John 13-17 is one event. Remember that reading chapter by chapter doesn’t always help us out. John 16 intends to focus on on eternal things and not the things of the world. Jesus shows us what love looks like in John 13. He then tells us that our future in secure in Him in John 14. John 15 reminded us that we must remain in Him to hope we can do anything for God’s glory. Yet the world won’t like us.

John 16 tells us how we will persevere even after He leaves (which has been the past 1980 years or so). He will send the Spirit to help us out! The Spirit will convict and lead us to do the will of God. The Holy Spirit helps us to remain in Jesus and then gives us hope to face the challenge of being the church in today’s world.

Finally, Jesus tells us that He has overcome the world and will give us all we need to take heart and handle all that comes our way. Many say that “God will never give us more than we can handle.” This simply isn’t true. This life is too much to handle all the time. But if we remain in Him and let His Spirit lead us – we have what we need! He has overcome the world. Things won’t always be easy. Often this life is going to try to crush us. However, Jesus was crushed and won all victories. We can claim these and eagerly await Him to return.

We talked this passage through as a small group a few weeks ago. There are a few things to definitely notice concerning John 15.

First, note that Jesus is the source of all life, power and strength. We can do nothing apart from Him! He makes a number of statements like this throughout His ministry and this is verified by Paul’s experience (Ph 4:13). However, we sometimes treat this concept in this manner – “through Christ I can do anything – even be in the NBA!” as if Jesus will change our future in the way that suits us. I am not capable of being in the NBA. I am slow. I can’t jump. I can’t keep up with the other players. Jesus’ plan for my life is not to have me in the NBA. I am better used elsewhere – but only with His power as the source of what I am doing! I am a pastor, but I am nothing without Him!

Second, so I abide/remain/dwell in Him. I rest in Him and His promises for me and who I am in Him. I talk to Him. I read about Him. I am eager to see Him face to face. Are you?

Third, we often focus on the scary part – being thrown in the fire. We dwell on the concept as if to say, “am I doing enough?” But this misses the point! We never could do enough! Jesus is enough – so we dwell in Him and trust in Him. Otherwise we are useless to God’s plan and purposes. He then works in spite of us. I don’t want that!

Finally, realize that living this way leads to trouble. The world doesn’t like Jesus. It pushes against His teaching and ways. Don’t get too comfortable. Following Jesus often means that we are hated by the world. Stay focused and remember where you get your strength!

So much here! Many of us know and focus on verse 6, but consider v1-5! Jesus is preparing a place for us, one that we will join Him in one day! There is space for us!

Following chapter 13, we see what Love looks like – following Jesus’ commands! He shows His love for us by being a servant and dying for us, we show Him love by dying to Him and putting Him first.

Also, He promises us a helper who will come and help us to accomplish this. The Spirit will convict and lead us to do His will. We follow Him because He is worthy and follow Him only in His power and by His Spirit!

In this seminar, the big idea is that pornography is pervasive, not victimless and a choice made by many before our brains make good decisions. Here’s a quick recap of each point and then links to some resources:

Pervasive – meaning it’s very accessible and everywhere

25% of all searches and 12% of all websites are porn related. Average age of exposure is 11 years old (was 12 a couple years ago). 67% of young men and 49% of young women believe it is a worthy form of sexual expression.

Not Victimless – most believe they aren’t hurting anyone

56% of all divorces cite porn as a reason. 4.5 million people are enslaved yearly in sex slavery. There is a connection to not only some porn being made by those enslaved, but that the industry itself is financing some realms of the sex trade. Consuming porn makes it more likely that you divorce and more likely to have decreased performance. Drugs are consumed more often than not before scenes are filmed (79% marijuana, 50% ecstasy) and scenes are often physically (88%) or verbally (49%) abusive. People are being hurt in making it, you are being hurt by consuming it. In fact, the brain itself is being rewired, as is being documented more and more (check fightthenewdrug.org for more).

Choice – we are hooked, but it doesn’t start that way

Brain development leads us to understand the consequences of our choices/actions between 18-22 years old. This is why teenagers do such stupid things! Sorry, had to say it. If the average age of exposure is 11, that means we are getting exposed and hooked before we understand the weight of what we are messing with!

The beautiful thing about Jesus is that He can restore/fix all things! Even if you feel “hooked,” there are ways to get unhooked! He loves you (so do we!), there is hope and it is never too late.

