The Moody Church Sunday Morning Podcast

Jesus was a force for disruption during his ministry. At Passover he cleared the temple, sent livestock and moneychangers running, and acted like he owned the place. He started baptizing in the Judean countryside, becoming even more popular than John the Baptist. Jesus healed an invalid at pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath, and the religious leaders said you can’t heal on the Sabbath. It drove the religious leaders crazy. They asked, "Who does he think he is!?" In response, Jesus gives his first extended discourse in John 5:18-47. Jesus tells us just who he thinks he is…and holds nothing back. This sermon explores the resume of Jesus—experiences, qualifications, and references—that forms that basis for the extravagant claims of deity that he made during His ministry. Is Jesus really the Messiah, the Son of God? After exploring these claims and Jesus' response, the resounding answer is YES! Our take-aways are two-fold:Jesus is the only one really able to help us. He can, with a word, make us alive again. Jesus is the resurrection and the life that we all need.

If Jesus is for us, we have much to be thankful for. If we have heard Jesus’ word, and believed on his name, we will never face him as a judge. We have passed from death to life, and nothing can ever take that away from us. John 5:18-47 Click here for the sermon Q&A.

If you hang around Jesus long enough, you'll realize that He isn't interested in a popularity contest. He's not a politician, and He doesn't play by their games. It’s one of the things that enraged the religious leaders. No matter how much pressure they put on Him, He wouldn’t back down. In fact, this passage has a shocking ending: “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him…” What pushed them over the edge? These four shocking elements:The intractability of the disease

The controversy of the Sabbath

The superficiality of the healing

The audacity of the Son The intractability of the disease: Jesus comes upon a man with a disease by the pool of Bethesda. The man asks not for healing, but to be brought to the healing pool. And instead of bringing him to the healing, Jesus brings the healing to him. Jesus commands him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” Not only does the man stand, he hoists his bed and walks. Jesus is once more wielding the power of the Messianic Age, because in Jesus the Kingdom of God is at hand. You'd think this was something to be celebrated by the religious leaders, but the opposite happens. The controversy of the Sabbath: The religious leaders' response to the healing of Jesus missed the forest for the trees. In their zeal for obedience to the law of God, they were oblivious to the Son of God in their midst. But what's also shocking is how quickly the man who was healed walked away from Jesus. The superficiality of the healing: What could be worse than decades of misery as an invalid? Sitting feet away from the healing you need, but knowing you’re powerless to reach it on your own? Day after day, having your hopes dashed again and again; what could possibly be worse than that? Just this: if the man's sin runs unchecked, a worse fate awaits. His physical ailments were just the tip of the iceberg. He thought his biggest problem in life was his crippled limbs. But Jesus showed him the deeper problem, the real disease that lies within each of us. Sin cripples our souls, and if it’s not dealt with, it will cripple us for eternity, far from the presence of Jesus, who is the only one who can truly heal us. By calling out this man's sin, Jesus invited him to deal with the deeper disease and illness within. Unfortunately, he wasn’t ready to go receive Jesus' offer. So he closed off, ran away, and turned Jesus in. The audacity of the Son: The religious leaders accused Jesus of working on the Sabbath. Jesus could have responded a number of ways, but He said something shocking: “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” In essence He said that God the Father works on the Sabbath, and so Jesus does too. He said that the exceptions that apply to God also apply to Him. Jesus ultimately claimed the prerogatives of Deity for Himself. Not only was He the Messiah, He was claiming to be the Son of God, with all the rights and privileges thereof. What's our takeaway? Jesus is our Healer, our Sabbath, and our God. The reason so many of us find ourselves sitting by the pool, so close to -- and yet so far away from -- the healing we desperately need, is because we cannot bring ourselves to look to Jesus and in surrender, vulnerability, and desperation say: “I have no one to help me; I can’t get there on my own; would you help me, Jesus?” Jesus has never left that prayer unanswered. John 5:1-18 Click here for the sermon Q&A.

