Picking up where we left off in John chapter 9, Jesus healed a man born blind, and the Pharisees questioned the healing. It didn’t help that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. Read John 9:35-38. The Pharisees forcefully cast the man out of their presence.1 They refused to acknowledge…
Two ideas stand out in this passage. John wrote several words to describe people speaking. We saw an earlier theme of conversations within Jesus’ ministry. Related, John also included a couple different terms to convey the thought of understanding, perception beyond what people see and know on the surface. This…
When I studied words in this passage, the word “speak” and its different forms stood out. John’s record allows us to listen in on a real-time conversation Jesus had with an individual and her acquaintances. John used five different words that relate to speaking, and one word he used four…
This week, we see God at work in one individual’s life, even as John’s narrative sets the stage for future opposition in response to Jesus’ invitation to all. Read John 4:1-9. John clarified Jesus was not baptizing—only his disciples. The Pharisees heard Jesus was gaining popularity, which sets the stage…
Even though January feels like the longest month, it offers encouragement. When I read the time and date site1 for our area, we’ve gained 15 minutes of daylight since I posted last week. With sun instead of clouds, it feels like much more. Enough time has passed since the holidays…
The Word was God. This year, I spent Christmas Eve with my son and his family. His wife’s friend, an unbeliever, joined us for dinner after church, although she didn’t attend service with us. She led the conversation by asking kindly about the service. Then she wanted to know the…
In this world of imperfect people, perhaps you need a fresh outpouring of love this day. A little afterglow to Christmas. This weekly Thursday blog post falls today, the day after Christmas. God’s Christmas gift to all of us is the fourth advent candle: love. Because we have the first…