Battle lines are often drawn between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation, but the Bible unapologetically teaches both. Asked to reconcile these truths, Spurgeon famously replied, “I wouldn’t try. I never reconcile friends.” The Bible gives us a glorious view from above as we marvel at God’s saving grace through the person and work of Jesus.

Outline:

•       The Universal Offer

•       Bondage of the Will

•       God’s Sovereign Grace

Is it possible to live a healthy, strong, effective life if a person eats only once per week or a few times per year? Of course not. We feed our bodies, but how many suffer from spiritual malnourishment and even starvation? Have you “tasted the goodness of the word of God” (Hebrews 6:5)? Jesus is the bread of life, and without him, there is no life!

Outline:

•       Determined Unbelief

•       The First “I Am” Statement

•       Our Daily Bread

•       Satisfying Spiritual Hunger

We seek the Lord by following, loving, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is clear that it is possible to seek Jesus wrongly and remain unsaved. The text this week provides one example. Conveyed to us are important lessons, cautions, and glorious promises about our relationship to the Lord Jesus.

Outline:

•    Seeking Jesus in Folly

•    The Map to Eternal Life

•    Seeking Jesus Savingly

Never did Jesus promise that the Christian life would be free of troubles. In fact, God’s perfect and good plan often includes sending his children through trials and tribulations. The blessing of challenges in life teaches us to rely on Jesus and enables us to see his brilliant grace, mercy, and love brightly shining against the backdrop of the dark storms of

Outline:

·      Growth Pains of Discipleship

·      Lord of the Storms

·      Jesus Brings Us Home

The hungry crowd followed Jesus to the desolate shores of the Sea of Galilee, but why? Were they hoping to use Jesus for their purposes or be used by Jesus for his glory? In a sign that points to his full divinity, Jesus demonstrates God’s compassion for people, satisfying their physical hunger while pointing toward an everlasting solution to their greatest spiritual need.

Outline:

• False Followers

• Weak Faith

• Compassionate God

• King or Kingdom

Where might you find Jesus in the Old Testament? We break from our series on the Gospel of John to explore Jesus’s revelation that the Scriptures (Old Testament) bear witness about him (John 5:39). Through the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, God revealed and pointed to the Lamb who would take away the sin of the world, Christ Jesus.

Outline:

• Christ in the Law

• Christ in the Prophets

• Christ in the Psalms

When Jesus pointed to the authoritative witness to who he is, God the Son in the flesh, he pointed them to God’s Word—in their case, the Old Testament. How is it that a people devoted to Scripture could miss the revelation of God’s redemptive plan and refuse salvation by grace through faith in Jesus? The evidence is clear, but the hearts were hard.

Outline:

•  God Revealed in Jesus

•  Missing the Point of Scripture

•  Law and Gospel

Sermon delivered 6/6/24 at Good Samaritan Society in West Union, IA.

The most important question in life is what to make of Jesus Christ. John 5 presents the teaching and evidence that Jesus is truly divine—Jesus is God the Son incarnate. The issue unbelievers face, then and now, is not a lack of evidence but the problem of willful unbelief. Jesus confronts unbelief by laying out the irrefutable witnesses.

Outline:

•  The Witness of God the Father

•  The Witness of John

• The Witness of Jesus’s Miracles

•  The Witness of Scripture (Next Week)

This week we continue the powerful testimony of Jesus, God the Son, and we get a deeper glimpse into the divine power of Christ. He not only points to the work of bringing eternal life to the spiritually dead through the gospel but to the finality of the resurrection and judgment when he returns in power and glory.

Outline:

• The Spiritual Life-Giver

• The Righteous Judge

• Resurrection for Eternity