John 15:18-16:4.

The first half of John 15 is all about a disciple's relationship to Jesus. The back half is all about a disciple's relationship to the world. With extremely strong language Jesus warns His disciples that to follow Him in a vine-abiding, fruit-bearing relationship--one thing will be true--the world will hate. In these verses Jesus explains why.

John 15:1-17.

Jesus is going, that much is clear. But the question that needs an answer is the question of, "What now?" In the time between His departure and future return, "What is a disciple supposed to do?" Answer--a disciple should live like a fruit bearing branch that abides in a vine.

John 14:15-31.

Continuing His conversation from last week, Jesus narrows in on the person of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is departing, but even though He is leaving, He guarantees to not leave His disciples as orphans by giving the promise of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:1-14.

Where do you look for help in difficult times? If you've ever found yourself with an anxious heart as events around spin out of contol, then you know exactly how the disciples feel in the upper room with Jesus. Their hearts are troubled at the announcement of Jesus' departure. So in order to remedy their overwhelmed souls, Jesus explains why His departure is good news for His disciples.

Colossians 4:2-18.

We must be committed to prayer, evangelism, and community.

John 13:31-38.

As we press further into John’s Gospel we find Jesus fully set to embrace the cross. Judas is gone and the eleven who remain need to hear from Jesus some very important truths regarding His coming crucifixion. So knowing His departure is near, Jesus turns his focus to the cross and begins to explain how the cross displays God’s glory, compels our love, and is truly good news.

John 13:18-30.

As Jesus continues his march toward the cross the text concentrates on the betrayal of Judas. But in the darkness of betrayal the light of Jesus is going to shine. Even though “the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus,” Jesus will not be caught off guard because Jesus is in control. And the fact that Jesus is in control is really good news.

John 13:1-17.

The opening verses of John 13 function as an introduction to a new section. At this stage in the life of Jesus, He is just a few short hours away from bearing the sin of the world on the cross. So to drive home the sufficiency of the cross and our need for salvation, Jesus washes the disciple's feet and giving an acted parable that explains the cross. Jesus then ties salvation to servanthood.

Judges 19:1 - 21:25.

With this second glimpse into the ground level view of what daily life was like during the period of the Judges, what we see is not pretty. These chapters are about man-centered morality. They look into the midnight abyss of human depravity. But all is not a loss for against this dark backdrop of sin the piercing ray of God's grace shines bright and clear. In those days there was no king in Israel, but according to the eternal purposes of God's redemption that would not remain the true forever.

Judges 17:1-18:31.

The last chapters of Judges give us two detailed episodes of what daily life was like during the period of the Judges. It isn't pretty. In this first episode (chs. 17-18) God's people have spiraled down into a form of man-made religion. King-less, they were doing what was right in their own eyes. This reality helps us to see our need for a perfect king who can deliver a perfect salvation.