That You May Believe

From beginning to end, John has shown us the Christ. He is the Word made flesh. True God, true man, who truly died, truly rose, truly paid for the sins of the whole world. Join Pastor Bourman and Pastor Walsh as they wrap up the whole book of John!

I think one of the hardest things to do in studying our Bibles is to put ourselves into Jesus' shoes. It's hard, but I'll ask you to try here. See Jesus as he prays to his Father to take the cup of wrath away from. Think of everything you know about the relationship Jesus shares with his Father.  From all eternity Jesus had enjoyed had the perfect relationship with his Father. He had been loved and affirmed. So much so that the Father had boomed from heaven about it three times while Jesus was on earth. Their relationship was perfect, their communication was perfect, they showed their love perfectly for each other.And Jesus prays like that in perfect petition.  He prays not my will, but your will be done. He says, Father, I love you more than I love myself. Think about that. Try and put yourself into Jesus' shoes in that. Why?Because then maybe we can appreciate what it must have been like for Jesus when his Father said no. The Father said no, here. And Jesus knew that. How did he know it? Because Judas walked up.  And when Judas walked up, Jesus knew his prayer had been answered with a no. And so he gets up and says, enough. Let’s go. Here comes my betrayer. And he takes his desire for the cup to be taken away from him and he perfectly submits it to the Father that he loves. Think on this. The Father said no to his Son Jesus. The Father didn’t spare his Son. Why? Because the Father wanted to spare us. Think on this as you prepare your heart for Sunday. Write in your heart and mind. This is the love with which you are loved. This is the passion that is for you. The Father said no to his Son, so that his wrath could be satisfied and he could say yes to you. This is the Father’s love for you. And this is Jesus’ love for his Father and his love for you. That Jesus drank the cup of wrath so that each one of us might do nothing else but drink the cup of salvation. This is cosmic God-sized passion. Poured out for you. Drink that in today. Drink in that salvation. And the passion of God for you. Drink it in.

Today's SOAP study focuses on another of Jesus' I AM statements. He tells us: "I AM the vine, and you are the branches." Join in with Pastor Walsh and Pastor Bourman to see this picture of relationship between us and Jesus, and this picture of Christian life in Jesus, who feeds us, and who gives us all that we need to bear fruit in his name. 

At this time of the evening (Thursday night), the night before Jesus dies, his heart is troubled. He knows that he is going to leave his disciples, and he knows that they can't come with him. He wants to give them comfort to hold onto, even while he's not with them. This whole chapter is filled with that comfort. Jesus tells his disciples, that he is going to send a comforter- the Holy Spirit- to remind them of everything he has taught them- everything he is, and everything he has done. 

It's a vivid picture. It's the day before Jesus is going to die. He knows it, even if his disciples don't know it yet. He know he's about to suffer. He knows he's about to die. But John tells us what's on his mind. "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." He's not thinking about the suffering. He's thinking about his love for his disciples. And in that love, he gets down on his hands and knees and washes his disciples feet. What is he really doing here? He's illustrating the gospel. Listen in!

Caiaphas was the High Priest at the time when Jesus died. He was the supposed mastermind of the scheme to get rid of Jesus and have the people on their side. He was a schemer. He schemed to have Jesus killed, and it worked. And that bothers me. You can read about his scheme in John 11:45-53.It bothers me because it pokes at the traumas and hurts in our own life experiences. It reminds me yet again that it looks like evil wins in life. And that stings. It feels like that’s all the world is- a place where evil wins. It seems like evil even won against Jesus! He did end up being killed didn't he?That’s why we need to truly see the schemer. And when I name “the schemer” you should know that I’m not referring to Caiaphas. He’s actually not the Big Schemer in this story. Caiaphas’ scheme got trumped. Caiaphas said: “You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.” (v. 50) Do you see it? He didn’t know what he was saying, did he? He said that it was best that one man should die for the people. Caiaphas unwittingly and unintentionally shared the gospel. He said: the whole nation shouldn’t get placed on the eternal trash heap. Just one man should. One man for the world. The just for the unjust. The Son of God in place of guilty sinners. One man should take the punishments. One man should suffer in our place. Better he should die for us than we should die in our own place.  Caiaphas wasn’t this history’s greatest schemer. God was.And you can see what that means for you, right? God is so big and so wise that he schemed the savviest schemers to proclaim his gospel and carry out his plan. The only thing left is to trust that in our lives. 

