Sermon Text: John 18:28-19:16

John 18:28 Then they *led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
John 18:29 Therefore Pilate went out to them and *said, “What accusation do you bring against this Man?”
John 18:30 They answered and said to him, “If this Man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.”
John 18:31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”
John 18:32 to fulfill the word of Jesus which He spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.
John 18:33 Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
John 18:34 Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”
John 18:35 Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”
John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
John 18:37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
John 18:38 Pilate *said to Him, “What is truth?”
And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and *said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.
John 18:39 “But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the King of the Jews?”
John 18:40 So they cried out again, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas.” Now Barabbas was a robber.
John 19:1 Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him.
John 19:2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe on Him;
John 19:3 and they began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face.
John 19:4 Pilate came out again and *said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you so that you may know that I find no guilt in Him.”
John 19:5 Jesus then came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate *said to them, “Behold, the Man!”
John 19:6 So when the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out saying, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate *said to them, “Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him.”
John 19:7 The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God.”
John 19:8 Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid;
John 19:9 and he entered into the Praetorium again and *said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.
John 19:10 So Pilate *said to Him, “You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?”
John 19:11 Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:12 As a result of this Pilate made efforts to release Him, but the Jews cried out saying, “If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
John 19:13 Therefore when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha.
John 19:14 Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he *said to the Jews, “Behold, your King!”
John 19:15 So they cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate *said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”
John 19:16 So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified.

Sermon Text: John 16

This Sunday the Guest Preacher is George Whitefield. The sermon is based on John 16. I think it is an excellent sermon.

This is our third historic sermon. The focus is the Holy Spirit. I think it will be very very encouraging. Please plan to join us!

John 16:1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.
John 16:2 “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
John 16:3 “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.
John 16:4 “But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
John 16:5 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’
John 16:6 “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
John 16:8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
John 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
John 16:10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
John 16:11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
John 16:12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 16:14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
John 16:15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
John 16:16 “A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.”
John 16:17 Some of His disciples then said to one another, “What is this thing He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I go to the Father’?”
John 16:18 So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.”
John 16:19 Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’?
John 16:20 “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.
John 16:21 “Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.
John 16:22 “Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
John 16:23 “In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
John 16:24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.
John 16:25 “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.
John 16:26 “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf;
John 16:27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.
John 16:28 “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”
John 16:29 His disciples *said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech.
John 16:30 “Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.”
John 16:31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
John 16:32 “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Union Leader on Religion in NH

The news about the church the last few days has been brutal.

Take this article from the Manchester Union Leader. The Church in NH is in a free fall. Very very sobering news indeed.

Pray for the church in NH, it seems we could use it a lot.

Washington Post Article on Religion

Actually it was conducted by Trinity College in CT. Very interesting, the quote that got me was....

"Northern New England has surpassed the Pacific Northwest as the least religious section of the country"

Click to read the Article

Sermon Text: John 18:12-27

John 18:12 So the Roman cohort and the commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,
John 18:13 and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.
John 18:14 Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.
John 18:15 Simon Peter was following Jesus, and so was another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest,
John 18:16 but Peter was standing at the door outside. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
John 18:17 Then the slave-girl who kept the door *said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He *said, “I am not.”
John 18:18 Now the slaves and the officers were standing there, having made a charcoal fire, for it was cold and they were warming themselves; and Peter was also with them, standing and warming himself.
John 18:19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about His disciples, and about His teaching.
John 18:20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret.
John 18:21 “Why do you question Me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; they know what I said.”
John 18:22 When He had said this, one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?”
John 18:23 Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?”
John 18:24 So Annas sent Him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.
John 18:25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”
John 18:26 One of the slaves of the high priest, being a relative of the one whose ear Peter cut off, *said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?”
John 18:27 Peter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

Spring Forward

This is your friendly reminder that this weekend we are moving the clocks forward one hour. So don't be late for church!

How some things do not change

When I first entered ministry, I worked at First Presbyterian Church in Michigan. The building they are located at was built in 1929, completed right before the Great Depression.

To pay for the building, the church offered chicken pot pie suppers on Saturday Night in the fellowship hall, and then invited folks to come up to the Sanctuary to watch Movietone News.

After seeing the news, the minister would give a short synopsis of the sermon and invited folks to join them the next morning.

The church thrived during the Great Depression.

And now I am seeing a repeat.

Just read this in the news this morning. How some things do not change. Maybe there is a lesson for the church.

Sermon Text: John 18:1-11

John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, in which He entered with His disciples.
John 18:2 Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place, for Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
John 18:3 Judas then, having received the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, *came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
John 18:4 So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
John 18:5 They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
John 18:6 So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
John 18:7 Therefore He again asked them, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.”
John 18:8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
John 18:9 to fulfill the word which He spoke, “Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one.”
John 18:10 Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus.
John 18:11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”

Sermon Text: John 11:45-57

John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.
John 11:46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.
John 11:47 Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs.
John 11:48 “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
John 11:49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all,
John 11:50 nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.”
John 11:51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation,
John 11:52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
John 11:53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.
John 11:54 Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.
John 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves.
John 11:56 So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?”
John 11:57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

Sermon Text: John 9

John 9:1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:2 And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”
John 9:3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
John 9:4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
John 9:6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
John 9:7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
John 9:8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
John 9:9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
John 9:10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
John 9:11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
John 9:12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.”
John 9:13 They *brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind.
John 9:14 Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
John 9:15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
John 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.
John 9:17 So they *said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”
John 9:18 The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,
John 9:19 and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
John 9:20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
John 9:21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”
John 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
John 9:23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
John 9:24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.”
John 9:25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
John 9:26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
John 9:27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”
John 9:28 They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
John 9:29 “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”
John 9:30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
John 9:31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.
John 9:32 “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
John 9:33 “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
John 9:34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.
John 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
John 9:36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
John 9:37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”
John 9:38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Gallup Poll on Religion & U.S. States

I am not surprised in the least on this, but it is good to get confirmation. When I talk about the need in New England, this underlines what I am saying.

Here is the link.

The question is, How important is religion? New England thinks it is not important, an the South feels that it is.

Let me know what you think.

Sermon Text: John 10:22-42

John 10:22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem;
John 10:23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon.
John 10:24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
John 10:26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
John 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.”
John 10:31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him.
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I SAID, YOU ARE GODS’?
John 10:35 “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
John 10:36 do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
John 10:37 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
John 10:38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
John 10:39 Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp.
John 10:40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He was staying there.
John 10:41 Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.”
John 10:42 Many believed in Him there.

Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Here is the link.....

My sister-in-law says this is male humor, and she is probably right. I find it very funy.

Here we Go Steelers, Here we Go!

Anyone who knows me knows which team I will be rooting for in the Super Bowl. Growing up in Western PA during the 1970s and 1980s was a wonderful experience. The Steel Curtain, Mean Joe Greene. I loved the Defense.

This Steeler's Defense of 2009 reminds me a lot of the past. And if history is any indicator, we will see a 6th Super Bowl Victory.

Go Steelers!

Chronicles of Narnia Update

I mentioned a few weeks ago about Disney pulling out of the Chronicles of Narnia. The BBC has just broke the news that 20th Century Fox is stepping in to fill the void Disney left.

Here is the link to the BBC Story.

Personally, I am thrilled. I hope 20th Century Fox makes a killing and Disney regrets their move. Who Ho, Here comes the Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

Sermon Text: John 8:12-59

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
John 8:13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.”
John 8:14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.
John 8:15 “You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone.
John 8:16 “But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me.
John 8:17 “Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true.
John 8:18 “I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.”
John 8:19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
John 8:20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 8:21 Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.”
John 8:22 So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
John 8:23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:25 So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
John 8:26 “I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.”
John 8:27 They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.
John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
John 8:29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
John 8:30 As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.
John 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
John 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
John 8:33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
John 8:35 “The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.
John 8:38 “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”
John 8:39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.
John 8:40 “But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.
John 8:41 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”
John 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
John 8:43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.
John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.
John 8:46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
John 8:47 “He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”
John 8:48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
John 8:49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
John 8:50 “But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges.
John 8:51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.”
John 8:52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’
John 8:53 “Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?”
John 8:54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;
John 8:55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
John 8:57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

Sunday Morning Services Cancelled

Sigh.....It seems like "Sunday" is the one day of the week we get significant snowfall. I can count 4 Sundays now where it was snowing heavily.

Sadly, we are going to cancel Sunday Morning Services and all Sunday Activities. Sorry.

Sermon Text: John 7

John 7:1 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.
John 7:2 Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near.
John 7:3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.
John 7:4 “For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
John 7:5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him.
John 7:6 So Jesus *said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.
John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.
John 7:8 “Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because My time has not yet fully come.”
John 7:9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
John 7:10 But when His brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret.
John 7:11 So the Jews were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?”
John 7:12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.”
John 7:13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for fear of the Jews.
John 7:14 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach.
John 7:15 The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?”
John 7:16 So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
John 7:17 “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
John 7:18 “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
John 7:19 “Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”
John 7:20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?”
John 7:21 Jesus answered them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.
John 7:22 “For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
John 7:23 “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
John 7:25 So some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?
John 7:26 “Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they?
John 7:27 “However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from.”
John 7:28 Then Jesus cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, “You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.
John 7:29 “I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent Me.”
John 7:30 So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.
John 7:31 But many of the crowd believed in Him; and they were saying, “When the Christ comes, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?”
John 7:32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to seize Him.
John 7:33 Therefore Jesus said, “For a little while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me.
John 7:34 “You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
John 7:35 The Jews then said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?
John 7:36 “What is this statement that He said, ‘You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come’?”
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
John 7:39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.”
John 7:41 Others were saying, “This is the Christ.” Still others were saying, “Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?
John 7:42 “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
John 7:43 So a division occurred in the crowd because of Him.
John 7:44 Some of them wanted to seize Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
John 7:45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?”
John 7:46 The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
John 7:47 The Pharisees then answered them, “You have not also been led astray, have you?
John 7:48 “No one of the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he?
John 7:49 “But this crowd which does not know the Law is accursed.”
John 7:50 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them,
John 7:51 “Our Law does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?”
John 7:52 They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
John 7:53 [Everyone went to his home.

This is a Car!

It is tradition that the new president gets a new limo, that is a good tradition.

The new limo for Obama is nicknamed "the Beast" Apparently, it is quite a step up from the previous limo.

I am not a big fan of Cadillac, but this is a car I would like to see, ride, maybe even drive. Nice looking limo.

No SS Classes Today

For todays date, there will be no "Life Together" given the Winter Conditions. No Sunday School classes at 9:15 am.

Sermon Text: John 6:22-71

John 6:22 The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone.
John 6:23 There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks.
John 6:24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.
John 6:25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
John 6:26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.
John 6:27 “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
John 6:28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”
John 6:30 So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform?
John 6:31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’”
John 6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven.
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
John 6:34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
John 6:36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
John 6:41 Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.”
John 6:42 They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”
John 6:43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.
John 6:46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
John 6:47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 6:48 “I am the bread of life.
John 6:49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
John 6:51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
John 6:52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
John 6:54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
John 6:56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
John 6:57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
John 6:58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 6:59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
John 6:61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
John 6:62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
John 6:64 “But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
John 6:65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.
John 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”
John 6:68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.
John 6:69 “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?”
John 6:71 Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.

The Gospel Coalition 2009 National Conference

I have not been to a conference for a couple years. Financies have been the real problem but there have been other factors.

Anyhow, when I saw this I could not pass it up for one reason => the speakers....

DA Carson
Tim Keller
John Piper
Mark Driscoll

and many many more.

I am really looking forward to it and if your interested, click on this link. Should be a great conference.

And you get an ESV Bible, a nice bonus.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

My favorite book from the Chronicles of Narnia is hands down, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". It is the most Christian of the series. That is great, but I like it because it is a quest, a noble adventure with great characters.

Anyhow, there is news on the movie version that has many worried. MARY McNAMARA of the LA Times has an interesting article I would encourage you to read. She scolds Disney and gives them a tongue lashing.

I myself am fine with Disney dropping the Chronicles of Narnia. I am not a big fan of Disney, just ask my family.

Anyhow, I hope it is a success in spite of this recent event.

Sermon Text: John 1:14-18

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:15 John *testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’”
John 1:16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Combined Service this Sunday

We will be joining our sister church in Manchester this coming Lord's Day.

For information, click here.

Sermon Text: John 1:9-13

John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
John 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

I can't stand the BCS, perfect illustration

This was sent to me by my brother in TX. If you have been following College Football, this will totally make sense. If not, it is very difficult to explain, but in short, a computer determines the ranking of teams, and it is a broken system.

BCS DECLARES GERMANY WINNER OF WORLD WAR II
US Ranked 4th

After determining the Big-12 championship game participants the
BCS computers were put to work on other major contests and today the BCS
declared Germany to be the winner of World War II.

"Germany put together an incredible number of victories
beginning with the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and
continuing on into conference play with defeats of Poland,France,
Norway, Sweden,Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands. Their only losses
came against the US and Russia; however considering their entire body of
work--including an incredibly tough Strength of Schedule--our computers
deemed them worthy of the #1 ranking."

Questioned about the #4 ranking of the United States the BCS
commissioner stated "The US only had two major victories--Japan and
Germany. The computer models, unlike humans, aren't influenced by
head-to-head contests--they consider each contest to be only a single,
equally-weighted event."