Some ideas to get started in seeking help:

Memorize scripture: Job 31:1, Psalm 119:11, Psalm 101:3, Matthew 5:28, 1 Corinthians 6:13, 2 Timothy 2:22 are good places to start.
Check out xxxchurch.com, covenanteyes.com or fightthenewdrug.org
Books that might help: Hooked, Redemption, Fallen, Every Young Man’s Battle, Every Young Woman’s Battle
Tell someone you trust and start letting them keep you accountable!

Some simple truths that we need to share with our friends.

God is real.

He created everything. It was good.

We destroyed all semblance of good.

God gave us the law to show us sin.

God promised a Messiah.

Jesus, our promised Messiah, fulfilled the law and freed us from the curse.

Our worship is a response to good news.

He is returning and will restore all.

This boiled down gospel presentation has a purpose. First, God is real is a very basic concept that is not naturally accepted by many of our friends. Even some of our church-going friends don’t believe this. We must start there. If He is real, who He is and what He does is important – He is the source of good and the creator of all. That is huge! We are not good and not creator. We destroy things – and we did that to God’s creation. We still do that. God loves us enough to show us the way – which He did in the law. Part of the law is the promise of one who would fulfill the law, be the king we need and provide access to the Father. Jesus is that Messiah! Not Buddha, Mohammed or any other Messiah-type history has thrown at us! Jesus is the one! Now that He freed us from the curse, we worship God in response. You and I may be perceived by others as a “good” person, but us being “good” is a response to God’s goodness. Being good doesn’t save us – Jesus does! We are following Jesus. He leads us to do good things. But good things don’t save us. He is coming back and when that happens, all will be made good! In the meantime, we wait eagerly. We also serve Him and join Him on mission to accomplish His purposes so that many more may hear about Him. It also means that things right now are not as they should be. We can’t expect them to be either. This world is broken and is not yet restored.

So, how does this play out? Here’s one scenario: A young lady, being pressured by her church-going boyfriend to have sex comes to talk to you and sort it all out.

Is God real? She thinks He is, she’s just confused because she “knows” the church has thoughts about sex and that the church is against it. However, she doesn’t see a passage that says a boyfriend and girlfriend can’t have sex. She believes He’s real, but is confused.

He created everything. It was good. Does she believe this? She’s not sure about “everything” and can’t figure out why sex is such a problem for Christians. This must be a place to hover. Spend time explaining God’s plan for relationships and physical intimacy. He loves the covenant of marriage and is fully in favor of physical intimacy – with the right guidelines! Hover until she is willing to at least give this a chance.

Here’s the sticking point – we break things! God is good, we are not. We take something beautiful and taint it until it hurts. We’ve done this with relationships and sex. This should be no surprise. We’ve done it in EVERY. OTHER. THING. God gave us!

Jesus made things right. Christian boys pressuring their girlfriends aren’t getting the Gospel. Jesus saved us – now we respond with worship (one aspect is waiting until marriage). If they’ve sinned and already are active – Jesus restores and fixes all things. One day He will do this for all! At the moment, it is done little by little.

I have met with many couples who have stopped being active sexually and have chosen to “start over” and worship God with their lives, minds and bodies. Praise Him, but this simple understanding of the Gospel can lead us to having better thoughts, better help and better plans for the future.

The great thing about this seminar was to hear from all involved and then boil down a better definition of leadership. I appreciate any interaction, so add your thoughts in the comments if you wish!

The list of attributes that those in the seminar gave and we kept are as follows: role model, friend, mentor, servant, brave, counselor, decision-maker, guide, peaceful, influencer, teacher, example, consistent, gracious, sacrifices for others, trustworthy, humble, flexible and approachable. I think this is a great list to start with and shows us what type of leader the world needs today!

We defined leadership as being best approached as a servant-leader and then defined dynamic leadership as “transformational leadership” which had four main tenets: A transformational leaders is 1) capable of creating and executing a vision of the future, 2) capable of inspiring others to join in that vision (30 second boiled down version!), 3) hopeful and able to develop members of the team (pass the baton!) and 4) able to see “the problem behind the problem.” This means that a true leader is interested in leading while making others better, stronger and helping them succeed. This is done while casting vision and highlighting the real issues, not the issues everyone else assumes are the “real” ones. Perhaps more on this will be written on by me some day.

