David, resources for killing Goliath. He chose a sling and a few stones. He refused armour that didn’t fit And a sword that may have been too big. He used resources that were appropriate for him for the mission. A few weeks ago we started looking at Jesus’ Farewell Discourse - or his Last Will and Testament.…

As Jesus continues his farewell discourse (or last will and testament), he prepares his followers for the persecution that will come. The persecution is not on the grounds of who they are but who he is.

So, as we walk through the first 17 verses of John 15 , we’ll consider that Jesus is the true vine - and some of what that entails, what Life in the vine requires (pruning, connection) pruning connection or remaining the results of life in the vine (fruit, love, answered prayer) So, let’s begin where…

Jesus is in the midst of his farewell discourse - or his last will and testament. Last week, we saw that Jesus is preparing his disciples for what to expect in the near future - that he is leaving, what Jesus expects of them - to believe and to work what Jesus will give them - the Holy Spirit As Jesus…

Do you have a will? I hear that question almost weekly on several of the podcasts and radio programs that I listen to. You’d think the constant reminder would motivate me to get mine updated - but I seem to start the update and then get paused. Nobody really likes to talk about our end or our departure…

(start with a blank slide) Jesus gathered 12 disciples around him. Some of those guys we see a lot. Some we know very little about. It certainly seems like there were sort of concentric rings of followers. There is the outer circle - the guys that are merely mentioned. This might include Thaddeus, Judas…

One is the loneliest number In 1968, Harry Nilsson wrote the lyrics to his song “One” after getting a busy signal. You’ve probably heard the song on various TV shows or animated movies like Shrek. It seems to hint at a response to a breakup. There are times when it’s true, one can be a lonely number.…

Stop inviting your friends to church... Several years ago, I was listening to a leader of a large youth ministry. He made that statement to the Christian kids in his youth group. Of course, the students, and our, natural response is WHAT!?! “I thought that’s what we’ve been told to do for years? Isn’t…

INTRODUCTION: There are many times when the month of September starts a new ministry year. Students have promoted to the next grade. Graduates have moved on to their next phase in life. The “lull” of summer - which sometimes doesn’t feel like there was really a lull - gives way to a new season in the…

Lou Gehrig’s Farewell On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig gave a farewell address to his baseball fans: (quoted from: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/lougehrigfarewelltobaseball.htm) Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest…