As we continued our series in the book of John, we were reminded that John's purpose for writing is that the reader "believe that Jesus is the Christ" (20:31). However, in 2:12-3:21, we encounter manifestations of unbelief and Jesus explanation that its remedy is far more drastic than even the most religious would have guessed. Listen to last week's message to be reminded of the severity of unbelief, yet the readiness and power of the Savior to cure the condition.
Jesus creates unity between people unlike anything this world has ever seen. This past Sunday, Luke Friedly, our friend from Sovereign Grace Church, Pasadena, reminded us from Psalm 133 how precious unity is to God and to what lengths God has gone to in order to create and preserve unity in His Church. It's our privilege to experience that unity and our responsibility to guard that unity.
This past Sunday, we had the honor of hosting Dylan Sohie, pastoral intern at Sovereign Grace Church of Orange while Kyle was away preaching at that very same church. Dylan is a young man who aspires to giving himself to leadership in the church. One of the ways that we can serve the process of raising up new leaders like Dylan is by giving them opportunities to preach God's Word.
Dylan served us well, continuing our series in the Gospel of John by preaching from John 2:1-11.
In the third message in the Gospel of John, we ended chapter 1 this past Sunday. Rather than simply having Jesus described for us by the author, we met Him, as it were, face-to-face through the eyes of His first 5 disciples. What do you encounter when you see Jesus? His glory. Listen to last week's message and come and see Jesus for who He is.
John the Baptist was an enigma in his day. He captured the attention of a nation, but then diverted everybody's attention to another, making it clear that he had been sent to prepare the way for the coming King. He attracted attention in the same way that a neon arrow attracts attention. Our lives aren't all that different. What do you do with the attention you receive?
This Sunday, we introduced a new sermon series in the Gospel of John. John introduced us to the Word. This "Word" is the answer to all of life's biggest questions and unlike anyone you've ever known or met or heard of. He's God, yet He's has always been with God. He's eternal and omnipotent, yet He dwelt among us. He Himself is the fullness of God and also the fullness of grace. His name is Jesus and we'll meet him and become increasingly amazed by Him every week as we dive deeper and deeper into this book.
We believe God has called us and positioned us to build a church in Santa Ana and to partner to plant more churches in Orange County. As churches grow and multiply, so does the need for godly leaders and teachers. We hope that many, if not all of these people will come from within our church, and thus, we want to give ample opportunities for men and women to serve and grow in their gifts.
For this very reason, we give opportunities to men wondering about a call to pastoral ministry. One of these opportunities is the opportunity to preach. We had the privilege of hearing God's Word from Jeff Schlieder this past Sunday, reminding us from 2 Samuel 7:1-17 of God's tremendous record of promise making and promise-keeping.
This last Sunday was significant for our small church. We finished our first Old Testament sermon series AND officially switched to morning services. God has been merciful toward us while He's positioned us to be merciful toward our neighbors. He's also called us to spread the message of God's mercy through Christ, which has been the theme of the book of Ruth from start to finish.
As we neared the end of the book of Ruth, this past Sunday, we learned how to evaluate the opportunities that we have before us in life - and how to determine which opportunities have true value. In God's economy, we learn that the right question isn't "what's in it for me?", but instead "what's in it for them?". Opportunities to invest in mercy toward others are some of the most valuable opportunities we'll ever come across.
Whenever we have goals, desires or needs, we strategize. We plan, for better or worse, means by which to achieve them. In chapter 3 of the book of Ruth, all three characters - Naomi, Ruth and Boaz - all develop strategies. They teach us that whatever plans we do make, we should always plan to be surprised by God's mercy.
