Money is such an important part of our lives and culture, it’s hard to separate ourselves from it. Many Pastors have fallen into the trap of preaching for the offering. Using their sermons to manipulate people into giving more money under the understanding that their status with God can be measured by the percentage of their tithe. As Pastor Ray reminds us in today’s message, God cares about us having an intimate relationship with Him. His love is not based on how much money we donate to the Church.

We can’t force someone to love us. If we were to force someone into relationship with us, it would more likely cause resentment than affection. God could easily bend us to His will. He could have created us with no capacity to choose wrong. He didn’t have to give us free will. But He knew that love required choice. As Pastor Ray reminds us in today’s message, God longs for us to choose to love Him. He has given the most profound gift of love and grace in His son Jesus. How will we respond?

There is little doubt, even amongst unbelieving scholars, that Jesus existed. There’s too great a body of evidence. Yet, many doubt His divinity. They simply can’t believe in His miraculous works, especially His resurrection. In today’s message, Pastor Ray expounds on the evidence in favor of the resurrection. Primarily the testimony of the early church. Many of those that witnessed it defiantly faced persecution and death to defend it. There’s no reason they would go to such great lengths for a lie.

The sacrificial practice of the Old Testament is very foreign and disturbing to us. It should be disturbing! It was a gruesome picture of the consequences of sin, and the remediation it requires. As Pastor Ray continues to examine the book of John with us, we are reminded of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. He was the ultimate perfect sacrifice. God gave His only begotten Son, and allowed the weight of our sin to be put on Him, so we would never have to bear it again.

If you have believed in Jesus and accepted His gift of salvation, then you have been ordained to be witnesses of the Gospel to the world. Spreading His Word can’t be left to career ministers. All of us are responsible to carry it and share it. As Pastor Ray explains in today’s message, when we accept His gift of salvation and the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, we are equipped. We don’t need seminary or years of experience. It’s time to get out there and tell our families, friends and even enemies the Good News!

It’s truly amazing what we can accomplish when we draw our strength from the Holy Spirit. When we attempt to take the reins and orchestrate ministry under our own power, we will quickly find ourselves burned out with little fruit to show for our works. As Pastor Ray leads us through today’s passage, we will be reminded of what it a Holy Spirit filled life looks like. When we are connected to Him, seeking His strength and direction, we will find an endless supply of energy to accomplish His will in our lives.

What holds your attention? Is it your family? Your job? Your social life? Those things are all important. They deserve time and attention, but often times we allocate more of our time and attention for these temporal things instead of God. As we examine today’s passage with Pastor Ray, we witness Jesus sharing an intimate teaching moment with His disciples. They didn’t understand the weight of the moment they were in, but He had their attention and His words still resonate with us today.

Are you ready for confrontation? There will be moments as you follow Jesus that He’s going to turn over tables and confront things that are wrong in your life or in the lives of those around you. As Pastor Ray explains in today’s message, we will have mountaintop experiences, just as the disciples did when Jesus turned water into wine and healed the sick, and it’ll be easy to believe and stand with Him. But we should also expect and embrace confrontation, because in those moments we are truly challenged to grow.

As we grow more and more like Christ, we will experience the pains of refinement. It will not be easy to let go of some of the things we cling to. We will be plagued by stubborn desires of the flesh that seem impossible to overcome. But, as Pastor Ray assures us in today’s message, the pains of childbirth will be followed with great joy. As we are born anew through the redeeming blood of Jesus, the process may sting, but it’s worth the joy we will know as we stand before Him, Holy and pure.

No one can claim to have lived up to God’s call on their lives. We were all born into sin, and even after salvation, we still dwell in the flesh and find ourselves falling short. Upon realizing our weakness, it’s easy to assume that God would want nothing to do with us. We’re failures. We never measure up. Those are lies of Satan. As Pastor Ray reminds us in today’s message, we are redeemed in Christ. When we feel like we’ve gotten off track, the Holy Spirit is ready and waiting to work in and through us.