JESUS. Back in 2016, we started a
series of sermons on the life of Jesus from the
Gospel of Luke. We titled the series Jesus. (“Jesus
period”). We started that December and didn’t finish
until April 2018. Guess what? We’re doing it again!
Well . . . kinda, just not the Gospel of Luke this
time! Starting in January, we will begin a new
16-month extended series from the Gospel of John.
Why start a series of messages on the fourth-longest
book in the New Testament? There are several
reasons: 1) It is the word of God. We’ll have to
walk where Jesus walked and hear what Jesus wanted
us to hear. No cherry-picking our favorite verses or
favorite topics. We go where he takes us. 2) I have
never preached the Gospel of John. That’s a void I
would like to fill before I die. (Relax. As far as I
know I’m not dying as soon as some may want!) 3)
John knew Jesus like none other. Out of the four
Gospel authors, John was the closest and most
familiar with Christ, even being a part of his inner
circle. John was even described as “the disciple
whom Jesus loved” (13:23; 20:2, 21:7, 20). There is
a flavor of intimate depth in this book unlike any
other and I want to get to know Jesus the way John
did. 4) John is unparalleled in telling stories the
other Gospels chose not to include and, at the same
time, sharing profound doctrinal truths. After all,
the most quoted verse of the Bible is in the Gospel
of John. You know, John 3:16. 5) When I sought
counsel from the elders concerning the direction of
my preaching and my heart for doing another Jesus.
series, they agreed there is no time like the
present.
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As one of them said so gracefully,
“If we ever get tired of Jesus, we have bigger
problems.” 1) Finally, I am hungry for Jesus . . .
period. John deeply wanted to show us the glory of
Christ and my soul hungers for a close up view of my
savior. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son
from the Father” (John 1:14). I need a few things
from you as we take this journey together. First,
pray for me during each week as I dive into the
study of this Gospel allowing it to change me before
I present it to you. Second, pray for our church to
be deeply blessed through this series. And finally,
invite and bring someone else with you to hear about
Jesus. Share our joy for Christ and watch a life
change as we fix our eyes not on the things of this
world, but as we fix our eyes on Jesus . . . period.
Ron Otto, preaching minister at Lincoln Christian
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