Brian's Sermons

15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep. 18 “I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others[b] will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” John 21:15-19 As a fifth grader,

John 20:1-18 1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home. 11

...for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 When I was a little boy, I had a definite role in my family. I was the peacemaker, being able to get along well with both my brother and my sister. Unfortunately my methodology was often suspect. My preschool teacher reported that I needed to learn to solve my problems verbally instead of physically! It’s kind of like the fraternity brother and college roommate I had who proclaimed, “I’m a pacifist. If you don’t believe me, I’ll fight you to prove it to you.” You may laugh at those images, but that’s the kind of Messiah that Israel was awaiting. They were looking for someone in the line and character of King David, one who would destroy Israel’s enemies in order to bring peace to Jerusalem. Remember that in Jesus’ time, Israel was an occupied state. They didn’t even have their own sovereignty; they were ruled by Rome. Jesus had something else in mind when he talked about peace. In John 14, Jesus told his disciples that when he lef

…for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 What do you want from this life? Have you ever felt like you’re running on a treadmill trying to attain what you’ll never reach? Do you want more? Back in the book of Genesis, we find that God created humanity to walk with him and look at him, face-t0-face. But unfortunately, when Adam and Eve sinned, they were no longer able to look at God. In Exodus 33, Moses, the God-chosen leader of God’s people, asked God to show him His glory. God responded this way: (Exodus 33:19-20) “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, YHWH, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live .” Our sin renders us unworthy and thus unable to see God and live. Yet here is Jesus saying that you can indeed see God. The heart of the matter is this: to see God, we must have pure hearts. Think a