Freedom In Christ (John 8:32; 2 Peter 2:19)

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and 1 Chronicles 12:32. The problem is no longer not enough laws but too many, and of the wrong kind.

  1. Sin has enslaved us.
    • Isa.61:1; John 8:32-36. We are born in sin, born in bondage. Rousseau’s Social Contract: ‘Man is born free, and everywhere he is

Pleasures In Christ (Psalm 16:11; John 15:11)

 

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and 1 Chronicles 12:32. Augustine: ‘A weeping man is better than a happy worm.’ Happiness will not stand on its own two feet. Compare a bitter woman in a wheelchair at last week’s anti-euthanasia rally to Joni Eareckson: ‘I’d rather be in this chair, knowing Him, …

Truth In Christ (John 8:32)

 

  • 2 Cor.10:3-5 and 1 Chron.12:32.
  • 1 Kings 22:8, 13-17. Today, it is often not that people miss the target but that there is no target to miss.
  1. The very concept of truth is denied.
    • Rosaria Butterfield mentioned that Jill’s hands were large, so a student accused Rosaria of hate

Healing from a Distance (John 4:43-54)

Verses 43-45  have  led  to  much  debate.  Bishop  Westcott  says  that  ‘his  own  country’  refers  to  Judea,  but  Ryle  is  probably  right  that  it  refers  to  Nazareth.  Jesus  utters  what  seems  to  have  been  some  kind  of  proverb  (cf.  Matt. 13:57;  Luke 4:24;  Mark 6:4).  This  is  the  second  sign  …

Knowing the Saviour of the World (John 4:39-42)

The  disciples  are  scratching  their  heads,  but  many  Samaritans  come  to  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  Christ.

1.  We  should  always  want  to  know  more  of  Christ.

– 4:28-29,  39-40.  Thomas  Chalmers  called  this  ‘the  expulsive  power  of  a  new  affection’.  The  Samaritan  woman  may  not  know  much  at  this  …

How the Kingdom Grows (John 4:35-38)

Evangelism  is  full  of  missed  opportunities.

1.  Evangelists  are  to  seize  every  opportunity.

– 4:35.  If  this  is  literal,  it  must  have  been  December  or  January,  about  four  months  before  the  normal  spring  harvest.  J.  C.  Ryle  and  Leon  Morris  understand  this  as  a  proverbial  saying  which  means  ‘There  is  …

True Food (John 4:31-34)

By  nature  we  want  God  to  do  our  will;  but  we  can  only  be  satisfied  by  submitting  to  God’s  will.   

1.  Both  believers  and  unbelievers  misunderstood  Jesus.

– 4:31-33.  The  KJV  has  references  to  ‘meat’  but  the  word  has  changed  its  meaning.  It  is  actually  ‘food’.  The  question  in  verse  …

The First Steps to Witnessing (John 4:27-30)

In evangelism, we are told to use our minds – 2 Cor. 10:3-5; 1 Peter 3:15. Here we have ‘How to evangelise when you don’t know much.’

  1. Love sinners.
  • 4:27. One Rabbinic saying is particularly extreme: ‘A man shall not talk with a woman in the street, not even with

Jesus is the Anointed One (John 4:25-26)

Peter Barnes: Jesus is the Anointed One, John 4:25-26 (Sunday 23 August 2020 Evening Service, 6.00 p.m.)

The  woman  clearly  picks  up  the  hint,  and  the  subject  of  the  Messiah  is  raised. 

1.  Hints  of  the  Messiah.

– 4:25-26.  Leon  Morris:  ‘This  appears  to  be  the  woman’s  last  attempt  to  …

How is GOD to be Worshipped (John 4:20-24)

Peter Barnes: How is GOD to be Worshipped, John 4:20-24 (Sunday 16 August 2020 Evening Service, 6.00 p.m.)

‘O for a heart to praise my God / a heart from sin set free’ – Charles Wesley. The Samaritan woman has just been brought face to face with her sins and …