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Articles from Pastor Jon's Blog

Sunday Quotes 09.02.07 2007-09-02 00:00:00 Anyone who won't talk to God doesn't have a prayer. – Unknown Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard a thing for yourself it will turn into spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never let you hold a spiritual thing for yourself, it has to be given back to Him that He may make it a blessing for others. -- Oswald Chambers To live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to enter into the desert of our loneliness and to change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude. -- Henry Nouwen The secret of Christian quietness is not indifference, but the realization that God is my Father, He loves me, I shall never think of anything He will forget, and worry becomes an impossibility. ...

John 6:41-46 2007-09-01 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 5. (41-46) Jesus explains why they reject Him. The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven." And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?" Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father." a. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him: The Jews thought that they were all chosen by God by virtue of their old birth. Jesus makes it clear that God must draw them before they can come to God ...

John 6:33-40 2007-08-31 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 4. (34-40) Jesus answers their fourth request: Lord, give us this bread always. Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always." And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." a. Give us this bread always: When we are hungry, we feel as though food will answer all our problems. It’s the same ...

John 6:30-33 2007-08-30 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 3. (30-33) Jesus answers their third question: What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." a. Our fathers ate the manna in the desert: Jesus’ questioners are trying to manipulate Him into providing daily bread for them, just as Israel had from God during the Exodus. They even know how to quote Scripture ("He gave them bread from heaven to eat", Psalm 105:40).  b. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven ...

John 6:28-29 2007-08-29 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 2. (28-29) Jesus answers their second question: What shall we do, that we may work the works of God. Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." a. What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Those who questioned Jesus seemed sure that if only Jesus told them what to do, they could please God by their works of God. For these people, as with many people today, salvation is found in the right formula for performing works that will please God. b. This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent: Jesus first and foremost commands us not to do, but to trust. If we want to do the work of God, it begins with trusting Jesus. i. How would you feel about a child that obeyed you perfectly but did not trust or love you? God wants our obedience to Him to grow out of a relationship of lovin ...

John 6:22-27 2007-08-28 05:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven E. Jesus, the bread of life. 1. (22-27) Jesus responds to their first question: Rabbi, when did You come here? On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone; however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks; when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?" Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the foo ...

John 6:21 2007-08-27 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 5. (21) Jesus brings them to their destination. Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. a. Immediately the boat was at the land where they were going: Jesus, bringing His supernatural help, was able to miraculously overcome every obstacle that frustrated the disciples. b. Jesus rescues the disciples from futility. Jesus wants us to work hard; but He never wants us to work in futility. On this occasion He came to rescue the disciples from futility, not from fear. i. The disciples were in this uncomfortable place because Jesus told them to cross the lake. We will face trials when we set out to do what Jesus tells us to do. Jesus knows this. He understands it. We should never be deceived into thinking that if we were really right with God, everything in life would be easy. ii. All the time the disciples struggled, Jesus watched over them. He watches over us at all times, and pr ...

Sunday Quotes 08.26.07 2007-08-26 00:00:00 "Envy is the flip side of a coin called vanity. No one is ever envious of others who is not first proud of himself." - John Stott "The Bible gives us a list of human stories on both sides of the ledger. One list of human stories is used as examples - do what these people did. Another list of human stories is used as warnings - don't do what these people did. So if your story ever gets in one of these books, make sure they use it as an example, not a warning." -- Jim Rohn "Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape." -- Michael McGriff, M.D. "Beware of anything that competes with loyalty to Jesus Christ. The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for him." -- Oswald Chambers The Five Solas Of The Reformation 1.    Solely Scripture. 2.    Solely Jesus Christ. 3.    Solely grace. 4.    Solely faith. 5.    Solely all glory to God.<:))))><< ...

John 6:20 2007-08-25 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 4. (20) The calming words of Jesus. But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." a. It is I; do not be afraid: For Jesus, it was enough to announce His presence. He came to bring supernatural help and comfort to His people. i. Jesus wouldn’t turn a stone into bread to satisfy His own hunger, but he would multiply loaves and fishes to feed a hungry multitude. Jesus wouldn’t cast Himself off the pinnacle of the temple to glorify Himself, but he would walk on the water to bring comfort to His disciples. b. God’s presence is all that we need, and we should expect it, though not in a way that we would necessarily expect. c. We know from Matthew that after this, Peter asked Jesus if he could come out and walk on the water. Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the New King James translation of the Bible.<:))))><< ...

John 6:19 2007-08-24 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 3. (19) Jesus comes to His disciples, walking on the water. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid. a. When they had rowed about three or four miles: We don’t sense the same fear in the disciples as with the first time Jesus calmed the seas. Here they seem simply frustrated, because they are doing what Jesus told them to do, but it is so hard, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. b. Their frustration is evident in their lack of progress. Matthew 14:25 tells us that this happened in the fourth watch of the night, sometime between three and six in the morning. So, they rowed hard for perhaps six to eight hours, and had only come a little more than half way across the lake (three or four miles).  i. We so often feel that when we are doing the work of Jesus, it should be easy. After all, isn’t God helping us? But sometimes, God tells us to ...

John 6:16-17 2007-08-23 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven D. Jesus walks on the water. 1. (16-17) The disciples go out on the Sea of Galilee. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. a. His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat: Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus made His disciples get into the boat (Mark 6:45). He knew exactly what He was doing when He put them into this boat on the Sea of Galilee at this time. b. It was already dark: Several of the disciples were fishermen, all accustomed to fishing on this very lake. It didn’t bother them at all that they would be rowing across the lake at night Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the New King James translation of the Bible.<:))))><< ...

John 6:15 2007-08-22 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven 2. (15) The people attempt to make Jesus their earthly king. Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. a. They were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king: This miracle really impressed the crowd and fueled their revolutionary hopes. But Jesus refused to further His kingdom this way. Instead, He departed again to a mountain by Himself alone. Jesus was more interested in being with His Father in heaven than in hearing the applause of the crowd. b. They wanted to make Jesus king because they thought He was the Messiah they wanted. The Jews expected that when the Messiah came, He would renew the giving of manna. This crowd was willing to support Jesus so long as He gave them what they wanted - bread. c. Make Him king: This was a political title. The crowd was willing to support Jesus because they wanted to use Him to throw off ...

John 6:14 2007-08-21 00:00:00 John 6 - The Bread from Heaven C. The reaction to the miracle. 1. (14) Jesus as the Prophet predicted by Moses. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." a. Truly this is the Prophet: The Prophet they expected was predicted by Moses: The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear. (Deuteronomy 18:15) b. When they had seen the sign that Jesus did: The way Jesus provided bread in the wilderness reminded those men of Moses in the wilderness, and his promise of a coming Prophet. It is true that Moses provided bread in the wilderness; so does Jesus. But Jesus goes on to explain that He is far more than a new Moses. Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is taken from the New King James translation of the Bible.<:))))><< ...

WAAAA 2007-08-20 10:04:00 I am in the process of changing to a new computer. No, actually it is worse than that...:-)<:))))><< ...

Sunday Quotes 08.19.07 2007-08-19 00:00:00 The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose." Rick Warren Without God man has no reference point to define himself. 20th century philosophy manifests the chaos of man seeking tounderstand himself as a creature with dignity while having no reference point for that dignity. -- R. C. Sproul "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." -- Bertrand Russell, atheist "It is good to be a Christian and know it, but it is better to be a Christian and show it." – Unknown The degree of your devotion to Christ is the barometer of your love for Him. – Unknown If your Christianity isn’t contagious, it must be contaminated. – Unknown<:))))><< ...