April 7, 1991
A New Hope
(John 20:19-31)
A greeting to the common ear among Jewish people is an integral part of this passage. It is the greeting of Shalom, Peace.
The disciples were certainly at their lowest point, having witnessed their Lord’s death and burial. Now they were alone, without hope. Suddenly in their midst stood their Lord! Certainly the greeting from that time forth would no longer hold the same meaning; rather, it would bring to mind that incredible moment when He stood in their company and gave them a new vision of life.
There is an awareness for the first time that what He said was happening. He was more than man, more than what He seemed, more than what they understood. They saw Him face to face.
Quite often in literature we find the ending to be a surprise. Many an author has finished a work with an ending that none expected, and the ending is the most powerful moment in the story. Such it is in this setting. Jesus stands and gives them a vew vision of the future, a new hope for their lives.
Many authors have discovered the power of the unexpected. There are many who have made their reputation from the surprise ending. Needless to say, the unexpected gives the story memorable aspects which are uncommon to most ordinary experiences. People read with great anticipation the mystery novel to see who did it or who will solve the great mystery. It remains an unanswered question and the attention of the reader is held to the story.
This text certainly has the power of the unexpected. The setting was certainly one of despair. The disciples were at their lowest point when Jesus steps into their midst without warning. The ‘word became flesh’ to their ears and eyes and the meaning of peace became His presence.
The world is looking for a new presence of peace. There has always been the presence of problems and evil in our world. We know from the very beginning of time that the difficulty we experience today is no different in scope than that of our predecessors. We face tremendous problems, but humankind always has and always will. What can make the difference? A new presence of peace that only God can give.
The power of God’s love is the theme of Scripture. Throughout the Bible we read of the resurrection of the people of God through His power.
What would Joseph’s brothers have thought had they known — before they travelled to his court to ask for help — that he was the one they had thrown in the well to be abandoned? What was Moses thinking when he left the Egyptian court for the wilderness? Certainly not that he would return to challenge Pharaoh!
There is time for the presence of God to take the place He wants. For the disciples, time started over that day. Jesus came into their midst and announced the peace of God was present. It was a regenerating presence.
When a team competes in a relay race, the winner is not determined by the speed of one individual but the combined speed and cooperation of each team member working together. Left alone, the disciples would have been without hope, but the presence of the Lord gave them renewed hope and power.
The presence of Jesus changes lives both individually and collectively. One of the most remarkable events in football was a game when the quarterback Don Majicowski had a terribly poor first half. He had been beaten in every way possible. The opposing team had sacked him for numerous losses and his results were terrible. He had taken a tremendous physical beating and during halftime the trainer had to give him extra nutrition. He was near complete exhaustion.
Yet he returned to the field and led the Green Bay Packers in a furious finish that gave them one of the most memorable games of the season. The other players all agreed that if he could do that with the tremendous pain that he had suffered then they certainly could play a better game. His presence on the field led them to their best efforts.
So it is when Jesus comes into the presence of His followers. (SNW)
April 14, 1991
Asking the Right Question
(John 3:1-7)
Nicodemus represents us all as he comes to Jesus with a question: “What is it that we must do to be like you?” Jesus’ answer offers the power for all of us to understand life as He sees it: it is life of the spirit that matters.
There was a great deal of effort given to trying to reach the moon. Do you remember when the words came over the TV, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”? That word of hope penetrated our childhood dreams and we witnessed the dream becoming reality. The step on the moon put us in a realm where we had never been before.
So it was with Nicodemus that night. He had been in a position of power and recognition; he was comfortable with life until he saw the works that Jesus did. Now he wanted to know what it was he must do to become like the one who was so special. We all are like him.
I. All persons must ask Jesus their own questions.
Have you watched a classroom of eager pupils? There is seldom a time when there is not a hand in the air, seeking more information as they work to become what they are intended. The questions come fast and frequent.
What made Nicodemus ask Jesus this question? He is like the child in each of us, facing the unknown and seeking one who knows.
Frederick Buechner said being born again “must be held in tension with the shadow side of human existence; the doubt, the suffering, the frustration, must all be recognized and offered to the Savior at the same time as the Spirit is given. To be complete, the process of rebirth must start from the person’s recognition of the lack and the willingness to ask the question, ‘What must I do’?”
That is the starting point. The second is one of recognition: we cannot accomplish this act of salvation. Rather it is a work of God.
