God would choose them to be His followers and workers. It seemed to good to be true and human nature says that if it is too good to be true than it probably is! Maybe, like the crowd, they didn’t understand the real purpose for Jesus’ coming to earth.

The disciples were unable to comprehend the miracles of Christ and realize that He was their working in their lives. How about you?

We believe in these miracles and these stories of the life of Christ, but do you believe He is working in your life today as well?

The bible has so many wonderful truths in it, but do you apply those truths to your life? Do you live as though you believe the bible? Do you live trusting that Jesus has His arm out ready to save you?

If not, like Peter, say, “Lord, Save me.” And He will. Read His word, study his word, live his word. Cling to Him and He will not let you go.


Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us your Word that has been so well preserved over these many years. Strengthen us to continue on in the faith as our fore-fathers have. Purify our minds and cleanse our hearts as we prepare to communion with you and with each other this morning. AMEN.

The Power Of Christ

John 6:1-14
Length: 20:33

This is a message given on July 26, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

In our Scripture lesson this morning we learn that the Jewish Passover Feast was near. This marks the transition of Jesus’ second and third year of ministry. It also explains partially why there were such large crowds following Him to Jerusalem.

As they pass through villages more and more people begin to follow. Jesus looks around and sees the great crowd, so he asks Philip where they can buy food for all of these people.

Why did He ask Philip this? Well, Phillip was probably in charge of the logistical aspect of Jesus’ ministry from an earthly perspective. We would say he was like the administrative assistant. He was a facts and figure kind of guy.

So Jesus asks Him to figure it out. Now, Jesus already knew the answer so this was a test for Philip. Jesus had a particular lesson in mind to teach Philip. Philip responds, “200 denarii” or about eight months wages.

It was late in the day, probably close to supper time, in a remote area. Of course, eating in those days was not an easy task like it is today. There were no fast food places to stop at. There were no microwaves or instant meals like we have today.

Now remember, from our Scripture last week. The disciples are tired and haven’t eaten either. When Jesus tells the disciples to feed the crowd, Judas probably cringed. Since he was the keeper of the money and wanted to keep as much money to himself.

Feeding 5,000 men (there were also women and children in the crowd, which would boost the number to maybe 20,000 people) would pretty much empty their money bag. But Jesus sends them out into the crowd to see what food they have available.

They find a boy who has five loaves of bread and two small fish. The bread is not like ours. More than likely it was a flat barley loaf, about 4 inches round. The fish were probably small fish like canned Sardines.

Jesus instructs the disciples to have the crowd sit down on the grass in groups of fifties and hundreds so the food can be distributed in an orderly manner, making sure everyone got something.

Jesus looks to heaven and gives thanks for the food and the food was distributed to all. The hunger of everyone in the crowd was completely satisfied. After the meal was over, the disciples collected the leftovers, which were12 baskets in all.

What an amazing and wonderful story of the power of God. He provides food for His followers. But as usual, there is a point to this story and I want to focus on that point from Philips perspective.

We know Philip was a leader. Jesus picked him to be one of the twelve. We know that he was a student of the Old Testament and we know that he was a faithful man. Even though he sometimes let logic get in the way of his faith as we read in our scripture this morning.

The question Jesus asked Philip was basically, “How do you propose to feed all these people?” Philip jumps into action and starts counting and calculating. Every way he figures it, he comes up with the same answer. It can’t be done.

Philip was there when Jesus turned the water in to wine. Philip had seen the numerous healings and miracles that Jesus had done. Instead of saying, “I don’t know how you’re going to do it, but I know you will Lord” Philip said “It can’t be done.”

This was a true test for Philip to look into himself and bring his faith to the forefront. Like Philip we don’t have all the answers. As much as we try and as much as we calculate things, we don’t always know.

That is where our faith needs to kick in. We know that God will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). We shouldn’t focus on material or earthly matters. Instead we should be focusing on heavenly matters and glorifying God.

An essential element of leadership is a sense of vision and this is especially true for Christians. Philip was focused on earthly things and was overwhelmed at the task that Jesus gave him. The reality of the facts and data bouncing around in his brain, said “It can’t be done.”

