contemptuous familiarity — John 6:41-51 — January 31

Familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus grew up in a very small country, and in a very small area of the country.  There weren’t many people in that part of the country in Jesus’ day, such that most everyone was a known quantity, at least in a small way.  And so, people had a limited familiarity with [...]

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doing God’s work — John 6:27-40 — January 30

In his inaugural speech more than half a century ago this month, President John F. Kennedy said, “with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth [...]

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they testify — John 5:30-47 — January 26

There is this essential unity of purpose about the Scriptures, and Jesus speaks about it here.  From Genesis to Revelation, from the Old to the New Testament, from the Hebrew to the Christian Scriptures, all of it points to Him, to Jesus.  He said, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you [...]

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not on my own — John 5:19-29 — January 25

Many years ago, Anacin (a now-defunct pain reliever) ran a series of TV ads featuring people who were in distress because of headache pain.  The most famous, and most-often pilloried, featured a man working on some difficult project, while being nagged by his mother who was making unhelpful suggestions.  The man explodes, saying, “Mother please! [...]

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no honor — John 4:43-54 — January 23

What is it about “family”?  These are the people who know you, who have your history, who remember who you once were and who, therefore, have the hardest time believing anything you might say about changes you’ve made in your life.  This can be true about personal improvements in your diet, your habits, or your [...]

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talking with a woman — John 4:27-42 — January 21

John sums it up:  [His disciples] were astonished that He was speaking with a woman (John 4:27).  And though they were too polite, or intimidated by Him, to ask the woman, what do you want?, or to say to Him, Why are you speaking with her?, their attitude was clear: women aren’t worth His time of day.  Sadly, [...]

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Give me a drink — John 4:1-15 — January 19

Lately I’ve been impressed that God is an amazing opportunist.  We know from His Word that he doesn’t want any to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  And so, with this intention in Mind, we know from that famous verse we looked at the other day that God took action:  He sent [...]

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do you love me? — John 21:15-22 — January 18

On this day we remember Peter, the apostle who first confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).  A gold star for Peter on that day and yet, shortly thereafter, Peter was hearing Jesus call him “Satan” for denying that he should go to the cross (Matthew 16:23), and [...]

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Tebow time — John 3:16-21 — January 17

So what is it about John 3:16? For years, the words “John 3:16″ appeared behind home plate a baseball games, in the end zones of football stadiums, and behind the benches at basketball courts.  Those not familiar with the Bible must have wondered what this name and numbers meant, and why it seemed so important. [...]

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zeal — John 2:13-22 — January 14

Zeal isn’t a word that we use much today.  Literally, it means eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something.  It also means fervor, and, in generations past, when turned in to an adjective, zealous, it was often applied to religion.  But today, we rarely hear it. But in today’s passage, the word is applied [...]

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