The Moody Church Sunday Morning Podcast

In this sermon, we explore Jesus' second "I Am" statement: "I am the light of the world." This important metaphor helps us unpack Jesus' true identity. Light is a theme that runs clear across the pages of Scripture, from very beginning to very end. It’s within this biblical narrative, this arc of light, that we begin to see the brilliance of what Jesus is doing here in John 8. The passage is broken down in three parts: 1) A Dazzling Claim: In the ancient world, light was a much bigger deal than now. Without lights, the darkness wasn’t just inconvenient, it was deadly dangerous. Light equals warmth, protection, guidance, and hope. Light is life. So when Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life, ” He is saying, essentially, “I am life itself.” If you want life – true, real, abundant LIFE – follow Him. Jesus is the new glory cloud blazing the way of life. He presents himself as the light, the fiery glory cloud come to lead the whole world into life, and yet the Pharisees are looking for a way to snuff Him out. Jesus says the reason they can’t see the light is that they’re blinded to both who He is and who the Father is. 2) A Piercing Danger: So, what if you don’t believe in the fiery cloud? What if you’re trying to catch it in a contradiction? What if it’s standing right in front of you and you’re so blinded you can’t even see it? Well then, when it departs, all hope is lost. Jesus proclaims a warning to those who don't want to see Him for who He is: the glory cloud is about to depart, follow while you can. But they again misunderstand Him. So Jesus must clarify for them again that He is the "I AM" of Scripture, and unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins. This is a piercing warning. 3) A Blazing Proof: Whenever Jesus uses this language of being “lifted up” He is always referring to the cross, when He will be lifted up and will draw all people to Himself. And here’s the irony: they, the Pharisees, will be the ones to do it. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM.” (John 8:28) Here, Jesus is saying that His glory will shine in unmistakable radiance when they kill Him. Then His glory will be revealed for all the world to see. What's our takeaway from this message? Bad things grow in the dark. It's time to let the light in.Come to the light

Walk in the light

Share the light John 8:12-30 Click here for sermon Q&A.

Few stories of Jesus are more iconic, gripping, or tender than that of the woman caught in adultery. It’s a story that’s brutally honest, a story of undeniable humanity, a story brimming with redemptive hope, and a story that reveals the forgiveness and love of Jesus in an unforgettable way. In this sermon, we explore three key points. 1) A Clever Trap: The scribes and Pharisees thought they had Jesus cornered in a trap, but Jesus knew that something was amiss. Would He choose to cruelly uphold the law or compassionately break the law? 2) A Brilliant Escape: Jesus didn't take the bait, but instead turned the spotlight of conviction upon the accusers' own sinfulness. Jesus didn't pretend that the woman was innocent, and He didn't deny the Law of Moses, yet He compassionately stood up for her against their corrupt and unjust motives. 3) A Transforming Love: In His response to the woman, Jesus demonstrated six liberating moves.Jesus separated the sin from the sinner.

Jesus called out her sin without condemnation.

Jesus saw her at her worst and loved her anyway.

Jesus loved her exactly as she was, and too much to leave her as she was.

Jesus loved her with both truth and grace.

Jesus loved her into loveliness. Jesus loved her in her unloveliness. And in His love for her, He made her lovely. He loved her into loveliness. But how is this possible? If the wages of sin is death, how can Jesus give life? If the law condemns, how can Jesus accept? If judgment is due, how can mercy triumph? How can Jesus be both just and justifier? Don’t you see? Stones should be thrown, but it was His body that was broken. Judgment should fall, but it would fall across His back. Condemnation should come, but He would carry out the sentence. The wages of sin is death, but it was He who would suffer and die. Takeaways:Have you received Jesus’ love? Admit, believe, and commit.

Are you abiding in Jesus’ love? Rest in it. Abide in it. Root down into it. We can’t change any other way.

How can you extend Jesus’ love? Having received this transforming love (grace and truth), we now are called to extend it to others. John 7:53-8:11 Click here for sermon Q&A.

The most interesting people tend to have both consistency and creativity wedded together. This dynamic pairing is embodied by Jesus. In this sermon, we explore six unexpected glimpses of Jesus' personality:Unexpected Timing (vs. 1–13)Jesus is operating on His Father’s timetable. Jesus arrives precisely when He means to, not a moment too late or too soon.Unexpected Intentions (vs. 14–24)Jesus’ teaching is from His Father.

Jesus’ motive is His Father’s glory.