He was so focused on the calculations and thought process that he completely missed the opportunity to see God’s hand at work. The power of Christ had escaped his thinking. Philip’s rationality took precedence over his faith.

Andrew brought the little boy with the bread and fish to Jesus. Andrew wasn’t too sure about how Jesus was going to feed everyone, but at least he had a little faith by bringing the boy and saying, “Here’s what we have Lord, what’s next?”

Philip lost the opportunity to have his faith rewarded while the action of Andrew was honored. Jesus taught in Matthew 17:20, “If you have faith as a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Philip needed to learn that lesson. Everything Jesus was doing seemed impossible to Philip. He just couldn’t calculate it out. He needed to set aside his materialistic, practical, and calculative ways and learn to see the miraculous ways of God.

How may of us today need to learn that same lesson. We all face struggles in our lives. We think things just can’t work out. The situation is impossible. But we often forget the power of Christ. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

Let the power of Christ strengthen you this week. Ask Him for it. Tell him you have no idea how to figure out the trouble surrounding you and let Him be honored and glorified through your life.
Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You this morning for Your word to us. We just have scratched the surface of many things, but, Lord, we pray that You'll teach us by Your Spirit. Seal these things in our
hearts. Teach us to obey.

Send us tests of trust, send us tests that are beyond our trust and then show us Your power that our trust may move just that much further ahead, Lord. These things we pray in His name, Amen.

Humble Love

John 13:1-17
Length: 13:34

This is a message given on April 9, 2009 at the Uniontown United Methodist Church during the Holy Thursday Evening service.

“Humble Love”

Chapter 13 marks a turning point in the Gospel According to John. The first twelve chapters focus on Jesus being rejected by the Jewish nation. And now Jesus moves away from that public ministry and ministers to those who did receive and accept Him. Jesus now devotes His time to His disciples.

Chapter 13 is a great example of humility in love. The greatest virtue of love is its humility. Jesus demonstrates one of the most beautiful pictures of love. Jesus is preparing to go to the cross. Christ was preparing to pay the price for our sins.

Jesus could have very easily become proud of what He would do by the end of the week. He surely could have been very concerned about what was going to happen to Him and to his Apostles in the coming days. But instead of that He was concerned for his Apostles.

Christ tells His disciples that He loved them and He shows that love. He puts His words, His love in to action.

So, He stooped to the most humiliating act of His time. It was the job of the slaves. He stooped to wash the feet of His disciples. Many people would think they are too important to stoop so low and perform such a low level, menial task, but not Jesus.

He knew who He was. He knew He was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He knew that He was God incarnate, but still he washed the disciples feet. Because that is the character of love. Love is selfless.

Even as Christ hung on the cross, He made sure that John took care of Mary His mother and no doubt Mary would minister to John as well. Christ shows His love for them and for us.

Love has to be more than words. It has to be deeds. John says, Love not only in word, but in deed and in truth. Love that is real is love expressed in activity not just words. Don’t tell me your love, show it to me.

Notice Peter’s reaction to the foot-washing. Peter essentially asks Jesus why He would stoop so low as to wash his feet. See Peter failed to see beyond the service of foot-washing to the more spiritual cleansing involved with this act of Christ’s.

In fact, Peter refuses to let Jesus wash his feet. But Jesus’ response to him makes it clear what He is doing. Unless the Lamb of God cleanses a person’s sin, they can have no part with Him.

Peter wants to be a part of Christ, so he replies, “don’t just stop at my feet but wash my entire body.” Jesus informs Peter that He only needs His feet cleansed.
See the point of this refers back to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only son, so that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life.”

That is Love in action. God gave us His son to pay the price for our sins. You see, the believer in Christ is purged from all sin. He is clean, but as you walk through this world however, you will get a little dust on your feet and everyday, the precious blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing that dust.

The lesson of our Scripture is simply to show love. Love is an action, not just a word we say. If Christ was willing to humble Himself in service to others, shouldn’t we do the same?

There is only one way the world is going to know we belong to Christ and that is when we show this type of humbling love to each other. You want to be blessed by God? Then learn how to serve others out of love.

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word and its truth. Thank you for the wonderful example of love in Jesus Christ. Humble us even as Jesus was when He washed the disciples feet. We pray to the glory of Jesus Christ. AMEN.