I AM the door/gate
"Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth. I AM the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I AM the gate: whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:7-10)
Who is THE authority?
God has the ultimate authority.
Jesus, once again, loud and clear makes it quite clear that He is that authority sent to bring life to sinful man.
When you trust Jesus with your life, you "enter through the door" and you receive admittance into God's family. Those were the 2 main sermon notes from Sunday's sermon:
1) Admittance into God's Family
2) Abundance of God's Eternal Life
When we trust in Christ, we have free access to His pasture. Verse 9 says "He will come in and go out, and find pasture." The greek word in this use of "find" is "Ureka" which means "amazing, surprizing discoveries".
When we come to know Jesus Christ, our souls scream out "Ureka! I've found it!"
When they hear "eternal life" many only think of quantity (long stretch of time) but it is more related with quality. Jesus came to give us "life and to the full". (verse 10)
God does not promise that there will not be hardships but He will give us inner strength and confidence and will allow us to overcome, endure and persevere.
Tim shared the story of Corrie ten Boom. She was considered ugly, never married, lost her home in WWII and tortured in a German concentration camp. Is this the abundant life Jesus promises?! Well, one only need read her books-Full of joy, love and the forgiveness of God. Our pastor shared that her book "The Hiding Place" is 2nd only to the Bible in books that have impacted his life. One example of a strong testimony in her life is "being thankful in all things". How could she thank God for the fleas that swarmed over them within the camps?! Well, "In the evenings, after a hard day's work and a miserable supper, Corrie and Betsie took out the little Dutch Bible. At first a small group gathered round to listen, then more and more women joined them. The guards never came in to stop them, because of the fleas. So Corrie and Betsie thanked God for the fleas!" (You can check out a shorted version of her book at http://www.soon.org.uk/true_stories/holocaust.htm )
After the war, Corrie ten Boom was speaking in Germany about the love of God and afterwards, a previous SS officer who was responsible for her sister's death approached her. He, too, had accepted Christ's forgiveness and he held out his hand to thank her for giving witness to God's love and forgiveness. She cried out to God, "I can't forgive him, Lord. Please help me to forgive." and she miraculously felt her arm lifted up and grabbed his extended hand. Only through the love and forgiveness of God (through Christ on the cross!) can we be enabled to forgive the unforgivable.
Who is THE authority?
God has the ultimate authority.
Jesus, once again, loud and clear makes it quite clear that He is that authority sent to bring life to sinful man.
When you trust Jesus with your life, you "enter through the door" and you receive admittance into God's family. Those were the 2 main sermon notes from Sunday's sermon:
1) Admittance into God's Family
2) Abundance of God's Eternal Life
When we trust in Christ, we have free access to His pasture. Verse 9 says "He will come in and go out, and find pasture." The greek word in this use of "find" is "Ureka" which means "amazing, surprizing discoveries".
When we come to know Jesus Christ, our souls scream out "Ureka! I've found it!"
When they hear "eternal life" many only think of quantity (long stretch of time) but it is more related with quality. Jesus came to give us "life and to the full". (verse 10)
God does not promise that there will not be hardships but He will give us inner strength and confidence and will allow us to overcome, endure and persevere.
Tim shared the story of Corrie ten Boom. She was considered ugly, never married, lost her home in WWII and tortured in a German concentration camp. Is this the abundant life Jesus promises?! Well, one only need read her books-Full of joy, love and the forgiveness of God. Our pastor shared that her book "The Hiding Place" is 2nd only to the Bible in books that have impacted his life. One example of a strong testimony in her life is "being thankful in all things". How could she thank God for the fleas that swarmed over them within the camps?! Well, "In the evenings, after a hard day's work and a miserable supper, Corrie and Betsie took out the little Dutch Bible. At first a small group gathered round to listen, then more and more women joined them. The guards never came in to stop them, because of the fleas. So Corrie and Betsie thanked God for the fleas!" (You can check out a shorted version of her book at http://www.soon.org.uk/true_stories/holocaust.htm )
After the war, Corrie ten Boom was speaking in Germany about the love of God and afterwards, a previous SS officer who was responsible for her sister's death approached her. He, too, had accepted Christ's forgiveness and he held out his hand to thank her for giving witness to God's love and forgiveness. She cried out to God, "I can't forgive him, Lord. Please help me to forgive." and she miraculously felt her arm lifted up and grabbed his extended hand. Only through the love and forgiveness of God (through Christ on the cross!) can we be enabled to forgive the unforgivable.
posted by Andrew Brown at 4:14 PM
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