II. Being saved is being born by the spirit of God.
The Williams translation of this text has the familiar phrase “born again” as translated “born from above.” That gives the emphasis to the proper point of origin: the gift of life has come from God and not from us.
It is a fact of life that each of us reacts to the wind. You can step outside from a warm and comfortable room and be suddenly changed drastically by a cold wind. You can step out into a sweltering day and be refreshed by a cool breeze. It is a fact that even though we cannot always see the workings of God, they nevertheless change each of us dramatically. It is our responsibility to respond to the urgings of the Holy Spirit and do as He prompts.
One of the most dramatic scenes you may watch is the racing of sailboats. Vast energy is expended at the point in the race where the direction of the boats change in relation to the wind. The helm is shifted and the energy of every person is concentrated on allowing the boat to move swiftly and smoothly through the transition to a new direction.
Just as we respond to the wind, which is not seen but felt and understood to make a difference, so we respond to the moving of God’s spirit in a process the Bible calls salvation. (SNW)
April 21, 1991
When Dark Becomes Light
(John 3:18-24)
There is a great experience of being in a wide open space at dawn. The vastness of the earth and sky are revealed in slow and beautiful moments as the light overcomes the dark.
So it is in the passage of John. The light is the power of God to bring everyone to the light of day and the truth of life. It is a beautiful and wonderful experience. What is colorless becomes full of color; what is vague and unclear becomes sharp, in focus with the reflected light. It is a time of transition and change.
God’s judgment has already been announced. From the very beginning it is clear that we will allow our sin to separate us from God. We, too, will find ourselves apart from God, separated by sin — yet hearing Him call us to join Him. We cannot know that peace of His presence without at the same time recognizing the awful absence of His presence.
Jesus did not come into the world to announce this separation; mankind was already aware of this great separation. Jesus’ purpose was to bring God and man together, not separate them.
When the Pony Express started to cross the West, there was no way one man or horse was going to cross the vast plains and bring the news to the settlers. It took more than ordinary effort to bring people together.
It was not the purpose of God to separate man, but to bring us closer to Himself. God’s vast resources focused in His Son bring the distant parts of us to His side. There is no more need for us to be part of the dark, for He has brought us into the Light. (SNW)
April 28, 1991
Can You Get Whatever You Want in Prayer?
(John 15:7)
What do you make of John 15:7 — “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Is it really a blank check, so to speak, on God’s prayer account?
This verse has led me to realize that I am not bold enough, nor definite enough, nor confident enough in prayer. And I can have all this if I follow four principles of prayer found in this verse.
I. The Principle of Devotion
“If ye abide in me, …” Abiding means constant companionship, intimate knowledge; the image of the vine and the branches comes to mind. To abide in Christ means to organize our lives around Him; to open our lives to Him; to live under His influence, protection and direction. It means to take Jesus seriously — as an historical person, as our personal Saviour, as our Living Lord.
Nowadays anything can pass for commitment to Jesus as Lord. Van Morrison, the rock star, is rumored to have become a “born again” Christian. His reply: “These things are sort of blown up more important than they are. I mean, it was very helpful to me and that’s all I can tell you about it. It’s a tool you can use or not …. Some learn to play the violin, and then throw it away. It’s just something that if you want to use it, it’s there.” Contrast Paul’s declaration: “For me to live is Christ!”
It is impossible to fulfill this first principle of devotion unless you have accepted Christ as personal Lord and Saviour; experience daily confession and forgiveness; and have a strong devotional life. For too many of us, prayer is but a pale shadow. The rush and bustle of daily life is more real than the inner life in Christ.
Remember the story of the steamship company that was seeking a wireless operator? A roomful of applicants had gathered for the interview and soon the waiting room was full of noise and chatter. Suddenly a man jumped to his feet and hurried through an office door. Shortly he came back with the job!
In all the noise and chatter of the waiting room, only he had heard a soft series of dots and dashes coming from a loudspeaker hanging in the corner of the room. The Morse code message said the job awaited the first man to respond and go to a certain office! Without adherence to the principle of devotion, we cannot hear the voice of God.
II. The Principle of Discipline
“And my words abide in you …” The twelve would have understood Jesus meant His spoken words: the beautiful passage in John 3 spoken to Nicodemus; the challenging words of Living Water spoken to the woman at the well and the comments about the white harvest given to the disciples; the sharp truth that “he that saveth his life shall lose it, and he that loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s, shall save it.”