German Chancellor Adolph Hiter said "Yes, we lost to the US; but
we defeated #2 ranked France in only 6 weeks." Herr Hitler has been
criticized for seeking dramatic victories to earn 'style points' to
enhance Germany's rankings. Hitler protested "Our contest with Poland
was in doubt until the final day and the conditions in Norway were
incredibly challenging and demanded the application of additional
forces."

The French ranking has also come under scrutiny. The BCS
commented " France had a single loss against Germany and following a
preseason #1 ranking they only fell to #2."

Japan was ranked #3 with victories including Manchuria, Borneo
and the Philippines.

Sermon Text: John 1:3-5

John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Sermon Text: John 1:1-2

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

This really cracked me up

I could not stop laughing, in part because my wife likes Barry Manilow.

Read this.

I can just image the look on the faces of those teenagers listening to hours of Barry Manilow. Not a pretty picture.

New Biography of Francis Schaeffer

Saw this on my Google Reader.....

Click Here to Read....

Kinda interesting to see the connection between L'Abri and OMF. Given my respect for Hudson Taylor and Francis Schaeffer, I thought that was pretty neat.

I feel a connection with these men. Schaeffer ministered less than 10 miles from my hometown, his article on infant baptism is very good. Hudson Taylor and his love for China. Great men of faith.

Anyhow, great to see Francis Schaeffer getting some recognition.

Sermon Text: John 6:1-21

ohn 6:1 After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias).
John 6:2 A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick.
John 6:3 Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples.
John 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.
John 6:5 Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, *said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”
John 6:6 This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do.
John 6:7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.”
John 6:8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, *said to Him,
John 6:9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?”
John 6:10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
John 6:11 Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.
John 6:12 When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.”
John 6:13 So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.
John 6:14 Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
John 6:15 So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone.
John 6:16 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,
John 6:17 and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.
John 6:18 The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.
John 6:19 Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they *saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened.
John 6:20 But He *said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
John 6:21 So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

Historical Sermon : Martyn Lloyd Jones

We did this once in the summer, and I got a wonderful reaction from the congregation, so I thought we would try it again.

Last time we had George Whitefield preach, but this Sunday we will hear from someone who lived through the greater part of the 20th Century.

I really enjoy his preaching and reading materials, and I hope you will too. To read a short article on Martyn Lloyd Jones, click here.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Romania Missions Trip => Spring 2009

The Presbytery of Northern New England is sponsoring a mission's trip to Romania to work with a an agency that helps care for orphans. Romania has a very high percentage of orphans.

There is a video about the trip that is quite good, and shows who we will be partnering with. I will warn you, it may make you cry.

Click on the link to download the video.

If you are interested, contact me and I will give you further information about the trip.

Unbelievable Avaition Miracle => Wow!

I thought this was a joke at first, until I saw it on BBC. I can not imagine what this man was going through. Going blind while flying, and landing safely. Incredible.

Click Here to read the Article.

Sermon Text: John 5:1-47

John 5:1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John 5:2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.
John 5:3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters;
John 5:4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.]
John 5:5 A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?”
John 5:7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
John 5:8 Jesus *said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”
John 5:9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
¶ Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
John 5:10 So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.”
John 5:11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’”
John 5:12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?”
John 5:13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place.
John 5:14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
John 5:15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
John 5:16 For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.
John 5:17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
John 5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
John 5:20 “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.
John 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
John 5:22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
John 5:23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
John 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
John 5:26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
John 5:27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
John 5:28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 5:31 “If I alone testify about Myself, My testimony is not true.
John 5:32 “There is another who testifies of Me, and I know that the testimony which He gives about Me is true.
John 5:33 “You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth.
John 5:34 “But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.
John 5:35 “He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
John 5:37 “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.
John 5:38 “You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.
John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
John 5:40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.
John 5:41 “I do not receive glory from men;
John 5:42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.
John 5:43 “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
John 5:44 “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?
John 5:45 “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.
John 5:46 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
John 5:47 “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

Great Comment by Mark Driscoll

Read this prior to the election. I think Mark is right on about our world looking for saviors in all the wrong places. He also talks about ministers getting sidetracked. Here is a quote from his blog.

"Lastly, for those preachers who have gotten sidetracked for the cause of a false king and a false kingdom by making too much of the election and too little of Jesus, today is a good day to practice repentance in preparation to preach it on Sunday. Just give it some time. The thirst will remain that only Jesus can quench. So, we’ve still got work to do….until we see King Jesus and voting is done once and for all."

Click Here to read the entire entry.

Daylight Savings => Time to "Fall Back"

A friendly reminder, it is that time of the year to change your clocks and get an extra hour of sleep!

