Bible Study Intensive

As we left Jesus last week He had made some very strong claims. No man ever made these claims before. According to the law of Moses for such a claim to be proved true there had to be two witnesses. (Deut.17:6)

We saw Jesus meet the woman at the well just as she was, with no judgement or prejudice. She opened her life to Jesus and then she opens the eyes of the townspeople and brings them to Jesus.

Keep in mind, God does not love men's sins or the wicked world in which man lives, but He does love His people. If we are honest before God, we realize we are sinful. God provided Jesus as an atonement to cover our sins and provides entrance into God's kingdom--only if we confess our sin and embrace Jesus.

What a journey we had last week! God opened a precious treasure to us. Be ready to receive again. Jesus in this section has changed location. He goes to Jerusalem. It is time for the Passover and every Jewish male who lived within 20 miles of the city was expected to come to the temple.

John doesn't waste time. Unlike the other gospels, he tells us nothing of the early life of Jesus. In the prologue, he introduced Jesus as the Son of God. When Jesus came, the truth was that God's own people rejected Him. The story wasn't over--good news for us! Those that believe become the children of God.

If you want to understand the true meaning of life, if you seek to have eternal life, if you long to know God, you will find these desires fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ as He is revealed in this gospel. The first 18 verses are more than just a prologue. These verses set the theme for the entire book. John is introducing us to his beloved friend, teacher, Savior and revealing Jesus' true identify to us. The faithful Jewish priests served in the temple day after day, but by the time of John, the glory of God was not felt or seen in the temple.

Galatians 4:4-5 - "But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His son, born of woman, born under that law. So that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." This is the right time for God's people.

"Strangling Life's Problems" - Nehemiah had been gone a year. He returned to Jerusalem to find the situation had deteriorated rapidly. The people were not living up to the vows they had made. Nehemiah's opponents were are resilient as he was. His absence had led to setbacks.

"How Far is Your Joy Heard?" - Last we, we had to answer some hard questions and realize some important truths. Have you let God restore? Are you ready to move to His beat in your life?

"Moving On" - Once the people feel that their part of the task for God is done, they park on their complacency couch and begin to coast through life. That isn't really living! What does it take to blast you off your complacency couch and into a new pattern for living? Let's learn from the people of God in Jerusalem.

"Assigning Priorities" - This week we see the people anxious to get on with their lives. They want to do the things that are easiest and most enjoyable first. God, through Nehemiah, is stopping them in their tracks and having them go through a process of refocusing before they move ahead and make a mistake.