The word “identity” has got to be one of the greatest buzzwords of the century. It’s the great search of most every person. Who am I? Or probably better put, who am I meant to be? We could count off at least 5 of the most recent Disney movies that have identity at least tangentially at the heart, or we could cite studies that have been done with statistics of Americans who feel anxious because they don’t know who they are. I could write sermon after sermon about our search for identity. It’s important to know. Your identity is what drives you. It’s where you find your self-worth. It’s where you find your strength. It’s what keeps you going. And this is a text that shares everything. It’s all here. Christ’s identity and yours. It’s here. This text is that huge. Join with Pastors Tim Walsh and Paul Bourman as we walk together using the SOAP Bible Study method through John 10:11-18

The Pharisees hit a boiling point as Jesus comes back to Jerusalem. They make an accusation at him as Jesus makes a claim to be the Light of the World. See how he responds! In this episode we will use the SOAP Method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) to move through John 8:12-20, to move Jesus and his words from our head to our heart!

It's a story that I've read so many times. "The feeding of the 5000." It's in John 6:1-15. (There are also accounts of this miracle in Matthew, Mark, and Luke!) And I gotta tell you, that in my most recent reading, the title that we have given this miracle started to bug me a little. John didn't give us the title of the miracle. We did that. The reason it is starting to bug me a little is because I think it spoils the ending for us. So that every time we come to this text, all we do is say: "Wow, Jesus, that's a lot of people! Nice job!" And then we move on. But, of course, this miracle is so much more than stomachs being satisfied. This is a story of every one of our hungers, scarcities, and deficiencies being met in the abundance of Jesus. And I think this is the bigger reason of why I think I don’t love this title. Because 5000 is a number that’s too small. This is a story that’s as big as the gospel of Jesus. It is the ongoing story of the God who descends into our wilderness to feed us. The Jesus who enters your life to fill your empty spaces with satisfaction. To turn your darkness into life. To turn your sin into forgiveness. This is that story. Take this bread, and eat it. There’s always going to be more of it. 

"Come, see the one who told me everything I ever did!"Would you be intrigued by that invitation? If someone came to you and let you know that there is someone nearby who knows EVERYTHING you ever did- the good, and the bad, , would you go and see? I don't know that I would. There's a reason we keep the skeletons in the closet.But, there's also a reason this woman ran out to all of her friends and neighbors, celebrating this person who revealed everything that she ever did. Jesus had quenched her spiritual thirst, and he had written a new word in her heart: "Forgiven." I'll offer you this invitation too: Come and see this Jesus. Bring those skeletons in the closet, and leave them there.

Do you know the name Nicodemus? We want to introduce him to you. John does too. He’s an important character in John’s gospel- he appears there three times, and yet he doesn’t appear at all in Matthew, Mark, or Luke’s gospel. Why?We gotta remember that John is writing his book at a much later date. He’s looking out at young Christians, he’s seeing their struggles, and he sees the history of Nicodemus’s life as a way to minister to their struggles- our struggles. Come and see this. It was recorded for all of us. To be confronted with its truth. Confronted, yes, but altogether comforted. There’s a reason that perhaps the Bible’s most famous verse comes through this account.   John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

There's a lot to notice in this section of text. Jesus changes water into wine! But there is a bigger picture here. And it's a bigger picture that is as big as the Christ spilling the cup of his life so that he could fills yours forever. Listen in as Pastor Tim and Pastor Paul SOAP their way through John 2!

Jesus asks a question filled with meaning: "What do you seek?" Pastor Bourman and Pastor Walsh walk through the SOAP method in this episode, observing and applying this question to our lives. 

The Bible is the most precious book ever written. In it are words that give light and words that give life. Every single word on every single page has incredible value for us both in our lives on earth and our lives in heaven. And yet, it’s a book that many find difficult to pick up and read, and even more difficult to take to heart. In this podcast series, two pastors from across the country will teach and model a Bible Study method to give you tools and confidence as you open your Bible and read for yourself. These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.