Christ Community Sunday - Olathe Campus

Jesus points to the one true path that will take us to the freedom our hearts long for.  It is not a path of religious legalism, it is the path of discipleship with Jesus. When we embrace Jesus and become his “abiding” disciple then we will know the truth and when we know the truth we will be set free to experience the true freedom our hearts long for. In our culture when we refer to knowing we often think of having lots of information in our brain we can comprehend and spit out when we need it. What Jesus means by “knowing” the truth is not merely knowing the facts or having lots of information crammed in our brains, but rather deeply knowing and being known by someone. Jesus is speaking about relational knowing!       Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4892008622.07.17

He’s not just claiming to be light generically. He’s claiming to be your Light. The One who defines your reality. The true, the good, the beautiful. Who drives you to repentance and change. And asks you to trust and obey. Bring that light into your office, your family, your neighborhood, those hard decisions, those dark places of anxiety. He wants to show you the way. For without Him our lives are like the earth without the sun. A wasteland drifting aimlessly through space.And when we do walk in the light. Just sit in this promise for a minute. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. In Greek, it is saying NEVER. NEVER EVER. No way ever!Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4891615422.07.10

One of the greatest indicators of whether or not you’ve drunk deeply of Jesus -- that you truly believe in Him -- is right here. Would the people around you look at you -- your attitudes, your words, your actions, the way you spend your time and money. The people closest to you. And the people who disagree with you. Or see the world very differently than you. Your coworkers and classmates.Would they look at you and say: There is a river of life! I hope it splashes me!Through His Holy Spirit poured out on all who believe. He wants to make us rivers of life. So come to Him. Bring Him your need, your thirst. And drink.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4891390422.07.03

Will we go with Jesus even when he challenges our sensibilities and our sin? Will we go with Jesus even when we are tempted to walk away? Will we go with Jesus even if it means enduring costs? Will we go with Jesus when others won’t? The only way that we can answer in the affirmative is if Jesus is the Holy One of God who has the words of eternal life.I realize that it may be hard for some of us right now to continue following Jesus. But when we know and believe the power and love of the Holy One of God who promises to not walk away from us then it is only natural to respond as Peter did “To whom shall we go.”Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4890962622.06.26

Could it be that the Son of God also longed for those places where He could hear the Father whispering to Him: I am with you.I struggle to hear God's voice. But I regularly hear it most in 2 places. From His Word. And from His people. And if you feel like you’re drowning in the chaos. You are not alone. And you need it, too. His Word. And His people. Imagine the chaos. Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s your cubicle. The next doctor's visit. Do you see it? Do you feel the storm?I want you to hear these words. As you imagine yourself in that place. Jesus says to you: I’m here. Don’t be afraid. I’m here. Don’t be afraid. I’m here. Don’t be afraid.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4890674522.06.19

Jesus gives the crowd the sign of bread as a way to place himself in the grand story of God’s plan of redemption. Jesus is the awaited Messiah and fulfillment of everything promised, previewed, and pointed to in the Old Testament. The reassuring words of Jesus lovingly invite us to come to him to be satisfied. For Jesus has not only come to be the redeemer of our sin and the restorer of fallen creation. He has come to be our joy! And he has done so not just by bringing us what satisfies but being what satisfies. Jesus is our savior but he is also our satisfier! For he alone knows what our hearts truly hunger for. And until we give up on our search for satisfaction in lesser things we will never be satisfied.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4890341722.06.12

Jesus our Messiah, the one whom Isaiah declared as delighting in the fear of the Lord, has come to deliver us from all fears by delivering us from our sin.The fear of God frees us from all fears. And the only way we can properly fear God is by giving the fullness of our lives to Jesus, body, mind, and spirit. For when we do his life of perfection is credited to us and frees us from all fear of condemnation and judgment.Friends, there is much to fear in this life filled with smoke, uncertainty, and chaos. But thanks be to God that through Christ the fears of sin and death are destroyed. Because the fear of God frees us from all fears. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4889983122.06.05

Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4889633822.05.29

We all want justice but without the judge. We all want wrongs to be righted but without surrendering to righteousness. And what we end up getting is an endless cycle of violence, oppression, and unforgiveness. And it leads only to the clamoring for power in order to defeat our enemies. In a world where real meaningful justice work is stalled out and hijacked by polarizing conversations about justice, and where cancel culture is the justice tool of choice across the spectrum, we need a better tool. We need a better judge. We need a better gospel.The only way we can find hope and justice in this world under the sun is to surrender our lives to the Son of God who himself surrendered his life to the One who judges justly.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4889156722.05.22

