The result of miracles often receive tons of "praise", but at the root of each act Jesus performed contains one simple, challenging, word:  "obedience".  Will we be a people who obey Christ because of who He is, or simply because of what He can do for us?  This message unpacks a crucial story from John, Chapter 5, highlighting this challenge by studying the healing of a man who had not walked in 38 years, and exposes the response of the community around him as a perfect example of what "dead religion" looks like.  

It is very easy to allow the results of what God has done to become our celebration and focus, to bring us joy, or even to cause us to marvel at unimportant things.  But ... should they?  As we study in the closing passage of John, Chapter 4, and the response of Jesus to a desperate plea of a Roman nobleman who needed an answer to prayer, our challenge (as was his) is to focus on the One who did the work, and not just the results.  The "star" of this story is not the miracle, but the Lord who has done it!  God bless you.  

Change takes confession, but it is not a matter of having "head knowledge", but inviting us to surrender fully to the calling of Jesus because He is truly, The Messiah!  Pastor TJ Conwell unpacks and challenges us to consider what Jesus is teaching His disciples by asking ourselves IF we will hear the words of Jesus as being relevant to us, right now?  As we consider Jesus's words to the Disciples, we must realize that we are still faced with this same challenge to be submissive to His instruction.    

In our final message of the series, "The Truth About Salvation", and as a powerful examination about where the woman at the well is in her life, we we must also be willing to see ourselves as well.  What Jesus offered this woman is exactly what we have been offered also:  The truth about who Jesus is - and our purpose being to worship the Father in spirit and truth.  It is an honest look (and a setup to the next series) at who Jesus is - so WE could come to Him in the same manner!  The challenge for us is:  Will YOU seek Him?  Will YOU worship Him also? 

When we consider the woman at the well’s responses to Jesus, something happens in all of us that almost feels ... natural.  We either feel pity, or sorrow, or (maybe even) judgment for her … yet … aren't we in the same position today in our sin?  Don't we need the same cleansing water to remove our sin?  The simple answer to that is:  "YES!"  And, this is exactly what we see in the first part of this moving, and important, story which launches an evangelistic outreach that changes a whole town.  

Jesus demonstrated total obedience through His suffering for us so that the one who believes on the Son is granted everlasting life!  This is why and how John the Baptist does not fall into the trap of responding from “ego”, rather, he simply testifies to what is true, and lets it speak for itself!  This is our calling today, and what we must be willing to grow into each and every day.    

While we are alive, we still have an opportunity to know the God who sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us.  It is in that truth that we must be willing to see, recognize, and repent of our sin and come to Him for rescue, for grace, and for salvation.  Tomorrow is not promised, and we cannot afford to wait another minute because today could be our last opportunity to know Him.  

Jesus tells us clearly that His arrival, to come from Heaven, was so that we might be able to defeat the things of wickedness in this world and have true life and redemption with the Father.  Looking to Jesus is what brings true restoration to humanity, and sadly, even an esteemed teacher of Israel (Nicodemus) missed this.  Today, we either believe in what Jesus has done for us, or we deny Him, and that is the easiest choice we may ever face.  The question is, even in 2025, will the world listen and obey to what He has told us? 

Salvation is about far more than fire insurance – however it must start with being reborn; with being devoted to the things OF God because if you've been made new, that is all that should matter TO you!  When a man named Nicodemus (a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin) came to talk to Jesus in secret, what we see is his intent to find out about Jesus contrasted against Jesus's teaching focused on the things that truly mattered.  It is a great lesson for us today, especially if we are seeking to know and live for Christ.  

As Jesus confronted the "false religious" on-goings in the Temple during His first year of ministry, there is a very valuable lesson for the Church today to see and apply.  As we read and study God’s Word - it must change you because IT has not changed!  What we allow, or make excuses for, is a testimony to the way we truly feel about Christ and what He has done for us.  Are we willing to confront sin, cast it out, and live a life devoted to Him?  Or, will we allow our own desires and emotions to lead us into thinking that God is not paying attention and we can live (and sin) however we want?