Jesus is always surprising us. He doesn’t fit neatly into our preconceived human categories – He's always challenging our assumptions, realigning our expectations, and defying our limitations. Just when we think we have Him all figured out, He comes along and blows the doors off our limited understanding. That’s one of the ways we know we’re encountering the living and divine Jesus. If Jesus is God in the flesh, He should surprise us. We know we’ve created god in our own image when he begins to look suspiciously like us and when he no longer surprises our souls. But with Jesus, we never have that problem. In this passage from John 4:43-54, Jesus gives us four surprises. 1) Surprising Rebuke: When Jesus enters Galilee, the crowd welcomes Him in an odd way. Then an official asks Jesus to heal his son. Jesus’ response: unless you [plural] see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Jesus is not a circus performer, and the crowd exhibits no real faith or belief. There’s a huge difference between pursuing Jesus to get Him, and pursuing Jesus to get His stuff. The rebuke is a warning about how to approach Jesus in a real way. 2) Surprising Faith: The official understands the rebuke, and exhibits real faith and real honor. He believes Jesus and heads home, expecting to find his son healed. He didn’t believe in just the signs and wonders, he believed and trusted in the words of Jesus. That's a surprising faith that Jesus rewards. 3) Surprising Healing: When the official arrives home, he finds his son healed. Jesus didn’t need to show up in person to heal, because He could heal the boy supernaturally from afar. 4) Surprising Healer: The story teaches us that Jesus is wielding the power of the messianic age. So when Jesus heals, it’s more than just a demonstration of power; it’s a sign pointing to His identity as Messiah come to usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is ultimately exercising authority as the Son of God. He is demonstrating His omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. How should we respond to all of this? Here are our three big takeaways.Jesus is near: No matter where you go, Jesus is near and always with you.

Jesus is wise: He knows everything there is to know about us.

Jesus is able: There is no problem in our lives that Jesus cannot overcome. When we recognize who Jesus is and what He offers us, our response should be to admit our need for Him, believe in His name, and commit our lives to Him. John 4:43-54 Click here for the sermon Q&A.

In this passage, Jesus has a conversation with the woman at the well. She’s a Samaritan woman from nowhere - overlooked, shamed, insignificant, on the margins of society. Most would assume in her time that she’s on the margins of God’s blessings. But as He so often does, Jesus is about to turn those assumptions on their heads. And in a tender and personalized way, He brings the Gospel to this irreligious woman. Through this story, we find three glimpses fo Jesus as the one who ultimately satisfies: 1) Jesus is the seeker of the lost, and we're never beyond His reach. No matter what we’ve done. No matter who we’ve become. No matter what’s been done to us. Jesus loves us and is pursuing us. There’s no barrier he won’t break through, no chasm he won’t cross over, no distance he won’t reach; there’s no place we can wander where Jesus will not pursue us in His love. 2) Jesus is the satisfier of the soul, and we're never beyond his redemption. There’s a connection between satisfaction and worship. Satisfaction is the long drink at the fountain; worship is the “ahh, that's good” that follows. We see in this Samaritan woman a glimpse of ourselves. All have a soul-thirst that only God can satisfy, but we seek to quench it in all the wrong ways. But like the woman at the well, we’ve forsaken the fountain of living waters, and we find ourselves with messy stories and shameful pasts. But Jesus tells us that we're never beyond redemption. 3) Jesus is the savior of the world, and He brings the hope of salvation to all nations. We're never beyond reconciliation with God through what Jesus has done for us. This is the gospel message, and it's available to all people, everywhere. Won't you come to the waters, so that your soul may live? John 4:1-42 Click here to watch the Q&A from the sermon.

Do you know how it feels to be upstaged by someone? John the Baptist knew the feeling. For at time, he was the big shot, the prophetic voice calling out in the wilderness. But then one day Jesus showed up, and people began flocking to Jesus and not to John. And for John that was just fine, because he recognized that Jesus deserved center stage. In this message, we see four reasons why Jesus deserves center stage and why we're better off with Him at the center of our lives. Jesus sees more than we ever could. We get lost in the maze of life; the longer we insist on going our own way, the longer we stay stuck and lost. The sooner we yield to Jesus, the sooner we’ll find our way. And that’s what it means to put Jesus at the center, to let His perspective outrank our own instincts. Jesus deserves center stage by virtue of His position from above. Jesus knows more than we ever could. He is an expert witness, a master of ultimate cosmic reality. His knowledge is comprehensive; His wisdom is supreme; His statements are trustworthy and true. But when we go our own way, do our own thing, or trust our own instincts, we end up learning the hard way. Jesus deserves center stage by virtue of His expertise. We’re better off when He’s at the center because His wisdom is life-giving. Jesus has more than we ever could. He’s infinitely well connected, infinitely well resourced, infinitely able to execute. We are constantly limited by our resources. We amass all we can, but it’s never enough. We give our best, but come up short. We mean well, but fail to execute. We’re always bumping up against our limitations. But what if you put Jesus at the center? What if you could rest, knowing that He was enough for you in every way? Jesus deserves center stage by virtue of His resources, and He shares his infinite inheritance with us and give us the right to become children of God! We’re better off when He’s at the center because whatever Jesus asks the Father freely gives. Jesus fundamentally matters more. He is the most consequential person in the history of the universe. There is a gravitas, a substance, a weightiness to Jesus that we simply do not have. By ourselves, we simply do not have enough mass to stabilize our own orbit. But what if there was another way? The secret to really truly living? We must let our ego die, let go of our control, let ourselves be displaced, and put Jesus at the center. Jesus must increase, we must decrease. John 3:22-36

