A WHOLE MAN

38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”  John 18:38  The purple dinosaur named Barney is loved by millions of children, to include my nephews and nieces. They would have been completely devastated had they been alive on July 15, 1997, when the cooling fan inside the sixty-pound dinosaur suit short-circuited and started to smoke. The news at the time carried the story of the accident and how the actor playing Barney was sent to the hospital for smoke inhalation. You can imagine how many children were deeply distressed by this fearing that Barney had been burned, died, or worse, that he was a fake. They had believed that Barney was real and this fantasy of a talking, singing, and dancing purple dinosaur had brought them joy. But a fantasy is a fantasy, and sooner or later the truth comes out. Sooner or later, we all come face to face with the truth. In today’s reading, we find that the religious leaders had brought Jesus to Pilate under false pretenses with hopes of ...

3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”  John 12:3–5  This week marks the beginning of Lent for 2019 and it is a beautiful church tradition that has been celebrated for nearly 2,000 years; originally lasting only as a 2-3 day fast. Generally, it is thought of as a time of self-reflection, fasting, and denial but the reality is that Lent is so much more than that. At Overflow Church, the theme that we are weaving throughout each week is that Lent brings us to repentance and repentance produces renewed and grateful lives (To see this unpacked check out our first sermon in our Lent series: 3/3/2019 Lent Sermon ). During Lent, we are more acutely aw...

“58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him…”  John 8:58–59a  Well that escalated quickly! Why is it that the Pharisees react in such a strong manner, willing to kill Jesus, based on two little words? Well before we get into the reason why, I want to provide a little bit of context as to what is going on. In the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel, we find recorded possibly one of the most interesting encounters between Jesus and the religious leaders. It is unique in that it creates a strong reaction from the religious leaders, but it is also one of the clearest indications of who Jesus is. In fact, throughout this whole conversation Jesus has expressed multiple times who he is. But they reject his testimony (8:13), question his connection with the Father (8:19), and mock Jesus’ eternal home (8:21). But what makes this conversation even more intriguing is that the religious leaders cannot...

40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ…43 So a division occurred among the crowd because of Him.  John 7:40-41a,43 (ESV)  Thus far in our reading through John's Gospel, we have seen some question come up over and over again. A couple of questions include: who is Jesus and what will you do with him? And it really is interesting because John gives the reader the answer to this question at the outset. Jesus is God! And yet, time and time again, we read that many people continue to struggle with the reality that God Incarnate is immanent. That the second person of the Trinity is near to them and is offering eternal life to all who believe in him. The person of Jesus can be very divisive. This is especially the case with the Jews as we have read in the 7th chapter. They did not know what to do with him. Is he the prophet? Or is he the Christ? The truth is that he is both. Th...

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6 (ESV) Adapted excerpt from Overflow Sermon from 2/10/2019 Have you ever wanted something desperately? And not in an idolatrous or covetous manner either. But, with careful balance of contentment and covetousness, you desire something so strong your thoughts are on it and your actions are propelling you to achieve it. For me, I have for a long time been wanting to have a child of my own. Not just because I love kids, but because I want to see the kingdom of God advance in my own family. In John 5, we read of a man who also had a very strong desire. For 38 years, this unnamed beggar had been ailing by crippling disease. This is not something that was psychosomatic or self-prescribed after checking WebMD. No, this man was truly sick. And so, when Jesus approaches this man and asks him if he wants to be made well, the most obvious answer to th...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  John 1:1 (ESV) Sometimes I like to read through the events that have occurred on a single day. For example, yesterday was the Superbowl, but other significant events have occurred in the history of mankind on February the 3rd. For example, in 1789 the 1st electoral college elected George Washington and John Adams as the President and Vice President of the United States. Much later in 2004, Mark Zuckerburg chose that date to launch Facebook from his Harvard dormitory. A lot has changed in America since 2004, and a considerable amount more since 1789. And neither of those two events are without substantial impact to our lives today. The reason being that ideas have consequences. While the Gospel of John had been written nearly 2000 years ago, it still is relevant and timely for our lives. And from the beginning of the Gospel we read a statement that bears significant meaning to every person who ...