John 10:1-21 When you think of God what comes to mind? You may think of him as Father, Savior, Triune, or any of the other aspects of his character, but one of the most common images for God in the Bible is that of a shepherd. John 10 helps to develop exactly what it means for Jesus to be our shepherd. When Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, he is inserting himself into the slot which God take...  Read More

John 9:1-41 How can there be an all-loving, all-good, all-powerful God; yet such evil and suffering in the world? This is one of the most asked questions from skeptics to Christians. Jesus gives us one particular reason in John 9. The disciples, who had been with Jesus for a while, asked Jesus why a particular man was born blind. The disciples assumed the blind man was either blind because of his ...  Read More

John 8:31-59 When a baby is born everyone tries to decipher whether the child looks more like the mom or the dad. This practice is an understanding that kids look like their parents. This is not meant to be true only of physical features, but in Jesus’ conversation in John 8, it is meant to be true in the way we live. Jesus lays out two ways in which we are to reflect his life in the way we live. ...  Read More

John 8:31-59 When a baby is born everyone tries to decipher whether the child looks more like the mom or the dad. This practice is an understanding that kids look like their parents. This is not meant to be true only of physical features, but in Jesus’ conversation in John 8, it is meant to be true in the way we live. Jesus lays out two ways in which we are to reflect his life in the way we live. ...  Read More

John 8:21-30 Do you have confidence that you have eternal life? If you do, are you walking in a way that reflects and tastes that life now? Or does your life sometimes feel like a slow death? Three times in the ten verses of John 8:21-30 Jesus uses the phrase "die in your sin(s)." Jesus confronts the Pharisees to make clear what is at stake. Either people will die in their sins and have their wick...  Read More

John 8:1-20 In John 8, we see two powerful ways Jesus wants to transform our lives. In the middle of a teaching session, an adulteress woman was thrown at Jesus. The religious leaders quoted the Mosaic Law and told Jesus she deserved death. Jesus agreed with them, but said only a perfect person, and thus a true judge, could enact this judgment. The religious leaders slowly slunk away, and Jesus ev...  Read More

John 7:31-53 Have you ever wanted something to happen but it did not? Or maybe you tried to do something, but only much later did it actually occur? In John 7, we are reminded that God’s timing is often very different from ours. Jesus had made his way into Jerusalem during the Feast, despite it being the hub of hostility against him. He faithfully preached concerning his identity as the Messiah an...  Read More

John 7:1-30 When do you feel like you most clearly hear from God? What do you do to understand what is God’s will versus your own desires? Are you willing to surrender your wants in order to accomplish what God is asking of you? Jesus conducted ministry in northern Israel (Galilee) when his brothers told him to go to Judea to perform miracles for the people to see. Rather than simply listening to ...  Read More

John 6:43-71 “Many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. Jesus proclaimed himself to be the bread of life, and, in doing so, he needed to be consumed. This “hard teaching” caused many to walk away. Jesus continued in John 6 with his lengthy dialogue regarding himself as the bread of life. He proclaimed himself as the only one who ...  Read More

John 6:22-42 What does it take for you to feel satisfied? How much money do you have to have in your bank account, how much sleep do you need, and how much quality time do you need with friends and family to feel content? As Jesus talks with the crowds, he wants them to understand the only source of satisfaction─—it is nothing this world can offer, it is only him. After having been fed by Jesus, t...  Read More

John 6:1-21 Jesus is greater than we can comprehend. He is savior, king, creator, sustainer, miracle worker, and so much more. The crowds followed Jesus because "they saw the signs he had performed." They thought of him as a miracle worker who could solve their problems. Then when they were fed by him, they saw him as someone like Moses, who could feed the nation. This added revelation made them w...  Read More

John 5:24-47 If you only had time to communicate the most important thing about life to someone, what is the central truth you would want to teach them? In John’s gospel he records more conversations of Jesus than the other Gospel writers. From these we can deduce some of the essential things John felt we needed to understand about Jesus, and by extension, the most important things we need to teac...  Read More