Scripture: 1 Samuel 24, Matthew 7:20, Numbers 15:37-39, Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35, Leviticus 19:18, Mark 11:25, Luke 6:28, Romans 12:20, Proverbs 25:21-22, Romans 12:21.

Today’s class is entitled, “Revenge” and Pastor will compare worldly wisdom with biblical wisdom on the topic of revenge. 

As we read chapter 24 of 1 Samuel, we read that David is now in en Gedi and Saul has found out and is headed along with 3000 men to en Gedi to find David. En Gedi is a wilderness area but it has several springs and many caves for hiding. As the story continues, Saul went into one of these caves to relieve himself. Unbeknownst to Saul, David and his men were further back into the cave hiding.

David’s men prompted David that this was his chance, his opportunity to put an end to the hiding by killing Saul. But instead David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. This is action is prophetic. The Hebrew word that is used for “corner” is kanaf. It refers the corners of a Hebrew robe or prayer shawl. The scriptures were particular about what was to be on the corners of those robes. Numbers 15:37-39 “…make tassels on the corners of your garments….you will have these tassels to look at… to remember all the commands of the Lord that you may obey them …”  And David cuts off a corner tassel.

The tassel, was to remind Saul to walk in God’s path rather than his own path, to walk in God’s will and not his own will. The tassel was to say pursue peace, be honorable, be faithful, walk by faith. Saul had abandoned those things and when David cut it off it was a prophetic act showing Saul’s wandering from God’s will.

Next we read that David’s conscience convicted him for cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe. He tells his men that he shouldn’t have done that to the Lord’s anointed king, Saul. David’s men encourage revenge but David stands strong saying that it would be contrary to God’s plan and will. David rebukes the men and doesn’t allow them to attack Saul. Instead David exits the cave calling to Saul and bowing down he says, “Why do you listen when they say David is bent on harming you. This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I will not lay my hand on my Lord because you are the Lord’s anointed. See this tassel of your robe in my hand, yet I did not kill you, but you hunt me down to take my life.”

David holds Saul accountable even as he shows the heart and grace of God to Saul. We see that the activities of a person are a window into his heart and if we seek revenge we are going contrary to the heart of God. We can deal with unjust treatment and  still refuse revenge while still holding the individual accountable.

Saul wept at David’s words saying, “You are more righteous than I. You have treated me well but I have treated you badly.”

What does God say about revenge?
        –         Romans 12:19 – revenge is the Lord’s – God is the righteous judge and he will judge in the end

Resisting Revenge
        –         Love your enemy Leviticus 19:18
        –         Forgive your enemy Mark 11:25 (this doesn’t mean we approve of what they have done, it does mean we let go of the bitterness, anger and desire for revenge.)
        –         Pray for your enemy Luke 6:28
        –         Feed your enemy Romans 12:20 as this can draw them into repentance before God.

Pastor ends with Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This is how we are called to act. That’s what we see in David and that is what we see in the heart of God.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 4
Scripture: John 2:1-22, Genesis 1:10 & 12, Isaiah 62:5, Isaiah 25:6-9

Today’s study starts with the story of a wedding at Cana in Galilee and the text opens with “On the third day.”  The first day is Sunday, the second day of the week is Monday and the third day is Tuesday.  The wedding is happening on a Tuesday. Why is the wedding on Tuesday? The answer is because of what we read in Genesis 1:10 and 12 where God declared everything as good, not once but twice on the third day of creation and the rabbis said the third day is an especially good day – what a great day for marriages! So orthodox Jewish people have set their wedding dates on Tuesdays going back to Biblical times.

Mary, Jesus’ mother is at this wedding, too. They are most likely into the 4th or more day of the wedding feast. (They typically lasted a week or longer). And they run out of refreshment and Mary lets Jesus know they have run out of wine. Mary then tells the servants to “do whatever He tells you.”  This is a word for us today – to do what Jesus tells us. We are to listen and obey.

