Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: John 4: 1-42

From the Sermon:

__________________________ is exactly what Jesus did that day at the well.

Jesus was reaching out to this woman across so many ____________.

Jesus reveals the whole truth to her; the _______________________________.

Jesus met her shame with _______________.

Jesus can take our shame and transform it by his grace into perhaps our most powerful evangelistic tool - our own _____________.

Reflection Questions:

How has the Good News changed your life?

How are you called to share this Good News with others?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to set aside judgment of others so I can be a vessel poured out for your transformational Kingdom. Amen. 

Devotional - “Nicodemus” - John 3: 1-21

 January 23rd, 2022

Devotional

“Nicodemus” - John 3: 1-21

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Nicodemus” - John 3: 1-3

Nicodemus is a man whom many scholars have pondered over the years. Because so little is said of him, one would think that he would be one-dimensional or easy to categorize, but this is not the case at all. John Calvin believed that Nicodemus was like Joseph of Arimathea (the man who gave his family tomb for Jesus’ body), a secret disciple of Christ, not quite strong enough to act on his convictions in the light of day, so he had to sneak under the cloak of darkness to be taught by Jesus. But when we try to form a complete picture of Nicodemus from today’s scripture passage or the thoughts of scholars alone we miss some big pieces about his life - that he argued against the Sanhedrin’s decision to arrest and sentence Jesus during the last days of his life and that he bought the spices to give Jesus’ a proper burial. All in all, Nicodemus was a complicated man.

And things would be very complicated for Nicodemus. On one hand he had his colleagues telling him why Jesus was dangerous to their way of life and should be silenced. On the other hand his own convictions told him that Jesus was a teacher who was sent by God with a message for the people. He believed that what Jesus was doing and saying showed that he had a relationship with God and God’s presence was being demonstrated through Jesus. Through Nicodemus’ context as a keeper of the law it appeared that Jesus was exemplifying the Law’s of Moses.

What comes to your mind when you think of Nicodemus?

Prayer: God, sometimes we have such limited views on the people in your Holy Word. May you reveal to us the ways that they are like us and seeking you. Amen. 

Tuesday: “How?” - John 3: 4-9

But Jesus did not consider himself to be a keeper or teacher of the law. Instead, he proclaimed that he was someone who came directly from God to tell of what he knew of God from being in relationship to God. And that was confusing for Nicodemus. If we would be honest with ourselves it would probably be just as confusing for us today. We’ve created this term and concept to try to help ourselves and explain to others just what we believe about this relationship that Jesus has with God. We hold this belief that God is three divine persons, Father, Son, and Spirit, also referred to as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. We believe that these three persons have such a deep and intrinsic relationship that they cannot be separated from one another. That they are equal and of one being. Each person is wholly and entirely God, yet wholly united and distinct at the same time. It is not logical. 

I can understand why this ill-logical idea of who Jesus is was hard for Nicodemus as a man of the law. Rules exist for a reason that can be explained. The Law of Moses existed to describe God’s character and values. And here is a teacher whom Nicodemus believes in, yet cannot fully grasp, standing in front of him, a logical and learned man, telling him to throw what he believes out the window. Telling him that when it it all said and done, logical and laws will not save him. Talking to him about being born again of the Spirit, when the only logical and proven birth is physical. Jesus just doesn’t fit into how Nicodemus understands the world. He cannot categorize or contain Jesus, and that presents a problem.

How have the teachings of Jesus changed your life?

Prayer: God, we thank you that even when we do not understand your Word that it still can break through our hard hearts and change us. Speak to us again and again out of your compassion, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Not Understand” - John 3: 10-15

Birth that comes from faith. Life that comes from death. Three in one and one in three. Its just as hard for us to understand with our rational minds today. The love of Christ is not something that someone can teach us or argue us into believing. It is something that must be experienced and touch our hearts on the inside in order to transform our minds and spirits. If anyone should believe this it should be the Methodists for our creator, John Wesley, had such a transformational experience. He, like Nicodemus, understood rationally the law and the scripture. He could explain the theological doctrines, like that of the Trinity, but it wasn’t until years after preaching and teaching that his heart was “strangely warmed.” That faith went from being a decision of the head to a matter of the heart. 

