Book: John

What are you most passionate about? If someone were to ask you about yourself, with what would you identify? Would it be the Church of Jesus Christ? Or is it some other organization or identity group which lays claim to your passions and desires? Everyone we meet falls into one of two categories – with Christ, or without Christ. May God fan that flame to burn within our hearts and stir us on to love our neighbor by sharing the Gospel!

God’s ultimate will is not for our earthly well-being, but for our eternal well-being. The Lord is not building for us a mansion here on earth, but a temple for us to enter in that heavenly City. As we grow in salvation – through searching the Scriptures, through desiring the spiritual milk of God’s word, and asking for help in Jesus’ name – our desires will inevitably look more like God’s desires; our joy will multiply; and we will steadfastly endure any trials as we follow in the steps of His Son Jesus Christ.

Who doesn’t want the abundant life? Know that this is what Jesus offers us in the breaking of bread and the prayers. May God grant that when we hear His Son’s voice, calling us each by name, that we may know him, and follow where he leads.

Today is not ultimately about Thomas, it is about all of us. Thomas is the one who reminds us that the eyes of faith are far superior to the eyes of sight. The trials we face today are many. The doubts that we have are many. But Jesus comes to meet us in the middle of it all. May we always possess the eyes of faith to view our trials through the lens of the Resurrection.

Jesus’ final words were: “It is finished.” What was finished, then? It was his Father’s work, to lay down his life, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. It is finished. Christ died for you. Christ died for me. May we ponder those words in our hearts as we enter the glory of Easter.

If Jesus is not the resurrection and the life, then Christianity is meaningless, foolish, and inconsequential. But if Jesus is who he says he is, then your answer to this question is of eternal importance. Not only that, but if we don’t answer this question with full, blessed assurance, then Holy Week next week will be robbed of any real meaning for us.

We may not be able to see all which God is doing to redeem our present difficulties, but we can see His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, standing before us, ready to sustain us, and asking, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” May we respond like the man born blind, saying, “Lord, I believe.”

The temptation in our hearts is always to worship things, places, and circumstances. The Israelites in Exodus 17 were preoccupied with things and circumstances. The Samaritan woman worshiped the place of Jacob’s well, and not the living God. The Israelites asked, “Is the LORD with us here?” The Samaritan woman asked Jesus, “Is the LORD with us anywhere else?” Just as Jesus challenged the woman, he challenges us daily to examine ourselves for anything which impedes our true worship of him.

By His Resurrection, Jesus overcame death, and opened up to all Believers the Way to eternal life. In this sermon, the Rev. Galloway examines the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds to remind us of the supreme importance of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!