Pastor considers the questions: “Isn’t this a rather frivolous miracle? Why would Jesus for His first miracle make 150 gallons of wine?”  Let’s take a look at this miracle in light of what the Old Testament Scriptures say and what the Jewish people believe: God speaks of Himself as being married to His people. God calls Himself the groom and He gives Himself for His bride (the children of Israel). We reading Isaiah 62:5 “For as a young man marries a young woman, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” And the Bible talks of wedding feast banquets when Messiah comes. Isaiah 25:6-9 begins with: 
“On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
    a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine—
    the best of meats and the finest of wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
    the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
    he will swallow up death forever.”

These are a sample of the verses Jewish people knew and now Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding! This is not a frivolous miracle – this is Jesus saying: “I am the Bridegroom. I am the One who provides everything you need. I am the One who brings in the wedding feast!”  This miracle points to Jesus as the Messiah! It is a dramatic declaration of Jesus’ identity and purpose and going forth Jesus will continually refer to Himself as the Bridegroom and to His people as those who get to be invited to the wedding feast.

Pastor shares other great insight into:
    1.    Why it’s important that the jars where stone and not clay pottery
    2.    The use of the word “signs”
    3.    The 7 miracles shared in the Gospel of John and how they show Jesus’ identity and demonstrate He is the Messiah.
    4.    The recent archeological discoveries that go back to the 1st century.

Next in our text we read the story of the Temple cleansing where Jesus overturns money changing tables at the Temple.  John is the only gospel that has this story at the beginning of Jesus ministry, the other gospels have it at the end of His ministry. Pastor shares the perspective of there being 2 temple cleansing: 1 at the beginning and.another at the end of Jesus’ ministry.

Other interesting points
    ⁃    The temple was to be a house of prayer – not a market place
    ⁃    Money changing was being done where worship was supposed to be happening
    ⁃    Tyrian Stater – 1/2 shekel temple tax
    ⁃    Pastor shares a detailed description of the Temple in Jesus’ day and does a dating of events in conjunction with the building of the temple and Jesus’ ministry
    ⁃    Pastor suggests a book by Jack Finnegan, “Handbook of Biblical Chronology”

Our reading today ends with John 2:20-21 where we read that Jesus knows what is in our hearts. He can see into our very souls. We cannot con Jesus. He is the Living God come to earth and we cannot fool Him.  

Pastor ends today’s class with a look at the Feasts of the Lord celebrated by the Jewish people and how the festivals point us to understanding their connection to who Jesus is: The Fulfillment of each festival.

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 21-22 and Psalm 34.

Today’s class is entitled ,”Crippling Fear.” Crippling Fear describes the kind of fear that can easily cripple us. But Crippling Fear also describes how God can cripple our fear. 
    1.    Fear can easily cripple us
    2.    God can cripple our fear

As our story opens we see Saul trying in every way possible to get rid of David, to kill him through any method he can find. Then Saul shares with Jonathan (his son and David’s best friend) that he is determined to kill David and that he won’t relent. And so David has to flee from Saul and he heads to Gath – Philistine territory. David left behind his position as one of the leaders of the Israelite army, his wife, his best friend, his home, his friends, and more. 

David gets to Gath and is recognized. He had thought he could live there in anonymity, but being recognized, he became fearful.  Not just a little fearful but a lot fearful and so he decides to pretend to be insane in order to protect himself. This man who had been so courageous, is now paralyzed by overwhelming fear.

So then David leaves Gath and goes back into Israelite territory to the caves of Abdullah.  David’s father’s family and his brorhers’ families and others come to the cave with David.  It’s at this time that David writes Psalm 34.

There are four timeless truths in Psalm 34 that tell us how God can conquer our fear, something David knew but needed to be reminded of. And like David, that God conquers our fears is something we need to be reminded of too.

Psalm 34 Truths
    1.     PRAISE GOD (even in the darkest of times)  David didn’t start out this poem with, “Woe, is me.” He started out with, “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.” Praising God is to be our natural response of faith and transforms us from within because when we praise God we are looking to him not to our condition.  It’s looking heavenward versus looking inward.
    2.    GOD DELIVERS – strength is found in God’s inner presence and not in our own strength. It is God alone who delivers us.  As David turns to God in praise he finds God ministering to his very soul, delivering him from fear. David is no longer crippled by fear but sees that God cripples fear!  As we praise God and He delivers us, the Lord Jesus encamps around us. Hi is the One who says, “I’ll never leave you, don’t be afraid, I am with you.”
    3.    FEAR GOD – not in the sense of being afraid of Him – but in holy awe through repentance and in faith and in obedience.  Fear God alone and no one else.
    4.    GOD SAVES – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18  David reminds us that the Lord is close to us. He saves and restores us. He rescues us.