I fear that too many Christians have not had this heart warming experience. When one does not have this experience with the relational God who changes our entire beings, it is hard to tell someone else about it. So we resort to apologetics, or making a case for our faith through logic. Logic may speak to the logical, but it is not transformative in the same way as God using our heart to speak to other hearts. The heart cannot speak to logic, nor logic to the heart. Part of Nicodemus’ struggle in today’s passage is that he is not speaking the same language as Jesus. He comes seeking answers that are concrete, maybe even plain, and definitely literal. And he enters into a conversation with Jesus speaking in words of poetry - symbols and analogies trying to pontificate about the spiritual. The part of our souls that countless have tried to capture through creative and artistic means. 

What makes it hard for you to understand what Jesus says sometimes?

Prayer: Precious Lord, we sometimes are hard hearted people who fail to seek to be stirred by your Spirit. Open us up, anew we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “God so Loved” - John 3: 16-17

Our soul needs someone to speak to it in this language of the heart - a language that is hard to put into words and even harder to understand with our heads. Perhaps that is what makes public worship gatherings so vital yet so difficult at times. We have rituals of beauty with deep symbolism and words of poetry that are spoken, but we will not let ourselves be free to be moved by their beauty because we are so caught up in the rational instead of the relational. 

Jesus’ entire purpose in coming to this world was to save us from ourselves, and help us rediscover who we are in the image of God. And when that truly happens it is as if we have started this life all over again. And somewhere in Nicodemus’ life between this very confusing conversation with Jesus and him having enough courage to stand up and condemn his peers for what they were doing, he got it. He had a transformation of the heart that transformed his very being. He went from being someone so afraid of the stigma Jesus’ presented that he went to see him at night to someone of bold courage speaking out against injustice. From someone who was bound up by fear to someone who could publicly proclaim himself to be a follower of Christ.

This scripture passage is telling us the story of a man who went from being caught up in his head to being lead by his heart. Of a man who was transformed. From someone cloaked in the darkness of not understanding and caught up in questions about facts to a man of new possibilities. 

How do you share the message of the love of God with others?

Prayer: Almighty God, we humbly thank you for doing for us what we are unable to do for ourselves - offer us salvation. Let us accept this gift and share it with others in a way that honors your name, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Light has Come” - John 3: 19-21

  Once, I  had the honor to preside at a funeral where I had the opportunity to speak about a God who loves us enough to be in the business of constantly doing a new thing in our lives. Constantly reaching out to us in new ways, just trying to break through our stubborn heads into our malleable hearts. And I see that in today’s scripture passage today as well. But I’m left asking if that is really what we want. Do we really want to be transformed in our entire beings and have our hearts strangely warmed? Do we want be in relationship with a God who is all about community and relationship, even in God’s very own being - the Father is with the Son who is with the Spirit who is with the Father. To be in relationship with the one calls us to give, and receive, and constantly be renewed and recreated? Because that is scary. It requires vulnerability and a propensity for setting reason aside. 

I do not believe that we simply make the choice to be reborn. We make a series of choices each and every day that lead us in that direction. That open us up to the stirrings of God. Just as God made a series of choices through each person in the Trinity to reveal the very self of God to us. To make himself known and heard. God now is inviting us to make a series of choices to let our hearts be bear before the throne of God, so that our entire beings may be transformed, not only in this life, but in the life to come. Do you want to be transformed by a relationship with God

What series of choices did you make that made Jesus your Lord and Savior?

Prayer: O loving God, continue to reveal your glory to us through Jesus Christ your son. May we, like the disciples, come to believe and share. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Woman at the Well” - John 4:1-42

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: John 3: 1-21

From the Sermon:

Nicodemus has caught a glimpse of something - a movement of the ________ as seen through the signs and wonders of Jesus.

I believe the main reason Nicodemus has been scrutinized is because we recognize something about __________ in his story and that makes us uncomfortable.

The thing about following the Holy Spirit is we can’t do it _____________.

We can’t regulate the Spirit to moving only some ________________, where it is safe and comfortable to be a Christian, and push it aside the rest of the time.

Reflection Questions:

Have you ever met a Nicodemus? Do you recognize Nicodemus within yourself?

Are you believing in Jesus under the cover of darkness, as a secret, or are you living in the light all the time?

What can we learn from Nicodemus about our own discipleship?

Have you caught a glimpse of the movement of the Spirit?

Prayer:

Lord, help me to be transformed by you fully so I can live for you. Amen. 

