Sermon Central
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Studies In John’s Gospel
Contributed by Glenn Pease on Mar 24, 2021 (message contributor)
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1. The True Light
Contributed on Mar 24, 2021
John was so dazzled by the light of Christ that he became the apostle of light and used the word light in his Gospel more than all the others put together.
A young man went from paper to paper trying to get a job as a cartoonist, but he was rejected and told he had no talent. Finally, a pastor hired him to draw advertising for the church events. It was a poor paying job, and he had no place to stay, and so he was allowed to sleep in the old church ...read more
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2. The Word Became Flesh
Contributed on Mar 24, 2021
Who ever heard of the guest getting more and greater gifts than the one whose birthday is being celebrated? Only at Christmas does this happen, and that is why it is such a joyous birthday.
Everybody in the world has a birthday. It doesn't make any difference if they are rich or poor, black or white, or educated or uneducated. Everybody has one in every age. Methuselah had 969 of them before he died, and that was the world record until Jesus came. Jesus only had 33 birthdays ...read more
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3. Part One Of The Wedding Of Cana
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
This first miracle brought pleasure and joy to life and this was the purpose in all of the miracles of Jesus.
INTRODUCTION: CANA OF GALILEE Nathanael, one of Jesus's first disciples is called in John 21:2 "Nathanael from Cana in Galilee." This was his home town and he no doubt knew many of the people. This was a very small village about three hours journey from Nazareth. It is not named ...read more
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4. Part 2 Of The Wedding Of Cana
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Jesus is glorified by being true to His nature. He is a caring, loving Savior who will do what He can in any situation to add to the joy of life.
VERSE5 Mary is satisfied Jesus will do what is best and so submits to Him and tells the servants to do the same. She understands his need to time things right and is content to leave him in control of the decision. She is no control freak who has to have it her way. She can let go and let God. ...read more
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5. Confronting The Scandal Of Our Prejudices
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Jesus came to buck the system and to reject the prejudices in all its forms. He goes against the grain of His culture and dares to love all people equally.
Billy Graham has preached the Gospel around the world to every race. In an interview with Diane Sawyer he was asked this question: "If you could wave your hand and make one problem in this world go away, what would it be?" Without hesitation he replied, "Racial division and ...read more
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6. Expect The Unexpected
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
There is no such thing as a hopeless case. The lease likely people in this world can become children of God, and can become leaders in the kingdom, as did this Samaritan sinner.
The unexpected is the source of so much of the joy of life. Our three year old granddaughter, Jennifer, was praying at the table a couple of weeks ago. I noticed she was going faster than usual, and she came to the end saying, "In Jesus name, amen." Then she shouted, "I win." ...read more
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7. The Well Within
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Jesus offers her a chance to be a part of a family where she will be loved permanently. Her wells kept running dry, but Jesus offers her a well that will never run dry.
Keith Miller in his book The Scent Of Love tells of the young intern who was brilliant and competitive, and wanted to get his hands on the toughest cases that came into the hospital. One day a man was brought in very sick. His temperature was high, his blood count was down, and his fluids were ...read more
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8. The Problems In Evangelism
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Problems are not always barriers to evangelism, but are often the reason there is an opportunity for evangelism. We need to stop seeing problems as only problems, and see them as opportunities.
James McGinley had a woman come forward in one of his meetings, and he took her into the counseling room and shared the Gospel with her, and then he prayed. She then asked him what he thought about a Protestant marrying a Catholic. He said it can often be very difficult for both, and he asked her ...read more
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9. One Is Enough
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
"O for a thousand tongues to sing my great redeemer's praise," we sing, but the fact is, God only gave us one tongue because one is enough.
It is hard to believe, but one man determined how we as Americans pronounce and spell words. When we began as a new and independent nation, Noah Webster thought is was only right that we stop be a copy of the English, and develop our own original ways of spelling words. Andrew Jackson said, ...read more
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10. The Greatest Freedom
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Man is in a greater bondage than that which man can make. He is in bondage to sin, Satan, and his own fallen nature. What can set him free from these tyrants is the greatest freedom.