How de we deal with the fear that cripples? The answer is we turn to God who cripples fear. 

We turn to God, praising Him even in the fearful, hard, difficult, dark times. We praise Him because we know He is where we find deliverance from our fear. He conquers our fear. We come to Him in holy awe, in faith, in repentance and in obedience because we know He saves us. He rescues us   IT’S ALL ABOUT GOD!

What will it be in our lives? Are we going to allow fear to cripple us or will we turn to the One who cripples fear for us?  It’s a simple but profound and important choice.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 3
Scripture: John 1:19-51, Malachi 4:5-6, Psalm 105, Daniel 7:13-14.

Today we take a look at John the Baptist, his questioning by religious authorities, the Baptism of Jesus, and meet some of His first followers.

As Pastor begins today’s class we learn about who John the Baptist was and Pastor shares personal photos he has taken in the location where John lived and preached.

John the Baptist is the one who God foretold through Malachi the prophet: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4:5-6  John even dressed like Elijah: leather belt, animal skin clothing, ate locust and wild honey, lived in the wilderness.  John the Baptist was totally devoted to preparing the way for the Messiah. John 1:23 tells us, “John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.'” He knew Messiah was coming!

Pastor lays out a map of the area around the Jordan River, Dead Sea and Bethany where John lived and preached and offered baptism – a cleansing done in anticipation of meeting God – a ritual washing in Judaism that signified a cleaning off of ones sins – repentance. John 1:29-31, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

John the Baptist preaches that the Messiah is coming. And He calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist understands who Jesus is and in verses 32-34 – we read his testimony: “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.””

As we explore Jesus’ baptism – the question is why was Jesus baptized?  Let’s start with why were people receiving John’s baptisms – because they realized they were sinners and needed to repent and the baptism represented the washing off of sin. But Jesus is sinless – why doe He get baptized – because it symbolized His willingness to take on all the sins that had been washed into the river. He goes into the water implying He is willing to take all of our sins onto Himself. And that’s where the road to the cross begins.

In John the Baptist’s testimony says that the Spirit come down and remained on Jesus and He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus is the One who will bring the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 

Pastor shares an overview of the difference between the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit in the New Testament and shows us that we are in the Age of the Spirit. Pastor also shares encouragement for the American church to find its way back to acknowledging the Spirit of God that has been poured out.

As our story continues we see Jesus begin to gather the group that would become His disciples. We meet Andrew, Peter and Nathaniel. Pastor gives some interesting insights to these men.

Pastor summarizes this first chapter of the Gospel of John:  Jesus is the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us, who is the very glory of the Heavenly Father and who is God come to earth.

Join us next week for chapter 2 as we continue to learn about Jesus’ identity, about Judaism, about who Jesus the Messiah is, what He is doing and what that all means. We will look at His first miracle – one that many think is trivial – but as we will learn – it is NOT!  

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 18.

Today we look at the cost of fame, the discouragement of injustice, and we will see what we can learn from David on how to navigate through them.

In our text we read of David’s progression of fame. He was a natural leader, a brilliant tactician, and widely acclaimed for his accomplishments. While David increased in popularity, Saul became very angry and he began to keep his eyes on David.  Saul saw David as a threat to his throne and begins to want David killed, even throwing his own spear at him several times – but David escapes.

David is an honorable man and refuses to retaliate by attacking Saul because he knows that Saul is the currently anointed King. (David has been anointed to be the next king, but he knows God is in charge of that timing so honors God’s current choice of king by not retaliating against him.) 

Saul sends David away on warrior campaigns hoping David might be killed, yet David continues to be successful. With David’s continued success in leading the Israelites so skillfully in battle and his acclaim continuing to grow, Saul becomes afraid of David.

What we see is David’s fame increases as he navigates the perils of fame. How did God enable David to cope, thrive and survive the fame with people and the injustice from Saul?

