Yesterday I preached John 21:24-25, the last two verses of the Gospel of John. I spent over 5 years preaching though 21 chapters and over 800 verses. This is the first Gospel I have preached in my 12 years at Cornerstone Fellowship.
The Gospel of John is not considered to be like Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those other three are considered more biographical. Critics say that John’s Gospel is out of order and fantastical in its presentation. It is, in fact, different than the other three, but it is not out of order and nothing in that book is fantasy, although it may be fantastic.
John begins with Jesus in eternity. The other Gospels start with Jesus in a manger. They contain stories of shepherds and Wise Men and visits by angels and other things most would associate with the “Christmas Story.” In verse 1 of chapter 1, John declares that Jesus is God and eternal. He then takes us into John the Baptist and into the life of Jesus.
John wrote a different Gospel than Luke because they had different goals. Luke’s Gospel was trying to get the fact, and nothing but the facts. He interviewed and spoke to many people in his research. John wanted to give a document that when read, would give enough information for people to make the choice to believe the story of Jesus and to be saved. This purpose is stated in John 20:30-31. John’s gospel is the only Bible book that gives a purpose for its writing.
John picked seven miracles or signs to point out truth about Jesus. John includes the seven I AM statements to show that Jesus Christ is God, for only God can say I AM like that. John is the only Gospel which details the restoration of Peter, showing that God’s love, through Christ, transcends all our sin.
Because of the format and contents of the Gospel of John, it is considered and evangelistic tract. Many churches will provide pocket version of the Gospel of John with the plan of salvation at the back. The thought is, if people read it with an open heart, they will become saved.
2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us that our sanctification is directly related to beholding the glory of Christ. Studying and preaching through a Gospel can be a highly sanctifying event for a church. Those in my congregation who stuck with me through this time have a greater degree of sanctification than they had at the beginning. This is what the Bible says. We may not see it or understand it, but that is why I preached through the Gospel of John.
Looking forward, I see that God is leading me to preach through the Pslams. The Pslams are God’s Sacred Songbook. They reveal the heart of God. A church that studies the Pslams will know the depths of God’s heart for humanity.
The Gospel of John is not considered to be like Matthew, Mark and Luke. Those other three are considered more biographical. Critics say that John’s Gospel is out of order and fantastical in its presentation. It is, in fact, different than the other three, but it is not out of order and nothing in that book is fantasy, although it may be fantastic.
John begins with Jesus in eternity. The other Gospels start with Jesus in a manger. They contain stories of shepherds and Wise Men and visits by angels and other things most would associate with the “Christmas Story.” In verse 1 of chapter 1, John declares that Jesus is God and eternal. He then takes us into John the Baptist and into the life of Jesus. John wrote a different Gospel than Luke because they had different goals. Luke’s Gospel was trying to get the fact, and nothing but the facts. He interviewed and spoke to many people in his research. John wanted to give a document that when read, would give enough information for people to make the choice to believe the story of Jesus and to be saved. This purpose is stated in John 20:30-31. John’s gospel is the only Bible book that gives a purpose for its writing.
John picked seven miracles or signs to point out truth about Jesus. John includes the seven I AM statements to show that Jesus Christ is God, for only God can say I AM like that. John is the only Gospel which details the restoration of Peter, showing that God’s love, through Christ, transcends all our sin.
Because of the format and contents of the Gospel of John, it is considered and evangelistic tract. Many churches will provide pocket version of the Gospel of John with the plan of salvation at the back. The thought is, if people read it with an open heart, they will become saved.
2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us that our sanctification is directly related to beholding the glory of Christ. Studying and preaching through a Gospel can be a highly sanctifying event for a church. Those in my congregation who stuck with me through this time have a greater degree of sanctification than they had at the beginning. This is what the Bible says. We may not see it or understand it, but that is why I preached through the Gospel of John.
Looking forward, I see that God is leading me to preach through the Pslams. The Pslams are God’s Sacred Songbook. They reveal the heart of God. A church that studies the Pslams will know the depths of God’s heart for humanity.
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