Jesus Cleanses the Temple Devo - John 2: 13-25

 January 16th, 2022

Devotional

“Jesus Cleanses the Temple” - John 2: 13-25

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Passover” - John 2: 13

  It seems a bit odd to modern readers that the Gospel of John would start out this section of text by saying that the “Passover of the Jews was near.” Until we remember that the Gospels were not written at the exact same time as the events taking place. The Gospel texts were told from person to person, gathering to gathering, well before they ever were written down. Which is so different from how we pass words today. 

All of that is to say that by the time the Gospel of John is written there is a distinction between the Jewish Passover - which tells of the story of Exodus and the Christian Passover - marked by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday - which tells of God’s saving grace.

The author of the Gospel wanted to make sure that the people receiving the Word were firmly grounded in the fact that Jesus was Jewish and as such he was celebrating the high holy day of the Jewish Passover. 

If you were going to tell the story of the Christian faith, what do you think needs to be lifted up as most important? 

Prayer: God, we thank you that throughout time you have sought to save us, even when we did not know that we needed to be saved. Thank you for your grace that shows up again and again to your people. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Marketplace” - John 2: 14-16

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, he found that people had traveled from far and wide to give thanks to God for bringing them out of captivity and into the Promised Land. However, sometimes the ways that people tried to give thanks strayed from the One for whom they were intended.

The focus became less about lifting high God’s name and more about the process - which involved sacrifices. If people need animals to sacrifice, they needed a place to buy them, since the journey would have been too long for most people to bring them along. As a result, the temple courts became a place of buying and selling. 

Jesus didn’t object to worshipping God. He didn’t even object to the sacrifices themselves. But he did object to the fact that the focus had become skewed from where it belonged - on God and God alone. 

What are some ways that we skew our focus from God today?

Prayer: Lord, we are quick to stay as your people. We start to think about our own needs or get caught up in the process more than the holy act of worship itself. Forgive us, O Lord, and remind us what the heart of worship is all about. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Remembered”-  John 2: 17

  One of the things that I deeply appreciate about ancient Jewish culture is that young people memorized the word of God. They didn’t have their own scrolls - it would be far too costly for each household - so instead they went to the temple for many years so that the Word of God could be imprinted on their hearts.

As Jesus’s disciples watch the events unfolding at the temple that day, they had called to mind a passage of scripture that had been imprinted in them from the the Psalms, specifically Psalm 69:9, which spoke to them of the coming Messiah.

Before their very eyes the words of the Psalmist were coming to life as Jesus showed them what true zen for the house of the Lord looks like. 

There are not as many people who memorize scripture today - at least not in such an all encompassing way as long ago. We have our own individual Bibles which we can read. We may have a verse or two memorized. But how do we so dwell in the Word of God that it is brought to our mind when we need it the most? 

How do you read and engage the Word of God?

Prayer: Lord, today we ask for your Holy Spirit to call to mind your Word for us found in Scripture. May it become such a deep and rich part of our lives that we cannot help but recall it to mind and heart when we need it the most. Amen. 

Thursday: “Temple” - John 2: 18-21

  A question that I think is vitally important as we approach the text found in the second half of chapter 2 in the Gospel of John is - do we consider the cleansing of the temple as a sign?

Because if we don’t consider this to be a sign then it is simply something that we can brush past, without much thought or reflection. It can be something where we point fingers at the figures in the text and wonder how they missed the point Jesus is trying to make, without thinking about the points that we miss all the time. 

Take the conversation that ensues with some of the religious leaders. They have just watched Jesus make a whip and use it to create a mess in the temple of God - throwing a wrench into their idea of the celebration of Passover. 

To which Jesus replies that the sign that would be given from God is that temple would be destroyed and then be rebuilt in three days. 

If things were tense before, they were absolutely wratched up now. Who was this person speaking about the temple, the house of God, being destroyed and then rebuilt? Of course, in hindsight we see that Jesus was talking about his ver self, but in the moment it was greatly misunderstood. 

  What do we misunderstand about Jesus’s teachings?

Prayer: Lord, in all humility we admit that we do not always understand your teachings or your Word. Help us, O Lord, to set aside our arrogance as we seek your Truth, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Believed” - John 2: 22-25

While today’s scripture points out that many people came to believe in Jesus because of the signs that they saw performed, Jesus did not trust their belief to become faith yet. They were simply following him because of what they had seen, and wanted to see more of, not because they had truly been transformed. 

This can be so evident in our lives as well. When we claim the name of Jesus with our lips but don’t want to live into a life of obedience to Christ. Or when we say that we are a follower (a disciple) of Jesus, but we want to follow him on our own terms and conditions. In that way, we fall out of step with Jesus. 