A look at David’s Character:
    ⁃    David trusted in the Lord above all else. He trusted in the Lord and not in himself, not in his own abilities or his own insights. David did what Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

    ⁃    David was courageous because his courage came from God. David knew what the scriptures say, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

    ⁃    David was patient and did not act rashly or try to take matters into his own hands. He knew he was the Lord’s newly anointed king but he did not usurp that authority. Rather he remained patient in waiting for God’s timing. Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

    ⁃    HOWEVER! David WAS a sinner like all of us. Jesus is our Savior. We are not saved because of anything we’ve done, but rather we are saved because of everything that Jesus has done!! Philippians 5:8 tells us that Jesus, “being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” David is a great hero, but Jesus is our Savior!!

We not only have forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus, but we have the strength to live our lives each day with purpose and with profound impact by relying on Him alone!

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John Week 2
Scripture: John 1:1-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 33;6, Psalm 107:20, Isaiah 55:11, Exodus 40:34, Exodus 33:18.

An Overview of the Gospel of John
    ⁃    Prologue 1:1-18
    ⁃    Jesus’ ministry 1:19 – 11:57
    ⁃    Passion of Christ and resurrection 12:1 – 21:25

Important terms in the Gospel of John (# = number of times it is used in the Gospel of John:
    ⁃    Life: 36
    ⁃    Light: 23
    ⁃    Witness: 47
    ⁃    Believe: 98
    ⁃    World: 78
    ⁃    Truth: 56
    ⁃    Glory: 42
    ⁃    Father: 136
Several of these key words above appear in the prologue.

Prologue (1:1-18)
The prologue begins John 1:1 “In the beginning” which is just how Genesis 1:1 starts “In the beginning.” In Genesis those words introduce creation.  In John those words introduce the new creation – God is doing a new things. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Everything that the Father said through the prophets from the beginning, and what was spoken since the beginning is coming to its fullness and fulfillment in Jesus the Messiah.

John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the word.” The following verses help us understand more about The Word. We read in Psalm 33:6 that “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” God’s WORD is living and active! Psalm 107:20 tells us that the Word rescues from the grave, just as Jesus rescues us from the grave. – “He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.” And then in Isaiah 55:11 we read “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” God’s word accomplishes His plans and purposes. Just as Jesus accomplishes the fulfillment of God’s promises and plans and purposes.  

Everything was created by the Word of Jesus Christ. The Word holds everything together. And Jesus – The Word – was there at the beginning!

John 1:1-3 tells us that the Living God loved us so much that he was willing in a way beyond our ability to understand, willing to become one of us, a real human being but also truly and fully God. He gave Himself up for us all and that’s the way this gospel begins and that’s powerful!

John 1:4-5 reminds us of Genesis 1 where we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. And He said let there be light. And in John we read, “In Him was life and that life was the Light of the World!”

Those who receive Jesus as Messiah become the children of God – adopted by the Creator of the Universe!

Right from the opening of this powerful and amazing book we see who Jesus is – He is the Living God. – He is the Messiah – He is The Word – He is the fulfillment of every promise of God.

John 1:6-14  – Pastor talks about John the Baptist who bares witness to Jesus the Messiah as the Light and shares pictures of the Jordan River at the town of Bethany – the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism.

The Gospel of John is uniquely crafted by the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus and to lead people to faith.  It’s an easy read but filled with depth!

John shares that Jesus wasn’t who was expected and that the people didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah. Jesus came in flesh to dwell (tabernacle) among us as God did with Moses – Exodus 40:34. Side note Jesus is referred to as Emmanuel in the Old Testament and that means God with us! And He is!

John 1:15-18 Law came through Moses – Grace and truth come through Jesus Christ and Jesus is the fulfillment of everything God promised in the Torah.

Jesus is not simply a great teacher or merely a worker of miracles, He is the One who is the Only begotten God.

In the prologue we see who Jesus is and starting next week we will see what this means and how this works!  Join us!

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17-51, Ephesians 6:10, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 1 Corinthians 15:57.

Today’s story is the most familiar, famous and well-known battle in the Old Testament – David and Goliath – but is there still something we can learn from a story we know so well?

This is a battle between Goliath and the Philistines and the Israelite army. Goliath challenges them every day for 40 days: “send a man to battle me, if I kill him you become our slaves and if your man kills me we will become your slaves.”

