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This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

Two things that will make people mad in church… (1) messing with tradition and (2) putting Jesus first.

First… the refrain “but we’ve never done it that way before” has been the favorite song of the church, I’m sure, for 2,000 years (maybe longer). No one likes for things to change, but the fact of the matter is, if things aren’t changing, then you’re dying. Did you know that every cell in your body will be completely replaced about every 7 years? Wow! Churches, like people, are constantly changing, or they are lifeless. We like predictability so that we can see how we can fit our church life in with the rest of our lives, but that’s not how it works.

Finally… the fact that we want to fit Jesus into our lives is illustrative of our problem. He’s not something to add to our goals, he is the whole enchilada. Jesus is God, he’s not a guru. He’s not giving you good advice of how to make your life better, he came to give you the good news of what he’s done… so worship him! We serve Jesus, he is our Lord, we don’t get to put other things first. Not our own preferences, not what we like, not just when we have the time… 24/7/365 Jesus is God. Don’t play church… be church.

It’s hard for all of us. We’d like life to be nice and neat, predictable, and according to OUR plans… nope, never happens. Trust in Jesus, put him (not you) at the center of your faith. He’s God, he deserves it.

And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “ Son, your sins are forgiven.

I am a big fan of making it as easy as possible for someone to get to church, bring their family, and hear the gospel. At the same time, the picture of “seekers” in the New Testament is a bit different that we might think from the impression we get from some church growth experts today. If someone wants to get to Jesus, they will. When they understand their need for a savior to die for their sins, you won’t be able to keep them away. Jesus didn’t follow the 80% rule to be sure that there was always an empty chair… and yet these 4 friends would not let anything stop them, they were getting to Jesus. I’m not sure that Jesus came to visit them after the service, and yet the paralyzed man still went away with his sins forgiven. We do the best we can, we work to make sure people are as comfortable as possible with everything but the gospel so that if they stumble on anything, it’s the cross… but at the end of the day, you are not going to be the one who has kept them from Jesus.

Do your best to reach as many as possible, but the harvest is the Lord’s. Rest in him.

Jesus said to her, “ Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband ’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.

Sometimes we are drawn to a false idea that if we really love someone, we won’t call them out on their sin because it would make them uncomfortable. They’ve already decided to become a Christian, they’re even at church, let’s not scare them away… besides, if I start pointing out the sins of others, they’re going to start shining a light on mine. Can I be honest, that’s partly the point, we need accountability and light disinfects. If you really love someone, you will point out where their life is at odds with God’s character. Not in a condescending way, and not pubicaly (at least not at first), but as a friend trying to actually help them. Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush either, he simply calls-it like it is.

Let’s agree to stop trying to simply make people comfortable and start showing people the genuine love of God in Jesus Christ… blunt as it can be. In the long run, it will help more people and hold us more accountable.

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 is probably no more popular verse that John 3:16, but it is an amazing verse none-the-less.

“For God so Loved the world’ not that “he loved the world, so he did this…” but “This is how He showed His love for the world…” the “so” (οὕτως) is about “how” He loves the world.

“he gave his one and only Son” that’s the depth of His love, He gave His “only” Son. Not that God doesn’t have any other children, through Christ, we all have the ability to become children of God, but the “only” (μονογενής) is speaking of Jesus’ “uniqueness.” God doesn’t have any other children like Jesus. He is the only one who is just like God, He is the unique Son of God.

“that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” why did He do this? So that whoever, ALL (πᾶς) who believe in Him wouldn’t perish but be able to live forever! If you believe, that’s YOU!

“…This is how much God loved the world, He sacrificed His unique Son because He wanted to provide a way for ALL of us to be able to believe and receive eternal life as His gift to us…”

What an amazing verse!

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.

Have you ever been cut-off in traffic by someone and as they nearly run you off the road and speed off, the last thing you see is their “fish” on the back of their car? I remember a friend telling me the story of a lady who was not driving quite fast enough for the guy who sped around her and told “you’re number one” with a hand gesture. She was on her way to church on a Sunday morning and I guess this guy was in a hurry… well, every turn, turn for turn, she made, the impatient and expressive man also made before her, until… (you guessed it) he pulled into her church parking lot. He jumped out of his car ready for a fight, after all, “why were you following me!” Well, as soon as he saw the lady, he recognized her as a fellow church member and he blushed for a whole new reason.

Just because someone knows Jesus does not mean they have reached the finish-line of fully a fully mature and sanctified Christian, in fact, we’re all a work in progress. Don’t feel like people need to trust you or somehow give you more leeway, after all “I’m a Christian.” Jesus understood this, we all need accountability. Jesus loved them, he shared the words of life with them, but didn’t trust them as far as he could throw them 🙂

If you put a fish or a cross on the ad for your business, please try to keep it to a higher standard… If you hire a Christian, please pay them fairly and understand, they’re trying to follow Jesus, they aren’t Jesus. Trust, but verify…

People are people, I’m one and you are too, we all need Jesus, every single day…