Jesus’ work is accomplishing His Father’s will.3) Unexpected Origins (vs. 25–29)Jesus comes from the Father.Unexpected Destiny (vs. 30–36)Jesus will return to the Father.Unexpected Offering (vs. 37–39)Jesus offers fulfillment of the Spirit in himself.Unexpected Division (vs. 40–52)Jesus is pushing them to the brink of a decision. Takeaway: What will you do with this Jesus? John 7:1-52 To watch the sermon Q&A, click here.

This week we come to the first of the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus in the Book of John. In each of these analogies, Jesus is revealing to us something profound about himself. In this sermon, we look at Jesus' statement that "I am the bread of life." This logic of this statement is broken down this way: Bread=Life, Jesus=Bread, and so Jesus =Life. He is essentially saying, without me there is no life at all. As we work our way through this passage, we'll see eight (8) insights into this "Life" that Jesus offers us in himself.Life in Jesus is spiritual and eternal (vs. 22–27)

Life in Jesus comes by grace through faith in Christ (vs. 28–35a)

Life in Jesus offers lasting satisfaction (v. 35b)

Life in Jesus is as durable as he is faithful (vs. 36–40)

Life in Jesus requires a divinely transformed heart (vs. 41–46)

Life in Jesus is death-defying and eternal (vs. 47–51)

Life in Jesus is offered in his all-consuming sacrifice (vs. 52–59)

Life in Jesus is humbling (vs. 60–71) These eight points lead us to an important conclusion: life is found in Jesus alone. The only way we receive the fullness of the life of Jesus is when we bring him the emptiness of our ourselves. And that’s why so many people turned aside and no longer followed Jesus: His teaching was too humbling, too invasive, too revealing, too penetrating, and too difficult to swallow. But Peter had it right when he said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Is Jesus your life? Come, look, believe, and live. John 6:22-71

Like all interesting people, Jesus has layers. If we are truly to see Jesus, we need to know all of him. How do we really know Jesus? In this sermon, we'll look at three different layers to Jesus. When we know Jesus, that is ultimately how we know ourselves. Level 1: The Miracle WorkerJesus displays his power in many ways. Not only is Jesus turning water into wine: he is breaking fevers at a distance and reversing decades of infirmity. Jesus commands authority over all creation; He multiplies bread and fish; He walks upon the seas; and even time and space shift under His influence. Jesus is a miracle worker… but he is so much more than that. Level 2: The Coming ProphetThe people who met Jesus realize that He is more than just of miracle worker. Here is a Prophet like Moses, supernaturally empowered by God, speaking the words of God from the Mountain, and providing bread for the children of Israel in the wilderness. And the disciples see these comparisons even more clearly, because Jesus also crosses the sea, and leads his followers to safety. Jesus is the true and greater Moses, the Prophet foretold who will finish the task Moses never got to complete; he will himself bring us into the Land of Promise. The people see Jesus for who He is, and they push for him to be King. But Jesus refuses, because there was another level to who Jesus is. Level 3: The Throneless KingWhy did Jesus refuse the throne? The answer lies in Jesus’ deepest identity and purpose. Jesus refused the throne because it would have short-circuited the cross, and the cross was the reason He came. You see, we need more than a Miracle Worker. We need more than The Coming Prophet. We need The Throneless King. Takeaway: at what level are you embracing Jesus? John 6:1-21 Click here for the sermon Q&A.

Over the five weeks of Advent, we studied God’s Word and looked at the ways that Moses was Holding Out Hope for the coming of Jesus. At Christmas we celebrated the fact that Jesus became flesh to reveal the Father, to become a faithful High Priest, to put away sin and destroy the works of the devil, to give us an example of a holy life, and to confirm and fulfill the promises of God. We've seen Jesus as the Curse Breaker, the Covenant Keeper,  the Law Meditator, and the Sin Atoner. This past Sunday, Pastor Larry McCarthy looked at Jesus as the Promise Fulfiller -- a title that should instill hope. Pastor McCarthy led us through Joshua 1:1-5 and noted four points in this passage that are ultimately fulfilled in the coming of the Messiah: There is a promised inheritance

There is a divinely appointed Leader

There are gifts of grace received by faith

There will be great conflict along the way Joshua 1:1-5

John the Baptist announced Jesus to the world by saying, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." In many ways, this is THE story of the Bible, the one that makes sense of all the other stories, and connects, undergirds, and unifies them. In this sermon spanning seven passages from Genesis to Revelation, we explore how this story resonates across all of Scripture. Seven themes:The Missing Lamb (Genesis 22)