For us, the words are the entire written record — the Bible. For His words to abide in us we must believe that the Bible is the inspired, authoritative spiritual guide for life; we must submit our lives to the spiritual truths of the Bible; and we must be aware that God reveals His will to us through the Bible. And just here is where the principle of discipline comes in — you can’t tell me you believe the Bible is the ultimate, authoritative spiritual guide for your life and never read it! Don’t tell me you submit your life to God’s commands through the Bible yet you never study it! How can you be aware that God reveals His will in the Scriptures if you never meditate upon them?
There can be no power in prayer unless the Bible is read, studied, memorized, meditated upon, and applied. Because through it God’s will is found.
III. The Principle of Agreement
“Ye shall ask what ye will …” We are down to the nub of prayer now — does it, or does it not say that we can ask whatever we wish and get it? This principle of agreement is tied to the two preceding principles — of devotion and discipline. If we walk with Jesus daily, live under His influence and direction; if His Word, the Bible, is our authority, our guide, our source of strength — then we can get what we ask for in prayer.
How? Because our “wanter” will have been radically changed from the days before we knew Christ! When I was a child, my mother used to say during a frustrating shopping expedition with five boys tagging along “You all are going to wear your ‘wanters’ out!” Or she’d say, “You just as well change your ‘wanter’ — for you’re not going to get that!”
As Christians, as the children of the Heavenly Father, our “wanters” have been transformed. Jesus said His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him; our food is to do the will of Him who saved us. Our basic prayer must be the old plea: “O Lord, help us to so desire thy will, that Thou canst do our will as if it were Thine own.”
The principles of devotion and discipline give us the focus of Christ as we come to prayer and we find ourselves yearning to do the Master’s will; to see ourselves and the world as He sees us; to submit our lives to His good pleasure.
In digging up half my backyard, I unearthed an eyeglass lens. Since local lore tells me my home is built on what was once a golf course, I suppose some golfer flung his glasses down one day! Anyhow, I casually picked up the lens and, out of curiosity, wiped it off and peered through it. Imagine my surprise upon realizing it was exactly my prescription! “Hey,” I told my wife, “this guy sees like me!”
That’s a parable of what happens when we develop the principles of devotion and discipline — our view and that of Jesus are alike! Our crude and selfish desires are brought into line with His will: “Thy kingdom come; thy will be done.”
And that’s what it means to pray “In Jesus’ Name.” The principle of agreement is the result of the earlier principles of devotion and discipline, and results not in less prayer petitions — but less selfish; not smaller petitions — but more bold.
IV. The Principle of Assurance
“It shall be done unto you …” If we have made the first three principles the foundation of our prayer life, then we can count on God to honor our prayer. To pray like this would cripple most of our prayer lives for a while — until it purified and reshaped our “wanter.”
Let us acknowledge that while God answers our prayers made in accord with these guidelines, He does not always answer in the form we expect.
E. Y. Mullins tells the story of a boy on a steamer in mid-Atlantic who was playing with his ball and accidentally bounced it over the rail into the sea. He pled with the captain to stop the ship and recover it, but the captain said, “My dear lad, it would cost a good deal of money and time to stop and get your ball. I cannot do it.”
The next day a little girl dropped her doll overboard, and then went crying to the captain. He was sympathetic but explained they could not stop for the doll. He went to the rail to see where it had fallen into the sea, and saw it lodged on a projection of the vessel. He sent a sailor to get it, and returned it to the girl. She went away saying what a nice captain he was, willing to do whatever little girls ask!
Next day, in the midst of a storm, a cry went up: “Man overboard!” At once the engines were reversed, a boat was put over, and the man was rescued.
When the steamer reached the other side, the captain went into a toy store and bought the boy a rubber ball, better than the lost one, and the boy was happy.
Three prayers were answered; but in different ways. So God will answer your prayers, if you follow the guidance of this verse. (ECD)
May 5, 1991
What Love Requires
(John 15:9-17)
Is any word in the English language more overused than the word love? It is used to describe everything from an overactive gland to feelings about a new car or boat.
What is love all about anyway? Jesus knew that love would be at the very center of the Kingdom lifestyle to which He was calling us. If we are able to “abide in His love” (v. 9), we must know what love requires.
