There are many ways to describe being saved.  Salvation, justification, made righteous, cleansed from sin, baptized in the Spirit, made new, etc.  But the one John uses is born again.  Born to make you as fresh and new as if you were from your mother’s womb.  But also born from above with God’s righteousness.  But the aspect that I like the most about being born again is the completeness that comes from rebirth.  All of the old things have been wiped away.  The past is gone, dead, and buried.  So we can start again with a clean slate.  But the challenge comes when I ask, “What are we going to put on that clean slate?”  Do not ruin it with more sin and disobedience.  Make positive steps toward becoming more like Jesus.  And you can start afresh today!

Super bowl is over but God wants to do something super in your life.  He wants you to be a temple that is cleansed and clean and worthy of his presence.  And just as Jesus cleansed the temple in John, he can cleanse our temples as well.  And fortunately in many cases it will not take a whip to do it.  He just needs our willingness and permission to make us worthy vessels for him to fill.

Jesus’ first miracle making wine was a glimpse on who he was.  But as I was filing it away, I saw a sermon I preached on this passage several years ago and that one emphasized the faith of Mary, the Servants, and the Disciples.  Can you imagine the faith those servants had.  Mary tells them to do what Jesus says.  They fill up six large jars with water (not a small feat in and of itself remembering they did not have indoor plumbing in those days and 120 gal is a lot of buckets from the well), they knew nothing was in the jars to start with and Jesus did not add anything to the jars (or do any “magical” gestures over them), and then they are asked to take a sample to their boss.  What if nothing happened, they would be a laughing stock at the least (dead at the most)?  Yet they had the blind faith in obeying this strange rabbi.  Would we have been as trusting if we where in their sandals?

Jesus is the one we need to seek after.  But what about Jesus do we need to remember or reconsider?  Is the Jesus you seek the Biblical Jesus?  I hope that as we continue to look at the gospel of John we will all see Jesus in a new light and in turn will want to follow him more closely and dearly.

Today is both Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as well as President Trumps inauguration.  Pray for our new president (no matter who you voted for) and for our country that we might fulfilled MLK’s dream of not seeing people by the color of their skin but by the character of their heart.

The importance of John 1:1 cannot be overstated.  John is linking the eternal God that created everything at the very beginning of time with Jesus.  This Word was not just with God in the beginning, He was GOD.  And this God was now appearing in human flesh and blood to live among us, shows us the power of God, the love of God, and most importantly the character of God.  See Jesus, see God.  If you look to Jesus you look to God.  They are one and the same person in two different forms.  One was still the infinite and omnipresent God, one was finite and local and part of time and space.  If you can comprehend this great mystery, then the rest of John will be a piece of cake!

The first post of the new year.  I hope that you enjoyed the message reviewing what we learned in 2024.  But more so, I hope that you will continue your grow journey this year as we looked at our beloved one, Jesus Christ and see how much we are loved by him.

Tony did a great job on Sunday preaching on Gen 1:1.  Little did he know but his message leads us perfectly into our theme for next year and the basis of my sermons for the coming year.  It is so important to know that God is the beginning and the creator of all that we know and see.  Without that foundation, everything else can (and usually is) called into question.  I hope that as we start reading through the Bible again, starting in Genesis, we will see who we are and who God is right from the beginning.  I hope your year looking at the wisdom of God will prepare us to look to this new year with love and passion for Jesus.

I want to wish all those who are reading this post the Merriest of Christmases.  But more so, my prayer is that this season you will find room in your heart for Jesus.

One week until Christmas.  I almost seems like it is already here.  Things are already piling up on the “to-do” list and my precious time is filling up.  But one thing that I do not want to run out of time for is praising and worshiping God.  Without him, this season would not exist.  Without him, all of life would be meaningless.  Without him, we could not do anything.  So fill your time with praise and worship and you will be surprised how much time that frees up for the most important thing.