John 7:1-52
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Feast of Tabernacles No audio available this week
John 7:1-52
You probably won’t be surprised to discover that there’s a link between this chapter and the previous one. Last week we saw how some people find it hard to believe in Jesus, because faith is a spiritual activity and they’re basically materialists, or because they don’t accept the possibility of supernatural forces in our world, or because the idea of Jesus the Son of God dying on our behalf is too hard to believe.
Well this week we continue to think about the question of belief or unbelief.
Here we find a series of people who observe Jesus’ behaviour, who speak with him or listen to him and who apply their own standards of judgement to him and get differing answers to the question “who is Jesus?”.
John 6:22-71
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Jesus The Bread of Life audio (4MB)
John 6:22-71
You may have noticed that there’s been a significant revival of Atheism over the past few years. More and more people have begun to question the validity of the claims of religions, particularly Christianity, of a supernatural power being at work in the world. It’s like carbon in the atmosphere. If you can’t see it, it can’t be there. Or so they say. Certainly the claims of Christianity that Jesus was God’s own son, born in human flesh; that Jesus died then came back to life; that he could walk through locked doors; they must surely be the inventions of his followers after the fact.
Yet we Christians firmly believe that what we read in God’s word is true. We have a deep inner conviction that the Christian message is the truth. So why is that? Are we so simple that we’ll believe anything? Well no, most Christians are reasonably intelligent, rational, thinking people.
So why is it that some people believe and some don’?
I think that’s a question that Jesus addresses here in John chapter 6.
John 6:1-21
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- Written by: George Hemmings
Bread for Life audio (7MB)
John 6:1-21
I want to start this morning with a quick quiz. What do these signs mean? The first is easy. What about this one? Easy again. The great thing about signs is that they’re universal. No matter where you are you know what this sign is telling you. Signs are all around us. They help direct us, they tell us where to go, or what to do. They communicate important things quickly, like be careful, this is hot and if you touch it you’ll get burnt. Or this floor is very wet and you might slip over! It’s important that we pay attention to signs because they often tell us what we need to know.
John’s gospel is full of signs. Not signs on posts, but rather in the form of Jesus’ actions, and words. John doesn’t use the language of miracles, or wonders, because he wants us to understand that these things point beyond themselves. They’re signs of God’s kingdom. It’s just as important that we pay attention to them, and that we understand them properly.
John 4:1-42
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
The Woman at the Well audio (7MB)
John 4:1-42
If you were here last week you may remember how John saw his main role as telling people about Jesus. You may also remember that that task of proclaiming Jesus is also our task. Well today we move on to the next episode in John’s account of Jesus’ ministry. Here we find Jesus’ providing a great model for sharing the gospel. We find Jesus taking every opportunity to bring people to a knowledge of the truth which is found in him, and then we see the woman herself becoming a witness to Christ. And we finish with a reminder that the task of evangelism is ongoing.
Jesus has decided to return to Galilee. The most direct route to Galilee passed through the region of Samaria, so that’s the way they went. We’re told they came to the town of Sychar where Jacob’s well was, and still is. It was the sixth hour, that is midday, and being tired from the journey, Jesus sat down to rest while his disciples went into the town to buy some lunch.
Just then a Samaritan woman comes to the well to draw water. Now this is strange. No-one goes out in the heat of the day to draw water. That’s a job for the morning or evening when it’s cool. So why would this woman come now? Maybe, as we’ll see later, because she’s a social outcast. She comes now so she won’t have to bear the looks and comments of the other women from the town.
John 3:22-36
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- Written by: Michael Prabaharabn
A reflection on John 3:22-36. audio
John 3:22-36
John and Jack started a painting business in the mid eighties. While initially things went well, they hit a difficult patch in business and decided to comprise on quality to keep profits up. They did this by thinning down the paint. Jack had no idea that John was being troubled by this until one day he turned up to work and said I can’t do this anymore. Why asked Jack. John replied last night an angel appeared in my dream and said “Repaint you thinner... and thin no more!”
Repentance as you know is a change of heart, mind and behaviour. A realisation that things need to change and the steps you take to make those changes. In the last month or so people have been sharing some interesting changes in their lives.
A work colleague has been on the email warning us of the dangers he’s discovered about modern supermarket food and promoting the many reasons why we really do need to go back to organic food and why the extra expense is really worth it in the long run.
Another colleague was espousing to me the benefits of a carbohydrate free diet and how it made him feel and look years younger than his age. And I must say he did look far younger than his age.
John 3:1-21 A Visitor in the Night
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- Written by: George Hemmings
A Visitor in the Night audio (6.5MB)
John 3:1-21
Darkness had fallen on the city. The store holders and vendors who were vocal during the day had long since packed up their wares. The crowds that had filled the streets had all filtered back to their homes. People were enjoying the cool of the night, sharing time with family and friends. There was hardly a soul out. But there’s one figure, making his way through the city. He’s finely dressed, so he must be someone important. But it’s unusual to find someone like him hurrying about town so late at night. He’s not skulking in the shadows, but he’s not going out of his way to be seen either. As he stops at a doorway he looks around, to make sure no one can see just which house he’s about to enter, and then he knocks and waits anxiously to be let in.
John 2:12-25
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- Written by: Naomi Gebert
Cleansing the Temple audio
Two weeks ago, we looked at John’s account of Jesus at a wedding in Cana. And now this week, he’s travelling on to Jerusalem for the Passover. But before we look any further, please pray with me.
I have a riddle for you. Why is a metcard like an Old Testament temple? What do the two things have in common? They both represent old systems.They were both used for a certain purpose, but now the method has changed and they've been replaced by a new system. So, given that the Old Testament temple, much like a metcard, is no longer in use,
it seems like it wouldn’t matter that much to us what Jesus said in John’s account that Sophia just read. We don’t worship in a temple anymore, we don’t make animal sacrifices to God anymore. But I can tell you, Jesus’ words to these 1st century believers relate directly to our lives as God’s people.