What does it mean to be born again? Let’s set aside all the cultural clutter of what we think it means and try to hear Jesus afresh. Because as we’ll see, to be born again into this new birth, to be regenerated by God, is at the very heart of why Jesus came. In this passage, we see an existential conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus about the pathway to eternal life. As we explore this concept of New Birth, we’re going to answer six questions: Who needs it? From the most religious and moral to the very least, we all must be born again. If Nicodemus needs to be born again, we all do.

What is it? To be born again is to have a brand-new recreated spiritual life. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that to see the Kingdom, to enter into it, you need this new life. Your resumé won’t get you in. You need to be born again.

Who does it? New birth is the work of the Spirit alone and it is totally beyond our control. Jesus is telling Nicodemus that the one thing you need is the one thing you have no control over. After all, babies don’t give birth to themselves. Someone else does it. Through the pain, agony, and suffering of another a new life is born. We cannot save ourselves; someone else must do it for us.

How does it come? We are born again as we look in faith to Christ alone. You don’t have to run, crawl, or reach out. All you have to do is look to Jesus in faith and you will be saved.

Why do we need it? New birth in Jesus is the only antidote for the venom coursing through our veins. Jesus is saying that everyone has been bitten by the deadly sting of sin, including Nicodemus. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of that sin is death. You see, we usually divide the world into good and bad people. Good people get salvation; bad people get condemnation. Jesus turns this concept upside down by saying that everyone needs to be born again regardless of their works.

What is in the way, and why doesn’t everyone just look to Jesus for salvation? To be born again, the only thing we need is nothing, but it’s the one thing most of us don’t have. Jesus is calling Nicodemus to lay his resumé down, because there's nothing he -- or we! -- can do to save ourselves. We have to look for salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Takeaway: Look to Christ and Christ alone! Your religious resumé cannot save you. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. To watch the Q&A from this sermon, click here.

What is God like? It’s interesting that when God chose to reveal himself most fully, finally – unmistakably – with crystal clarity, He didn’t drop a systematic theology from Heaven, or a lot of core doctrines to memorize. No, that approach is too abstract, too impersonal. Nor did He launch a political campaign, with fundraisers and marketing to get the word out. No, that would be too self-promoting, too pushy. When God wanted to reveal Himself to mankind, He sent his Son Jesus, in a manner of revelation that was inconspicuous and incognito. The refrain was "come and see" who Jesus is, what He is doing, and all that He has to offer. We have to get close, and we will discover who He is over time. In this passage from John 2, we see three glimpses of who Jesus is and how we relate to Him. In the story about Jesus' first miracle, John portrays Jesus as the true and greater Bridegroom whose faithfulness is everlasting and whose wine never runs out. When Jesus cleanses the market in the temple, John is portraying Jesus as the true and greater High Priest whose holiness is unto the Lord and whose zeal enables a worship that is wholly acceptable to Him. Finally, when Jesus foreshadows His death, John is portraying Jesus as the true and greater Temple who embodies God’s presence on earth and who enables access into His Holiness. These three glimpses point to the ultimate reality of who Jesus is and what He has done for us: Jesus substitutes Himself for us in every way. How?Jesus drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath that we might forever drink the joyous cup of God’s salvation.

Jesus took on the shame we deserve that we might receive the honor He deserves.

Jesus was defiled so He might purify us with His blood.

Jesus was destroyed that we might be raised up.

Jesus was alienated from His Father that we might be brought near. All three of these signs point to God's ultimate plan for the redemption of humanity and the final days. Some saw these signs and believed. Do you? John 2:1-25 To watch the Q&A from this sermon, click here.

