John 21 part 2: Evangelism and the Messianic Banquet
On Tuesday, I posted some thoughts on why John records the miraculous catch of fish in John 21.
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John
The miraculous catch of fish in John 21
This Sunday I'm preaching on John 21:1-14, the miraculous catch of fish. I've been asking myself why this miracle is recorded in John's gospel. Here are some thoughts.
What's the Puzzle?
Here's why the question needs asking. The story is a miracle (the catch of fish), and a post-resurrection appearance (“Afterwards Jesus appeared again to his disciples. … This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead”).
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How can we truly know God
Image Credit: geralt
Notes from a sermon preached on 20th May 2018 (Pentecost Sunday 2018), based on John 16:12-15.
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John 17 - A Rich Prayer
4 times a year, the three main congregations across our two churches meet together for a combined service. They're great times, with a full building, hearty singing, and the chance for fellowship across congregations who don't often get to worship all together.
We've finished a run through Paul's letter to the Philippians. With its themes of partnership in the gospel, grace, suffering, and God's life-transforming power, it gave us some good times as we gather all together.
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Jesus never said: I am a potato
"Mum, why did that man say that Jesus was a potato?" So asked the three-year old girl.
Did I say that? Well, not exactly. But it was something like this:
We were looking, a few weeks back, at John 12:23-33 during our all-age service. Jesus has been approached by some Greeks (who were not Jews) who asked his disciples if they could have the chance to meet Jesus, too. Here's what Jesus said in reply:
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Real Hope: John 11
One of the most glorious truths is the real hope that God offers his people. It's a real, substantial hope of a future on a renewed earth, with renewed bodies, free of suffering, with God himself living among us.
Where might we look in the Bible to see this renewed-earth future promised?
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Real Hope: John 5
One of the most glorious truths is the real hope that God offers his people. It's a real, substantial hope of a future on a renewed earth, with renewed bodies, free of suffering, with God himself living among us.
Where might we look in the Bible to see this renewed-earth future promised?
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Who does the Spirit "lead into all the truth"?
A few weeks ago (Trinity Sunday as it happened - this was the lectionary gospel reading this year), I preached on John 16:12-15. That passage includes this sentence concerning the Spirit:
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
The question is, who is "you"? Who, exactly, does the Sprit promise to lead into all truth?
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Come and have breakfast
John, in his Gospel, loves the motifs of light and dark. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. When Judas slipped out of the last supper to betray Jesus, it was night.
John's account of the empty tomb records Mary Magdalene going to the tomb "while it was still dark".
This worries a few people, but it need not.
The worry is that Mark records 3 women going to the tomb "just after sunrise". He seems to want to highlight the fact that it was day time, so they could see where they were going and what they were witnessing.
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1 John 5 and John 20:30-31
I'm just coming to the end of a preaching series in 1 John. (11 sermons down, 1 to go on 1 John 5:13-21). This short letter will get another outing in September in a different context.
As I've preached through 1 John chapter 5, it has increasingly felt that this chapter has a summing up and drawing together function. The main threads of the letter come together.
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