I. Love Requires Sacrifice (v. 13)
The greatest model of love is Jesus hanging on a cross for you and me. Love is willing to give of self, even if that involves a significant price to be paid.
What price are we willing to pay for love? Are we willing to give of financial resources that others might have both physical and spiritual hunger satisfied? Are we willing to share some of our limited time in order to serve where God is calling? Are we willing to rearrange our own priorities when the Holy Spirit leads? Do we love enough to sacrifice?
II. Love Requires Obedience (v. 10, 14)
In an age when love is associated with warm and mushy feelings, it’s a bit difficult for us to relate love to obedience. We think of love as sweet and sentimental, and obedience doesn’t seem sweet to our ears.
Yet authentic love inevitably involves obedience to God. It is in lives of discipleship — lives that honor Christ in word and action — that we display the reality of love.
III. Love Requires Relationship (v. 15-16)
It is the intimacy of relationship that transforms obedience from slavery into loving service. Relationship goes two ways, not just one; relationship is dialogue, not simply monologue. In His love for us, God offers the ultimate gift: a relationship between the Father and His children.
Relationship inevitably produces fruit. Because I love my wife, there are certain things I do that I might otherwise never consider doing. Do I carry out these acts with a grudging spirit? No, because they are done in love. Likewise, in our loving relationship with the Father — and in gratitude for His faithfulness toward us — we act in such a way that we bear positive fruit for Him.
What is the result of such love? Jesus says that we are enabled to experience divine joy (v. 11), the kind of full, consuming joy impossible apart from a relationship with the One who is the source of all joy. (JMD)
May 12, 1991
God’s Great Gifts
(John 17:11-19)
It hasn’t been so long since we experienced the joys of Christmas giving. What a joy it is for parents to be able to offer gifts to their children, however large or small they may be. Just as we love to give gifts to our children, so does God.
In our text, Jesus is preparing for His own death, yet He is still concerned for His disciples. He prayed for some wonderful gifts for us — gifts that will give meaning for today and hope for tomorrow.
I. Jesus Gives Protection (vv. 11, 15)
While on earth, Jesus watched over them personally, but now the time is short. He knew they still needed protection.
We face a great enemy, called the evil one, the tempter, a serpent, the prince of this world, a liar, a murderer, the ruler of darkness. Jesus prays that God will protect us from this enemy, who is ever on the prowl against the child of God. When he succeeds in defeating us, it is because we seek to fight him in our own power rather than in the power of God.
There is One stronger than this enemy. In fact, He has already defeated the evil one on the cross. That same power is ours to appropriate.
II. Jesus Gives Joy (v. 13)
The very joy of God is fulfilled in our lives, coming from moment-by-moment contact with God. Paul had that kind of joy. He wrote the letter to the Philippians while imprisoned, yet in only 104 verses Paul uses the word “joy” eighteen times.
The world knows little real joy, because such joy is found in the Creator of life. That supernatural joy can only be known through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
III. Jesus Gives Mission (vv. 15-18)
We are here for a purpose: to make Christ real in daily life. The story of Christmas is the story of the incarnation: God became flesh, became one of us. The greatest miracle in history is that God loves us enough to become a part of us.
Christ came into the life of humanity, and He remains here as we allow Him to be incarnated — to be made real in us.
Jesus didn’t pray that we be taken out of the world, but that we not be of the world. Even in the midst of a secular society, we have the privilege of living out our faith — making His life reality in our daily walk.
We have been saved, not for escape but for victory; not to withdraw from life but to equip us for life; not to release us from problems but to offer us a way to deal with problems.
Just as Christ came for a purpose, so He gives us a purpose: to share His love and grace with a lost world. (JMD)
May 19, 1991
The Gift of God’s Presence
(John 16:7-15)
Have you ever tried to imagine what it would have been like to have been a disciple in what Adam Smith calls, “The Days of His Flesh”? I doubt seriously if the one among us who has the best imagination could imagine it.
They really knew Him. When John wrote the first epistle, he began it by saying, “We have seen him with our eyes. We have scrutinized him. We touched him with our hands.” He uses the perfect tense. I can still remember my New Testament professor saying, “It means something that really happened and the effect of it lingers.” “We saw him with our eyes and the vision has stayed there before us.”
Night and day for thirty-six months, they had been with Him. His presence had radically altered their lives and changed their vocation. They started out fishing for fish and were now fishing for persons. He challenged every goal they had — it was a kind of school which left no presumption unchallenged.
He focused their values in different directions. He exposed them to a world so much larger than they had ever dreamed and to ideas that were brand new and were sometimes scary. He had given them real life.
Unlike you or me, they can say, “Do you remember the day we were walking through Tiberias?” That’s hard to imagine. One reason we find it hard to fathom is most of us have never touched first-hand the lives of figures of history. But Jesus Christ is the key figure of history and the disciples knew Him. When we see people history judges as significant, we remember it.
Barbara and I met Lyndon Johnson — well, met is a little strong. But Marvin Watson cleared us to attend one of his press conferences at the White House. It was during the height of the anti-Vietnam feeling in the country. The security was very, very difficult and there were people who wanted to attend but couldn’t get in. We felt privileged. We sat about six rows from the front and he came in — a tall, homely and angular man but an unbelievably powerful person. I didn’t know Lyndon Johnson. He never knew me.
There are many people who know Christ in the same way I know Lyndon Johnson. They know about Him. They have heard the sermons, they have been exposed to church, they have read the Bible, but they don’t know Him. That’s all right for most figures but for Christ we need to know Him.
While we cannot fathom what it would have been like to have walked those roads of Galilee, to have sat and listened to Him teach, to be there and watch the dynamic of His ministry as He challenged many of the traditional things that people felt; what we can understand is the emotions of the disciples when He said, “I’m going away and you cannot come with me.” We can understand this.
Think of a person who at this moment in your life is the most significant; think of the person with whom you spend more time and are more dependent upon, the person with whom you are most involved. For some it would be your spouse — that man or woman to whom you are married and with whom you are sharing your life. For some young people, it might be your mother or rather. For some it is a friend that is more than just friend. For some a colleague who is teacher or mentor.
Imagine what would happen to you emotionally if, at the conclusion of church this morning, you were to discover that you are losing that person. They’re leaving, moving away or dying — in some way you are losing them.
I have walked with some of you as you have lost that significant person. I have watched you, years later, tear up as you move toward some time of the year weighted heavily with memories of that relationship. If you can entertain that emotion, what would it be like to live without this significant person in your life? I think then you will understand the emotions of the disciples when Christ said, “I am going away and you cannot come.”
One way He would comfort them was the promise to send another paraclete — meaning another to stand alongside them. Our text describes the role of this person, the Holy Spirit. The spirit would come from the Father. He would not be a different character being revealed, a different mission being revealed or have a different purpose.
The Spirit would help them to remember things which Christ had taught. We have this Bible because of the work of the Spirit in calling to remembrance all those things that Christ had taught. The Spirit would help them to understand things they were later exposed to but couldn’t fathom now. The Spirit would give a whole new perspective on the events surrounding Christ’s death.
As they went out to tell the story of Jesus, the Spirit came and bore witness to the truth. When Christ talked to them about the Spirit, He said, “When two or three of you get together in my name, I will be right there in the middle of you.” The promise of the Holy Spirit was His presence.
Christ kept His promise. When He left them, He sent to them the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts gives the record of it. It shows how frightened, defeated, confused people became bold witnesses because the Holy Spirit came into their lives.
The story of missions is the story of the work of the Holy Spirit. In Antioch, the Spirit said to the church, “Set aside Paul and Barnabas for the work I have called them to.” If you read the missionary journeys of Paul, the Spirit opened and closed doors and called them in directions where God wanted them to go. The church exists today because Christ sent the Holy Spirit as another paraclete. As we gather to worship in this place and in this time — the living God as the promise of Christ is true — the Spirit of God is with us.
Look again at the things Jesus was saying to the disciples about this word paraclete. Sometimes it is translated, “I will send an Advocate” — a judicial term meaning attorney. Jesus is saying this one I will send will speak in behalf of the client, will be the one who pleads with the judge for the client after the verdict; one that will stand beside me in the court of God and in the court of life. It’s a marvelous picture.
It is sometimes translated, “I will send you a comforter.” This is a shepherding and parenting word — a consoling presence of one who loves and understands and cares. Remember how much healing there was in your mother’s kisses? It is scientifically unprovable but when she said, “Let me kiss it and make it well,” it always seemed to be better. We have a need for someone to comfort us. Jesus is saying, “I will send you someone who will comfort you.”