But Jesus did not give up on these folks. He would still give his life for them. Just as Jesus does not give up on us - inviting us time after time to come and follow him anew. 

  What are the subtle declines in our corporate and individual discipleship?

Prayer: Lord, we want to fully be people who follow you. Help us not to just believe with our heads but to have faith in you with our hearts. Amen.

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Nicodemus” -John 3:1-21

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: John 2: 13-25

From the Sermon:

Jesus and his disciples have traveled to Jerusalem for the ___________.

It was not an _______________ as Jesus took time to bring cords together to make a whip.

“Destroy ________________, and in three days I will raise it up.”

 Jesus wasn’t speaking about the building, the place in which they were standing, but instead his ____________________ that will replace the temple. 

Reflection Questions:

What in our worship is about us and is actually not what God is asking of us at all?

Where do we stand in need of transformation and are we really willing to be cleansed?

In what ways has our discipleship shifted to look more like the world around us and less like the transformation we are offered in Christ?

Prayer:

Lord, for all the times we have not been able to identify ourselves in this passage of Scripture, forgive us. For all of the ways that we have slipped farther and farther from being in your will, heal us. Realign our hearts and lies to be in step with you. Amen. 

Wedding at Cana Devo - John 2: 1-11

 January 9th, 2022

Devotional

“Wedding at Cana” - John 2: 1-11

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “No More Wine” - John 2: 1-3

What happens when a party that you are at runs out of food? When all of the dishes are scraped clean? For a lot of folks that is a sign that the festivities are winding down. That it may soon be time to go home.

That’s okay when it is a dinner party, but when it is a wedding - that’s a bit trickier.

Wedding banquets in ancient times were multiple day celebrations. It would have been the responsibility of the host to make sure that there would be enough food, drink, and entertainment to keep the party going. And if things ran out - not only would that be a sign that it was time for the party to end before it should, but it would be a mark of disgrace upon the host, showing that he did not prepare enough. 

It is hard for us to wrap our heads around the idea of shame in our modern contexts. But in ancient times honor and shame were highly regarded. If you were honored it was not just something that looked good upon you, but upon your family. The same was true of shame - if you were brought to shame, so was your whole family. 

Therefore, running of out wine would have been a much bigger deal than we can understand today. A problem that would need Jesus’s attention. 

What needs do you bring to Jesus? 

Prayer: God, we are thankful that you love us and deeply care about us. We thank you that we can bring our concerns to you, knowing that you will respond in your perfect way and timing. Lead us to come to you, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Hour” - John 2: 4

The Gospel of John is known for being a Gospel full of signs and wonders that reveal the glory of God. These signs and wonders are what we may call miracles. Ways that God brings healing and change into the world.

But the first miracle Jesus performs in the Gospel of John is a bit odd. It isn’t about healing, but it does show God’s great provision in abundance. 

Mary approached Jesus about there not being enough wine for the wedding festivities, to which Jesus replies that his time has not yet come. What time? His time to reveal who he is to the world. His time to begin his public ministry. 

Yet, even if it did not seem to be time, Jesus still honored his mother and responded to the need at hand, calling forth the first miracle. We, too, may not understand Jesus’s ways and timing, yet he responds to the needs that we have as well.  

Where have you experienced miracles in your life?

Prayer: God, we thank you that even when we do not understand your timing and ways that you still respond to the cries of our heart. Thank you for your graciousness, we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Do” - John 2: 5-8

Mary, Jesus’s mother, is the one who calls his attention to the problem at hand. But, equally of importance, is the fact that she tells the attendants to do whatever Jesus say. 

Mary knew that the miracle that Jesus would perform would involve some actions from others. She has already heard him say that his time is not at hand, so he probably is not going to be performing this miracle in a particularly public fashion. So she wants those who are tasked with serving others to serve him as well - through their actions.

All of the actions that Jesu has them take - finding the stone jar and filling them to the brim with water before taking some of that water to the head of the banquet - probably made no sense to the servants, yet, they were willing do what they are told.

Are we as willing to do what we are told by Jesus? Or do we want all of the explanations and details first? Both Mary and the servants acted in trust. Are we equally willing to trust our Lord?

What has led you to trust Jesus as your Lord?

Prayer: Precious Lord, we are sometimes an obstinate people. We are not always as willing to trust you as your mother the servants from the wedding at Cana. Forgive us, O Lord, and remind us anew why we can trust you, no matter what. Amen. 