40 days are significant in the Bible – it is a time of preparation and renewal that at its end brings forth mighty things from God.

On the 41st day of the challenge – David arrives with food for his brothers and others in the army and he learns of Goliath’s challenge. David is in his teens – younger than age 20 and he arrives at a critical moment. He is concerned for God’s honor. Seeing this challenge as a spiritual battle, he speaks bravely.  His brothers ridicule him – yet he says he will take Goliath on. 

To King Saul, David shares stories of past bravery and says the Lord will rescue him from the hand of Goliath. David is Spirit-filled, knows his strength is in God alone, is confident and bold and recognized it is God who saves. David trusts the Lord who delivered him in the past to deliver him again.

So Saul tells David to fight Goliath and he outfits David in his armor but David takes it all off as he’s never worn anything like that before.

Comparisons:
    ⁃    David a young teen and untrained in battle vs Goliath a well trained warrior
    ⁃    David is of small stature vs Goliath who stood at 9 feet 9 inches tall
    ⁃    David is dressed in a shepherd’s simple clothing vs Goliath with a bronze helmet wearing 125 pounds of body armor 
    ⁃    David’s weapons were his shepherd’s staff, a slingshot and 5 smooth stones vs Goliath carrying a 15 pound spear plus a javelin.

And David goes out to meet Goliath and says, ‘you come against us with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the Name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the Armies of Israel and this day the Lord will deliver you into my hands – I will strike you down and cut off your head for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.”

David runs toward Goliath and slings a stone hitting Goliath in the head and Goliath falls down dead.

This is not simply an historic battle record – it is clear insight into what the New Testament describes as spiritual realities.

Spiritual Realities
    ⁃    Spiritual warfare – life is a battle but we know God wins.
    ⁃    Spiritual weapons – we put on the armor of God: prayer, the Name of Jesus, God’s word, daily filling of the Holy Spirit
    ⁃    Spiritual victory – is in Christ Jesus.

From this familiar story we are to learn we are to be familiar with the lessons that
    ⁃    We are in the midst of a battle
    ⁃    The Lord provides strength to triumph through faith in Jesus Christ.

Now What? Learn about God at https://www.awakeusnow.com EVERYTHING we offer is FREE.

Check out this video series from our website: https://www.awakeusnow.com/david-and-gods-heart

Join us Sundays 
https://www.awakeusnow.com/sunday-service

Watch via our app. Text HELLO to 888-364-4483 to download our app.

Check out this episode!

The Gospel of John – Week 1
Scripture: An overview of John chapters 1-21.

The Gospel of John is different than the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Gospel of John is unique as 90% of what is written in this gospel is found nowhere else. And John gives us a unique view of Jesus, too.

Pastor Dodge shares with us who John was, and the evidence around John being the author of this book.  John was considered Jesus’ best friend and one of Jesus’ inner circle.  Also, John and Peter often worked together in their mission work.

It is thought that The Gospel of John was primarily the gospel story written for gentiles. However, this view changed after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Pastor shares the interesting story of the young boy, tending his sheep, who discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls in Quman Cave 4 around 1946-47 on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained copies of the Hebrew Scriptures. After there discovery, the Gospel of John was seen as a book that speaks to all, but was written to let the Jewish people know the Messiah has come.

Pastor shares that recent archaeological evidence points to the accuracy of the Gospel of John and shares several examples.

Simple Outline of John:
    ⁃    Prologue 1:1-18
    ⁃    Jesus’ ministry 1:19-11:57
    ⁃    Passion of Christ and Resurrection 12:1-21:25

From the opening verses of this gospel it is clear it is special. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John 1:1-5

This book is all about God’s love for us, about Jesus’ identity, who He is and written in a way that proves Jesus is who He says He is.  John shows Jesus as being the One who fulfills everything that God promised to His people. We see John’s purpose in the end of chapter 20, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31.  

John ends his gospel with, “This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:24-25. Jesus did so much that if we wrote down everything the world itself couldn’t contain the volumes!

Next week we will dive head long into the Gospel of John and move from this broad view to a verse by verse study of the book!

Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com

Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper

Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01

    ⁃    The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. 
    ⁃    The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible.  Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

Check out this episode!