Neuroscience tells us we’re constantly imitating others. When we observe someone else doing something, our neurons fire a sequence in our brain that is the exact sequence used when we then do the very same action ourselves. In seeing it, our brain experiences it, and then we do it ourselves. We are constantly mirroring what we see, and we tend to mirror each other’s posture. This is especially true of people we admire or see regularly. Whether we realize it or not, we’re all mirroring, patterning, and imitating… we’re all following someone. Or to use the Bible’s language, we’re all disciples of someone. We don’t get to choose if we want to be disciples, we can’t help it, but we do get to choose who we’ll be disciples of. Whoever gets our admiration, attention, affections, that’s who we’ll mirror, pattern, imitate, and follow. In this passage, we glean three reasons why Jesus is someone worth following. 1) Jesus knows life. Jesus’ life is one of wholeness, completeness. He brings together in unity traits we rarely see in combination. In other words, Jesus embodies what it means to be truly, fully human. He knows how to live life, abundant life. And here’s the good news: Jesus offers us apprenticeship in living. 2) Jesus knows us, even better than we know ourselves. Do you realize that Jesus knows you all the way down? Even the part of you that you don’t know? He knows you completely, and loves you utterly. To be known completely and loved utterly is nothing short of transformation. And that's exactly what Jesus offers us, a transformation in our identity. He knows you completely, He loves you utterly, and He forgives you entirely. 3) Jesus know heaven. He is the nexus between heaven and earth. He’s the ladder between heaven and earth. He’s the one who brings heaven down to earth. He’s the way, the truth, and the abundant life. Because Jesus truly knows heaven, He offers us eternity in Himself. Won't you come and see? No one knows life like Jesus, no one knows us like Jesus, and no one knows heaven like Jesus. Jesus will have you as you are. Come and see! John 1:35-51 To watch the Q&A from this sermon, click here.

In this series, we’re asking what it means to find our identity in being loved by Jesus. But before we can know His love we must first know Him. Last week we focused on who Jesus is; this week we focus on why Jesus came. The passage (John 1:19-34) highlights the person and ministry of John the Baptist, who proclaims about Jesus, "This is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit!" The contrast between John and Jesus in this portion of Scripture is clear: John’s baptism is just washing you on the outside, while Jesus will wash you on the inside; John is calling you to turn from self-righteous religion to God, while Jesus calls you from spiritual deadness into eternal life; John urges you to keep the Old Covenant, while Jesus ushers you into the New Covenant. In the story we see this dawning of the New Covenant beautifully portrayed as the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus during His baptism by John. What we were unable to do under the Old Covenant, the Spirit now makes possible under the New Covenant. But how will this deep heart-transforming change take place? How do we enter into this Spirit, into this New Covenant? The New Covenant is realized because Jesus is God’s own Passover Lamb. We are delivered from death because of the blood of a sacrificial Lamb. We are alive because of the blood of the Lamb, who died in our place and for our sake. How does Jesus take away the sin of the world? He doesn’t remove sinners, He removes the sin. In so doing He gives us a new heart and a new Spirit. He accomplishes our redemption by laying His life down for us on the cross, substituting His life in exchange for ours. Takeaway: Jesus alone can do the deep, inner transforming work we most desperately long for. John 1:19-34 To watch the Q&A from this sermon, click here.

Jesus loves me, this I know... What if that’s actually the key to an identity so free, so abundantly full of life, so solid and lasting that all other identities fade into insignificance? For John, his most defining, grounding, and meaningful identity was found in the simple fact that he was and always would be loved by Jesus. In the end, nothing else mattered. All his accomplishments, connections, titles, writings, and even his very life faded in comparison to the blazing reality that he was loved by Jesus. That's the kind of love that changed John forever. What if the secret to finding ourselves is to be deeply and profoundly loved by Jesus? This series is an invitation to, like John, experience the identity-transforming, life-giving love of Jesus; to discover this Jesus who turned John’s world upside-down and right-side-up. We all want to be pursued, wanted, and loved. Do you realize that the God of the universe loves you; He desires you; He rejoices over you; He is reaching out to you and for you. He’d move heaven and earth to be near you. In fact, He already has. He sent his Logos, not in the abstract, but in the flesh. The "Ultimate Cosmic Reality" and "Agent of Divine Life" has taken up residence among us, making glory, grace, and truth accessible to each one of us. Won't you come and see Jesus? John 1:1-18 To listen to the Q&A of this sermon, click here.