Thursday: “Realize” - John 2: 9-10

Sometimes miracles are extremely public (think of some of the healings that will follow in the Gospel of John). But other times miracles are more quiet in nature and take a keen spirit to discern what has taken place.

When the attendants take the water that they have drawn to the master of the banquet, it has turned into wine. Not just a little wine - but a lot of wine. Gallons upon gallons of wine. And it isn’t just poor quality wine. No, it is the best wine. 

But as generous as this miracle is, the mater of the banquet has no idea what has taken place. No simply thinks that the bridegroom has reserved the order in which the wine is served - saving the best for last. 

Today’s passage of scripture makes me wonder when we, too, fail to realize the miracles that have taken place. Where is God acting in our lives and in the world, but we fail to give him credit? 

How do you notice the miracles of God around you?

Prayer: Almighty God, we are thankful that even when we fail to recognize what you are doing - that you do it anyway. We humbly plead that you open up the eyes of our hearts so we can both perceive and receive what you are doing amongst us. Amen. 

Friday: “First Sign” - John 2: 11

  In John stating that the turning of water into wine at Cana was the first of the signs - we are told that Jesus will perform miracle after miracle throughout the Gospel of John. Sometimes the people will understand. Many times they will not.

One of the ways that the people misunderstand is thinking that what is taking place is about the sign itself. It is not. It’s about revealing the glory of Jesus given to him by God the Father. But in order to fully understand this, we need to know what glory is. Is it simply honoring? It’s more than that. It is revealing the fullness of God and the Kingdom to come.

How would you describe the glory of God?

Prayer: O loving God, continue to reveal your glory to us through Jesus Christ your son. May we, like the disciples, come to believe. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Jesus Cleanses the Temple” - John 2:13-25

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: John 2: 1-11

From the Sermon:

Jesus does this ________________________ - attending the binding of hearts in marriage.

Running out of wine would have been a __________________________ for those hosting the banquet.

Mary leaves, simply telling the attendants to “_____________________________________.”

Jesus essentially produced the equivalent of ___________ of the very best wine. A truly generous gift.

Are we willing to bring to Jesus whatever he asks for or do we let our _______ get in the way?

Reflection Questions:

How would you describe this first miracle of Jesus found in the Gospel of John?

What makes us seek Jesus today?

What first led you to the feet of our Savior?

When we bring our truest, deepest needs to Jesus are we willing to trust him?

Prayer:

Lord, help us to set aside our doubts and fears in order to see your miracles around us and respond. Amen. 

"Come and See" Devo - John 1: 35-51

 January 2nd, 2022

Devotional

“God’s Name is Revealed” 

John 1:35-51

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “John” - John 1: 35-36

Last week we talked a lot about John the Baptist. Who he was; what his purpose from God was all about. But John’s story doesn’t end there. No, John’s story continues into this week’s text, where we find him with a group of his own disciples. 

In many ways we fail to understand what being a disciple actually means. We somehow think its just about the choice that we make - to follow Jesus or not. But, you cannot claim to love Jesus with your life and have accepted him into your heart, if you aren’t willing to be his disciple. The one who follows closely. The one who hangs on Jesus’s every word. The one who seeks to make Jesus known with our lives.

Because the truth is that we are all a follower, a disciple, of someone or something. Discipleship is not unique to followers of Jesus. We only have to see that John had followers as well to realize that this is true. 

But the big difference is John is just helping his followers until they can follow the true Author of Life, the Messiah. Which they did. Because John pointed Jesus out to them with the powerful phrase, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

What makes you a follower of Jesus Christ?

Prayer: God, thank you that you give us the opportunity to be your follower every single day. We confess that at times we have followed others who have not pointed us back to you, as John did with his disciples. We have abandoned you at times to follow others. Forgive us, O Lord, and use us to point others to you and your Kingdom, we pray. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Looking For” - John 1: 37-38

  Unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus doesn’t call his first disciples to follow him, leaving everything behind. No, in this Gospel, the disciples just start following him (because John had pointed out to his disciples who he was). When Jesus realizes that these new disciples were now following him, he asked them an important question, “what are you looking for?”

This is a question that each of us need to wrestle with. For if we do not know what we are looking for, will we be able to find it?

