“So that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” (John 5:23)
How is Jesus to be regarded by us? As a good teacher? A prophet? God-like but something less? This verse makes it extremely clear: Continue reading
“Afterwards Jesus found him in the Temple and said to him, ‘Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.'” (John 5:14)
Jesus had previously healed this man, who had been sitting by the pool at Bethesda, and the Bible tells us that He later purposefully “found him” in the Temple to give him this admonition: “Do not sin anymore.” His warning is similar to the one He gave to the adulterous woman later in John 8, “Now go and sin no more.” It is a word that many of us need to hear today as well. Continue reading
With baseball season starting this week, I was reading an article on the worst trades in baseball history. There were a number of contenders, but I have to agree with the one they identified as the worst: On December 26, 1919, the owner of the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the owner of the New York Yankees for $100,000, and a $300,000 loan to finance his musical, “No, No, Nanette.” Now I like a lot of musicals, but I have never heard of that one, and I have to agree that was one of the worst trades ever.
But there have been worse — among them the trade that Satan offered Jesus in Matthew 4 when he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory in exchange for worshiping him. Thankfully for all of us, Jesus didn’t take him up on that trade — but sadly, many individuals among us have — in fact, we all have to some extent. We need to learn from the response of Jesus here:
“Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and serve Him only.” Continue reading
“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” (John 4:23)
This is the same “hour is coming” Jesus had just mentioned in :21, when He said that worship is not a matter of geography: “Neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” He completes that idea by indicating true worship must be “in spirit and truth.” Continue reading
“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.” (John 4:21)
Jesus’ statement to the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria should not be lost on us today. Responding to her “dodge” question about the controversy between the Jews and Samaritans about whether a person could worship in the mountain at Samaria, or in Jerusalem only, Jesus indicated that “an hour is coming” (brought about by His impending death & resurrection) when worship would not be a matter of geography. Continue reading
“God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
Here Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman, and every one of us who reads the inspired record of her conversation with Him, something about God which is foundational to our understanding of Him, and how He must be worshiped: Continue reading
“He said to her, ‘Go, call your husband and come here.'” (John 4:16)
Having gotten the attention of the woman at the well with His promise of eternal life, Jesus gets to the “hard part”: “Go, call your husband and come here.” Continue reading
“The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.” (John 3:35)
Mahatma Gandhi, typical of the Eastern religious perspective, described God as a “force.” But we see no such impersonal description of God in scripture. Here Jesus speaks of the relationship of the Father and the Son: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.” Here we find the description of a relationship: Continue reading
On May of 1776, in the throes of the conflict of the birth of our country, General George Washington sent this order to his army:
“The Continental Congress having ordered, Friday the 17th. Instant to be observed as a day of “fasting, humiliation and prayer, humbly to supplicate the mercy of Almighty God, that it would please him to pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and to prosper the Arms of the United Colonies, and finally, establish the peace and freedom of America, upon a solid and lasting foundation”–The General commands all officers, and soldiers, to pay strict obedience to the Orders of the Continental Congress, and by their unfeigned, and pious observance of their religious duties, incline the Lord, and Giver of Victory, to prosper our arms.”
George Washington and the first Americans recognized the importance of prayer and fasting, and they turned to it when they needed a breakthrough in the fight for the independence of the colonies. But we have not had such a decree in many years in America — not from Presidents Democrat or Republican. But sadly, not only has our nation as a whole forgotten the importance of seeking God through fasting, most of the people in God’s church have as well.
I have been convicted as I have been praying and studying for our messages in Matthew 4 that we should not leave this passage without looking together at the fact that Jesus fasted and prayed at this crucial time in His ministry. He was about to experience a breakthrough in His ministry, and it is not coincidence that He fasted and prayed and sought the Father in a special way. In the same way, I believe that we have many people here in our church — and perhaps some of you who are guests today — who are looking for a spiritual breakthrough in your life — or maybe you have a burden for a loved one who needs a powerful touch from God — and God’s word for you today is that you need to seek a spiritual breakthrough to Him, and from Him, in fasting and prayer. Continue reading
“He must increase but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
This statement was true for John the Baptist in a very literal way, in which it will not be for us: John’s ministry and popularity would decrease, as more and more of those who were seeking God in his day went to Jesus instead of to him (:26 “all are coming to Him”, etc.) But even though our current circumstances differ from John’s, this scripture is still a penetrating prescription for what must happen to each of us in Christian discipleship. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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