Occasionally it will be translated, “I will send you one as a proclaimer.” It’s not a picture we see often — it’s the exhorter, the uplifter, the encourager, the inspirer. We have people like that in our lives; people who make us stand a little taller when they are around and we start trying to look at ourselves through their eyes because we like what we see in their eyes. Jesus is saying, “I am going to send you someone who will be an encouragement to your life.”
Sometimes it’s translated, “I will send you another teacher or rabbi who will lead you to truth” — like having a tutor. Some of you have had a tutor to help you with your math or languages. It’s like having a divine tutor to help you with life.
Some of you are here not by accident. You have been led here. You have been drawn here. This is a place where you are going to become a part of the family and part of its worship and part of its work and part of its ministry.
The Spirit of God has been dealing with some of you concerning your commitment to Christ. He comes and brings conviction and has convinced you of the truth of the gospel and is seeking to turn your heart. Why don’t you quit resisting the Spirit of God and simply bring yourself to celebrate the fact God loves you, He forgives you, and He will live in you by His Spirit? (KLC)
May 26, 1991
You Must Be Born Again
(John 3:1-17)
Ever since the 1976 presidential election, the phrase “Born Again” has entered American culture for use in a variety of ways. We now have the media using the term in some rather unusual ways, such as a recent reference to a “born-again entertainer” — one whose career was shot but has now been restored to former glory.
It’s easy to lose the original meaning of the phrase as Jesus used it with Nicodemus that night. Like Nicodemus did, it’s easy to misunderstand what it means to be born again.
I. The Necessity of the New Birth
It is a divine imperative. Jesus said, “You must be born again.” There are many things in the Christian life which are helpful, even important, but not absolutely necessary. The new birth is different, because it is the means by which we become children of God.
II. The Nature of the New Birth
Sometimes it helps to understand something by seeing what it isn’t.
The New Birth Isn’t Reformation. It isn’t deciding to do better. Sam Jones used to preach a sermon entitled “Quit Your Meanness.” He told his listeners to quit their meanness and join the church. Some people quit their meanness but didn’t join the church, while others joined the church and never quit their meanness! Still, the new birth is different; it can’t be earned or deserved (Romans 6:23: Ephesians 2:8-9).
The New Birth Isn’t a Profession of Religion. One can be a member of a church and never experience the new birth. The new birth goes beyond the lips to the heart. We are born sinners and will stay that way until we receive a new nature — a change on the inside — and that is only possible by being born again.
The New Birth Isn’t Morality. Nicodemus was a moral, religious man, but there was still a yearning in his heart for more. He needed to be born again. If I was to go onto a 1,200-ft. pier at Miami Beach and tell you I was going to walk to Europe, what would you think? I walk out 400 feet and say, “So far so good — I’m on the way to Europe.” 400 feet more and I’m still on the way. But with that last 400 feet my trip comes to an abrupt end. The pier is good so far as it goes — it just doesn’t go far enough. Neither does morality alone.
What is the new birth, then?
1. It’s a Change in the Heart Produced by God. Christ turns your life around and sends it in a new direction. We can’t do it alone; it is a change that must be produced by God’s Spirit working within us. It is a changed heart that results in a changed life.
2. It is a Mystery. We can’t fully understand it but we experience its results. I’m still not sure how a black cow eats green grass and gives white milk that becomes yellow butter! I don’t fully understand all the chemical changes that take place in that process, but it doesn’t stop me from drinking milk or eating butter. I also don’t know exactly how God changed my life but I know He did
III. How Do We Receive the New Birth?
We hear the gospel. Nicodemus did that night talking with Jesus. You have today.
We admit our need. We must recognize that we have sinned and need a savior. We accept the reality that we cannot save ourselves but are dependent on God’s grace.
We repent our sins. I can’t change my life, but God can if I am willing to allow Him. Repentance involves a changed life.
We give our lives to Christ. I confess my sins and ask Christ to forgive and take control of my life.
Being born again makes us a part of God’s family, with a new nature and a new future. Could today be your birthday? (JMD)
Sermon briefs are provided by: Kenneth Chafin, Pastor of Walnut Street Baptist Church, Louisville, KY: Earl C. Davis, Pastor of First Baptist Church, Memphis, TN; Sam N. Wilson, Associate Editor of Preaching; and Michael Duduit, Editor of Preaching.