The key to becoming this leader is hard, but simple, and we highlighted 4 keys:
1) Follow the Leader (Jesus!!!!)
2) Learn and Grow (keep reading and shadowing good leaders to grow)
3) Lead Home (if you aren’t leading well at home, you aren’t leading)
4) Redefine the List (take assumptions of what good leadership is, test them and try them)

We redefined the list you all gave and the second paragraph is what we landed on. Remember, just because many consider someone a “great leader,” doesn’t mean that they are a transformational leader. Aim to be a transformational leader!

Lastly, a request was given for some good books or resources on leadership. Here is a start:
Summoned to Lead
Public Faith in Action
Multiplying Missional Leaders
A God-sized Vision
Good to Great and the Social Sectors

These are just a few that I’ve found helpful (and different than most lists you will find!). I have read much by Bill Hybels, John Maxwell and Andy Stanley. Those are just authors on most church folks lists – the above list is a little outside the norm.

What a great conference! Seventh Hour did a great job again of leading worship. I thought Zane Black did a solid job of calling us to consider whether Jesus was our source of life or not. The students all seemed to be seeking God! It was a good weekend!

The following few posts are going to highlight some aspects of the seminars I led on Saturday afternoon. The first, a look at leadership, is going to give some of the final thoughts that we settled on. The second, Everyday Theology, is going to give the basics as shown in the seminar and give a practical example or two of how to apply it. The final, The Reality of Pornography, is going to put some of the information shared in the seminar and then provide some helpful links for those that are interested.

If you are following the blog for our reading through the New Testament – that will continue this afternoon and evening as I get time to “catch up!” Thanks for being patient!

Verse 34 sets up all of John 13-17 (and really how God feels about us in general/our right response to Him). Just as Jesus loved, so we are to love one another. We aren’t just doing whatever we want however we want. We have been extravagantly loved to extravagantly love others.

Jesus washing feet shows this. He takes on the role of a servant and serves to show His love. Do you do this?

He shows this love by coming to earth in the first place (John 3:16). He loves us, He left eternity to enter time/space/matter/human flesh to show us the extant of His love. What a good God! What does this mean to you?

It has meant the world to me!

Notice that Jesus didn’t come to judge, but His words themselves judge! By Him just speaking (the Word), we realize that we are missing something. We are blessed, though, as Jesus Himself is the answer to that judgment! He gives us His righteousness and calls us to follow Him! We have access!

Also note the times that the Father speaks and many are able to hear! It happened at the baptism, transfiguration, now here in John 12. These are terrific signs to experience! How could you not believe?

Also, note that John alone points out the fact that many Greeks come to see Jesus after the triumphal entry. Jesus has a wide reach even before His death and resurrection.

Sorry for the blog break over the holidays! I’ll catch up over the next couple days. Hope you had a Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!!

Jesus then shows that His sheep know His voice – as even the dead respond to it!

The sisters are both upset and Jesus weeps. Why does He weep? Here’s a few options I’ve heard people say: 1) He is moved by death and the condition of the world. 2) He is feeling the emotions of everyone and succumbs as well Himself. 3) He feels misunderstood and wonders if they will ever get it. 4) He wishes they would just believe. 5) He is just pandering to their emotions to “fit in.”

I’m sure there are more reasons out there, but these are the ones I’ve heard.

Let’s review context. John tells us that Jesus is teaching in John 10 that the sheep know His voice. The sisters know their brother will rise at the resurrection of the dead (last days). Jesus is surrounded by people that are saying, “surely had he been here, Lazarus would not have died.” Lastly, Jesus is capable of ANYTHING! Faith in Him means stepping aside and letting Him write your story through you. Are you doing that?

So Martha knows Jesus can do anything – and tries to define it her way.

Mary is overwhelmed and says that Jesus could have saved Lazarus. She then weeps.

The people all around are talking and defining Jesus their way.

Jesus wept.

I think He weeps because we don’t always get it. I think He weeps because sin is real and it’s consequences are palpable. I think He weeps because He feels all we feel and relates to us. I think He weeps because this amazing world He created is but a shadow of what it is supposed to be. I think it is at least all of this, perhaps more.

Lazarus being dead for 4 days means he’s really dead. Not mostly dead, but dead. Jesus brings Him back.

He deserves all the praise!

He’s God.

He reaches out to us.

He loves deeply.