Didn’t preach this weekend. Our Monroe campus pastor, Geoffrey Janes did the honor. So I had the opportunity to reflect on the week gone by and meditate on a challenging passage for next weekend…
- John 14 (verse 12 and beyond) is where we are in our on again off again study through the gospel of John, known as “Divine,” This passage contains one of the most used and abused texts in all the Bible (John 14:12-14). Here it is, “Truly, truly, I say to you,(V) whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I(W) am going to the Father. 13(X) Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that(Y) the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14(Z) If you ask me[e] anything in my name, I will do it.” For eons, people have grabbed hold of these verses and a hand full of others (taken out of context of course) in order to support their claims that Jesus pretty much operates as our personal genie–granting our every wish if only we have enough faith to get the wheels turning in the galactic vending machine known as God’s will. This, of course is not at all what Jesus was saying and I’ve got to be the bearer of bad news for many as I unpack this text this coming weekend.
- Good news on this! The actual meaning is infinitely better! As usual, man’s version of anything God originally comes up with is cheap and artificial. God’s version is perfect and beneficial. Hope you’ll join us live or online to find out more!
- Really loving this pattern of going through books of the Bible expositorally (It’s a word now, baby!!) and periodically taking breaks to tackle other subjects in a more topical fashion. Preachers are always arguing about which is best. My answer? BOTH. There’s no right or wrong here as long as the Word of God is your anchor. Why would it matter if you talk about issues gathering texts from all over God’s Word on the topic or go through a book from beginning to end, verse by verse? There are fantastic preachers and theologians in either camp. It’s all the same Bible! Okay? Good, case closed on this then–no more fighting over trivia or I’ll put you in time out!
- Stories are pouring in from “Wimp to Warrior” boot camp. Looks like we are going to have a very small attrition rate when this is all over! Stay with it gang! And for those of you who have already fallen off the Warrior Wagon, let me just encourage you to jog back up to it and jump back on. This isn’t the bullet train. It’s not moving that fast, you can either catch up easily or pick up where we are today. Remember, it’s not legalistic, ritualistic perfection we are going for here. It’s a deepening of our walk with the Lord and a more joy filled relationship with the Savior that we seek. Keeping that in mind, approach this thing from your heart rather than your daily planner. God will greatly honor your efforts to chase Him with everything you’ve got!
- Matthew West concert was awesome tonight @ Southbrook Church Weddington! They say a picture is worth a thousand words–then let me leave you with these!
See you tomorrow!