The battle for freedom of some kind is being fought around the world. Here in our own land there are constant battles for freedom of religion. Minorities all over the world are fighting for freedom. Years ago Heine said, "Freedom is the new religion; the religion of our time." The ...read more
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11. Fate Or Freedom
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Every day the word comes to us, choose you this day whom you shall serve, and every day we choose either for Christ or for some lesser value.
One of the best known stories of the ancient Greeks is that of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The story is had an influence on both theology and psychology. Briefly the story is this: A child is born into a royal family, and the oracle brings bad news, for he says the child is destined to murder his ...read more
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12. The Lord Of Life And Death
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Jesus said with His tears that He approved of that kind of sorrow. There is a valid place for tears in the Christian life. We need never fear nor be ashamed of the tears of the hopeful.
One of the oldest and most universal of all questions is the one of Job, "If a man die shall he live again?" In the ancient world almost everyone believed that death was a gateway into another world, and so they buried their dead with food and tools to be used when they arrived. This is ...read more
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13. Life Is Forever
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Life is, because God is. Life is eternal, because God is eternal. Life is the foundation of all that is, for life was before all things.
From out of the files of the great Michelangelo comes the story of the young artist who labored long and tedious hours on the statue of an angel. When the time for its unvailing had finally come, the young artist hid himself in an inconspicuous spot and waited breathlessly for the response of the ...read more
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14. Making God's Dream Our Dream
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
We have to make the same decision that Jesus did, which is to abuse power for selfish ends, or to use power for godly goals.
One of the most famous speeches Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ever gave was his "I have a dream" speech. It was a dream about a future America where prejudice was eliminated, and there was peace and unity among all races. This dream could only become a reality if men learned to use power ...read more
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15. A Victory With Water
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Doubtless, numerous volumes could be filled with the victories gained with water. We are examining one that is the Niagara of them all.
After the Russo-Japanese War in which Japan gained a great victory on the sea, the commander of the Japanese fleet visited the United States. William Jennings Bryan was the secretary of state, and it was his duty to toast the visiting commander. Bryan was a staunch prohibitionist however, and ...read more
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16. Friendship
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
Time and time again friendship has been the force determining the course of history.
After making his historic stand before the Diet Of Worms where he defied the church and refused to recant, Martin Luther started for home. He had stirred up a hornet's nest of opposition, and plots were made against his life. As Luther's carriage entered a narrow pass, ideal for an ...read more
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17. The Missing Ingredient
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
The Biblical ideal of godliness is, in both the Old and New Testament, a life of joy.
Edna Ferber makes a character in one of her novels say, "I like people with a splash of splendor in their makeup." Many people would be surprised to know that this is what should characterize every believer in Jesus. The world often gets a perverted concept of Christ just because ...read more
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18. Alone, Yet Not Alone
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
The title of my message is a paradox, for to say, alone, yet not alone seems to contradict itself. How can two opposites be true? How can one be alone and yet not alone at the same time?
Bjornsen, the great Norwegian poet, who received the Nobel Prize for literature was once asked what incident in his life gave him the most pleasure. He replied that is was an occasion when his house was attacked and his windows broken. This sounds slightly odd and paradoxical, but before you jump ...read more
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19. Christian Warfare
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
The Christian does not win in the war with evil by making the enemy suffer. He wins by suffering for the sake of the enemy. This is the new message of the cross.
William H. Taft, the 27th President of the United States, was a big man in more ways than one. When he was inaugurated in 1909 at age 51 he weighed 325 pounds. His goal was not to become President, however, but to be the chief justice of the Supreme Court. In 1921 he achieved his goal and became ...read more
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20. Equal But Different
Contributed on Mar 25, 2021
The Corinthian Christians failed to see the truth of equality with differences, and it hurt the church.
A well-to-do tourist stopped to get some souvenirs at Indian teepee. When he saw the poor old Indian chief sitting there barely making enough money to survive, he decided to give him some advice. He said, "Why don't you go to town and get a job in a factory?" "Why," ...read more