Sermon Text: John 4:43-54

John 4:43 After the two days He went forth from there into Galilee.
John 4:44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.
John 4:45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
John 4:46 Therefore He came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum.
John 4:47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death.
John 4:48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe.”
John 4:49 The royal official *said to Him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
John 4:50 Jesus *said to him, “Go; your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started off.
John 4:51 As he was now going down, his slaves met him, saying that his son was living.
John 4:52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
John 4:53 So the father knew that it was at that hour in which Jesus said to him, “Your son lives”; and he himself believed and his whole household.
John 4:54 This is again a second sign that Jesus performed when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

Rooting for the Home Team

I was disappointed with ESPN's headline yesterday, but today they fixed it. I am looking forward to the game tomorrow night, should be a good one! Go Penn State!

Sermon Text: Jn 4:1-30

John 4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John
John 4:2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
John 4:3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.
John 4:4 And He had to pass through Samaria.
John 4:5 So He *came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph;
John 4:6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
John 4:7 There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.”
John 4:8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
John 4:9 Therefore the Samaritan woman *said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
John 4:11 She *said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water?
John 4:12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
John 4:13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
John 4:15 The woman *said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”
John 4:16 He *said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.”
John 4:17 The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.” Jesus *said to her, “You have correctly said, ‘I have no husband’;
John 4:18 for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
John 4:19 The woman *said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
John 4:20 “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
John 4:21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:25 The woman *said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”
John 4:26 Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
John 4:27 At this point His disciples came, and they were amazed that He had been speaking with a woman, yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why do You speak with her?”
John 4:28 So the woman left her waterpot, and went into the city and *said to the men,
John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?”
John 4:30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

Sermon Text: John 3:1-15

John 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;
John 3:2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
John 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”
John 3:10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?
John 3:11 “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony.
John 3:12 “If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
John 3:13 “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
John 3:14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
John 3:15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

Modern Day Nineveh no place for Christians

This was very sad to read. Click to read the article.

After spending a year preaching on Jonah & Nahum, I have an interest in Mosul, which is built on the ancient site of Nineveh.

We need to remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in Mosul.

Old Penn State Joke

My kids know this about me, but I am not sure how many folks outside of my family do. I like College Football, and I always am rooting for Penn State, my dad's and my brother's alma mater.

Anyhow, it is football season and the Nittany Lions are looking very good, undefeated. so I thought I would pass on an old joke that my dad recently sent me. Enjoy!

After former Florida State head football coach dies and enters the Pearly
Gates, God takes him on a tour. God shows Bobby a little two-bedroom house
With a faded FSU banner hanging from the front porch.

God says, 'This is your house, coach. Most people don't get a house up
here.

Bobby looks at the house, then turns around and looks at the big house
Sitting on top of a big hill. It's a huge two-story mansion with white
Marble columns and little patios under all the windows. Penn State flags
Line both sides of the walkway, and a huge Penn State banner hangs between
The marble columns.

'Thanks for the house, God. But, let me ask you a question. I get this
Little two bedroom house with a faded FSU banner and Paterno gets a mansion
With new Nittany Lion banners and flags flying all over the place. Why is
That?'

God looks at him seriously for a moment and says, 'Paterno's not dead.
That's my house.'

Sermon Text: John 2:12-25

John 2:12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
John 2:13 The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John 2:14 And He found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.
John 2:15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables;
John 2:16 and to those who were selling the doves He said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.”
John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “ZEAL FOR YOUR HOUSE WILL CONSUME ME.”
John 2:18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?”
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
John 2:20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”
John 2:21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
John 2:22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
John 2:23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing.
John 2:24 But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men,
John 2:25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.

Sermon Text:

John 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
John 2:2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
John 2:3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.”
John 2:4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
John 2:6 Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each.
John 2:7 Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim.
John 2:8 And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him.
John 2:9 When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom,
John 2:10 and *said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
John 2:11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

Aviation Photo

As many of you know, I like things related to flying.

And my favorite website is www.airliners.net, I check in almost every day and even participate in the forums.

Every day they have fresh photos, and some are very impressive. You should take a look. Some great shots over the years.

Anyhow, I really liked this one photo. Could you imagine what that landing was like? Wow!

Leaf Peekers Everywhere!

The Wakefield Family loves the fall colors. We like to make special trips through the countryside to gain a peek at the changing colors.

I recently returned from Newport, NH where the colors are nearing their peak.

What caught my attention the most was all of the leef peekers. What is a leaf peeker? Folks outside of New England who are hear to catch a glimpse of the Fall Colors.

Michigan, Washington, North Dakota, Florida, North Carolina, were just some of the license plates I saw on my way home. Enjoy the scenery, it will not be around for much longer!