I was speaking with a friend this week about how often we say we are looking for one thing, when really there is something so much deeper underneath that we cannot yet name until the Holy Spirit reveals so to us. For example, these disciples may think that they are looking to know more about Jesus and his ministry, but their question in return seems to point to the fact that they want the security of this world. But what they may really be looking for is truth and purpose - to know that Jesus is the one that they are to be following. 

What about us? What are we looking for? Security? Purpose? Assurance? Meaning? Let us take time this week to ask the Holy Spirit to strip away what we think we are looking for in order to reveal the truest thing to our hearts and spirits. 

What are you looking for? 

Prayer: God, you search us and know us. You know us better than we can ever know ourselves. Point out to us what we are yearning for, even in places unknown to us, and let us hand all over to you, searching to seek and find you alone. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Come and See” - John 1: 39-42

Jesus is not one who only taught with words; he also taught his disciples through action and example. In fact, at the beginning of the Gospel of John, with these first disciples, we do not find him teaching through parables at all. Instead, he invites them to come and see.

The word “see” is an important one to the Gospel of John. For to see is to believe. And to believe is to trust. The tricky part is that sometimes we can be looking right at what Jesus is pointing to and we don’t see as he see. That takes time, prayer, and much practice. 

This week take time to pray. To pray for the eyes of Jesus. To pray for opportunities to partner alongside Christ for the sake of his Kingdom. 

How do you see the work of Christ around you? 

Prayer: Almighty God, forgive us for times we have not sought to see and believe. For times we have trusted ourselves more than you. Help us to see with your eyes, we pray. Amen. 

Thursday: “Found” - John 1: 43-46

The next disciple we hear about is Philip. Philip is called by Jesus, as he asks him to come and follow him. And Philip cannot contain himself. He has come face-to-face with the Messiah! So he rushes to Nathanael. Who asks this odd question. “Okay, I hear what you are saying, but wonder if anything good can come out of Nazareth?”

Nathanael isn’t asking this to be snide or snarky. No, he is asking because he has not been taught during all of his years of life and study as a Jewish man that the Messiah would come out of such a small, backwards town, as Nazareth. 

Yet, instead of trying to argue him into belief, Philip just says the same thing that Jesus did with the first disciples, “come and see”.

Sometimes we can trick ourselves into thinking that we need to know all the answers in order to talk to folks about Christ. We don’t. Other times we get offended when people have questions. We shouldn’t. For it is not our job to convince people to follow Jesus - that is the world of the Holy Spirit. Our work alone is to invite people - to invite people to come and see. 

What are some ways that you invite people to come and see the Good News?

Prayer: God of Grace and God of Glory, we are humbled to be invited to be part of your Kingdom. We thank you that you do so much of the work, O Lord, and simply invite us to invite people to come and see. Let us be faithful to pointing people to you. Amen. 

Friday: “Believe” - John 1: 47-51

  Nathanael does come and see and Jesus tells him all about himself. That he is a man without deceit (another way to say this is that he is a man of integrity). That Jesus had saw him under the fig tree when Philip first came to him. And all of a sudden Nathanael has his heart changed - he believes.

Friends, we do not know what will cause each person to believe. That is not our work. We are simply to be faithful. Faithful as people of integrity. Faithful as people who are connected with God and faithful in loving other people.
For as Jesus says - we will truly see even greater Kingdom things. If only we stay the course. 

How did you first come to believe in Jesus?

Prayer: O loving God, may we continue to grow in love for you and others. Shape us, mold us, and send us, we pray. Let us be the body of Christ for the world. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Wedding at Cana” - John 2:1-11

Sabbath. Study. Serve.

 Sabbath, Study, Serve 

Taking the Sermon Into Our Week 

Scripture of the Week: John 1: 35-51

From the Sermon:

The cry of John the Baptist - “Look! Here is the __________________!”

What is the first thing that they ask Jesus - _____________________________?

A disciple was one who would be covered with the _______ of the feet of the one they were following.

Jesus, knowing what they were asking was just as much about their provision as it is about his, says something powerful in return - _______________________.

Nathanael is ___________ but not convinced.

We may not know what we are really ________________, at least not right away.

______________ are no longer the folks just coming and seeing ourselves, but we are the ones inviting others to come and see as well. 

Reflection Questions:

How would you answer Jesus’s question, “what are you looking for”?

How would you describe discipleship to others?

How do people know that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Who do we give our loyalty to and why?

Prayer:

Lord, allow me to truly dwell in what it means to be your disciple. Let me be so transformed by coming and seeing your goodness and grace that I cannot help but proclaim it to the world. Amen.