The Passover Lamb (Exodus 12)

The Sacrificial Lambs (Exodus 29)

The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)

The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53)

The Lamb of God – Jesus (John 1)

The Lamb on the Throne (Revelation 5) Scripture is clear: Jesus is "The Sin Atoner." He has secured an eternal redemption. He has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself by means of his own blood. The Takeaway: "It is Finished!" Jesus has done everything to make us right with God through his death and resurrection on our behalf. There is nothing we can add to or subtract from his final, full, finished work. It is done. It is finished. Do you believe that? Sometimes we don’t believe because we think we don’t need forgiveness. We rationalize our relative goodness in relation to others. But we'd be wrong. We all desperately need forgiveness. Sometimes we don’t believe because we think we’re beyond the reach of forgiveness. But God has already seen you at your worst, and He loves you anyway. No one is beyond the reach of forgiveness. Sometimes we don’t believe because we think we’ve worn out God’s forgiveness by doing stupid things over and over again. But remember, Jesus has appeared once-for-all time to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. His atonement covers us past, present, and future. Won’t you believe this? Jesus has done everything to make us right with God through his death and resurrection on our behalf. There is nothing we can add to or subtract from his final, full, finished work. It is done. It is finished! Won’t you behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? Genesis 22, Exodus 12, Exodus 29, Leviticus 16, Isaiah 53, Revelation 5 Click here for the sermon Q&A.

Of all the prophets in all the Old Testament, Moses held the particular distinction of being the Mediator of the Law. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, and he did so with many miraculous signs that God displayed through him. But Moses was held in highest esteem for his role in bringing down from Mt. Sinai the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Moses held the role of Law Mediator until the coming of the one who could truly and perfectly uphold the law—Jesus. In this sermon, we were able to see that Moses was in fact pointing forward to Jesus, the coming Messiah. In the Old Testament, Moses stood as mediator of the law, the go-between from God to man. Moses brought the Israelites God's law, and they were to follow it because they were His people. God's law brought five unique contributions:The law disclosed God's character

The law clarifies the standard

The law reveals our sinfulness

The law provides for atonement

The law guides in righteousness There was a lot of goodness and grace in the law that God mediated through Moses. So throughout Israel’s history, the people looked to Moses as the greatest Prophet they’d ever known. But Moses himself had prophesied: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.” (Deuteronomy 18:15). And so the people waited for the prophesied mediator to arrive. Centuries later, that prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus, who became the New Mediator of the Law. So let’s consider those five contributions of the law and how Jesus fulfills them:Jesus fully discloses God's character

Jesus fully clarifies the standard

Jesus fully reveals our sinfulness

Jesus fully provides atonement

Jesus fully guides in righteousness Jesus is making us into a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. In other words, the New Covenant promises are coming true in Jesus. Takeaway: “The command 'Be ye perfect' is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity Deuteronomy 30:15–20, Matthew 5:17–20 Click here for the Q&A from the sermon.

At the end of John 5, Jesus told the religious leaders that they would be held accountable by Moses for “he wrote of me...But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” So for Advent this year, we’re looking at five ways Moses was Holding Out Hope for Jesus’s arrival. This week we saw Jesus as “The Covenant Keeper,” and we went back 4,000 years to the Ancient Near East where God appeared to a man named Abram and entered into a covenant with him that changed the course of human history. This sermon answered three questions:Who makes the covenant? God is the guarantor of the covenant. These are His pledges, His promises, His guarantees. God takes full responsibility for the fulfillment of these covenant promises.

Who keeps the covenant? Jesus alone is truly worthy of the covenant. It was a covenant guaranteed by God, that must be upheld by a worthy man. Jesus -- fully God and fully man -- is the only one worthy of keeping the covenant. Jesus upholds God’s guarantee, and He fulfills man’s obligation.

Who inherits the covenant? Jesus and those who are “in Him” are beneficiaries of the covenant. We are secure in the covenant love of God forever. Genesis 12, Genesis 15, Galatians 3, Romans 9 Click here for sermon Q&A.

Our spiritual condition is one of being born under the curse of sin. How did that happen, and is there a way out? In this sermon, we explore our spiritual curse and our hope for a cure:The origin of the curse

The effect of the curse

The end of the curse Galatians 3:1-14