The Bible teaches that God made a world of abundance. That if we look at the Garden, you and I were created for a world without lack, where we had everything we needed and more.And even though our world is now broken, and our attachments are now broken, we can still enjoy God’s gift with gratitude. This is the theme of these final verses. Eat, drink, and be merry. Enjoy your work. And enjoy His gifts.Instead of gratitude we think: I worked hard for that stuff! I earned it. I’m entitled to it. Which only feeds the dragon inside you. Instead, we need to learn to say thank you. And say it all the time. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888550222.05.15

We know that our labor is not in vain because there is life beyond the sun. Because God has called a people unto himself from all peoples of the earth to establish the work of their hands no matter where they are or what they do. When our perspective and time horizon changes regarding our work, we are able to see that God is at work in and through our work. We are able to see that our work is not incidental, but rather it is integral to God’s work of restoring all things. How do we know that our labor is not in vain? Because of the promise of God in Isaiah 65 that is echoed throughout the entire biblical storyline and reverberates in and through our lives today.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888546422.05.08

Like all things created by God, our desires for pleasure possess the capabilities to lead us to the goodness of God AND to the evils of death, decay, and destruction. What the Holy Spirit is whispering to us through the words of Qoheleth is that pleasure can destroy us if it doesn’t direct us to our creator God and our redeeming king!But in order to hear this and see the goodness and wisdom within these words, we need to respond and take proper action. Pleasure can destroy us if it doesn’t direct us to the creator of pleasure itself. Our pleasures are pointing us all toward something. Either to the dead-end of pleasure as an end in itself or to the true chief end of humanity’s pleasure which is Christ.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4888253722.05.01

If we are to hear the wisdom behind the woes in the book of Ecclesiastes, we need to understand the structure, nature, and purpose of the book. The reason why this is a deeply hopeful book is because it is one act in the entire play of God’s story of redemption and salvation. This is the power and beauty of reading the bible with the full story in mind.If life under the sun is all there is then all we have is smoke. But there is a subtle whisper of hope in Ecclesiastes which turns into the saving shout in the gospels is that there is life beyond the sun. Amen!Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4887831022.04.24

The resurrection of Jesus is the proof of purchase for our sins. It proves that what Christ did on the cross actually accomplished our forgiveness. But it also illustrates the new kind of life that Jesus’ followers now live. A life that brings about healing, hope, and wholeness to our broken world.This is what we remember and celebrate! This is our hope! It is the hope that our sin and shame does not have to define us because it was put to death with Jesus. It is the hope that death will not have the final word. Because our hope is in Jesus who entered death for us in order to forever keep death from us. It is the hope that countless others have found throughout the ages. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4887441922.04.17

The irony of this trial is that Jesus has already said, He’s the judge. Not us. Even with all our efforts to put Jesus on trial. The real trial is you and me. And we are so guilty. Look at the evidence. Call in the witnesses. Every thought you’ve ever had, every word you’ve ever spoken, every broken desire you’ve ever felt.How long do you really think it’s going to take this Judge?The only One who is truly innocent. Was found guilty for you. He stood in your place. So that if you’re with Him, His verdict over you is once and forever decidedThis Judge has died for you. He rose again for you. And if we’re with Him, the verdict is in. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4887075222.04.10

The reason we take the words of Jesus seriously and ask the question “Who does Jesus say that he is?” is because we believe he holds the power of life and death. For there is no other power or authority that we know who has faced death, entered death, and defeated death than the Lord Jesus. As we gather this day, to submit the fullness of our lives to the fullness of who Jesus says he is, my invitation to you is to consider his claims, listen to his word, and enter the life he offers you in his kingdom now and forever.   I pray that you would declare who he says he is. The son of God, the judge of the earth, and the giver of life.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4886684122.04.03

Jesus came to this man at the pool of Bethesda and offered him the opportunity to be made whole. Don’t settle for comfort when wholeness is what we want. Don’t settle for a clear conscience when forgiveness is what we need. And don’t settle for what Jesus offers when Jesus is what our hearts long for.This man claimed that he wanted to be healed, made whole. But he wasn’t willing to receive everything that being made whole entailed. Namely repenting and following Jesus.This man thought that his worst problem was his inability to walk. And while not making light of that ailment, Jesus lovingly draws near to him to tenderly tell him that there is a greater healing and wholeness that he is in need of.Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4886296222.03.27

You’ve taken your unfulfilled longings -- your grief and your desire. Whatever it is. And you’ve brought them to Jesus. You’ve asked Him to intervene. And whether or not He’s answered you in the way you wanted Him to. You’ve met Him. Now here we are. Every one of us. Somewhere between meeting Jesus. And the fulfillment of all of His promises to us. Every Christian is on that path. Between saying yes to Jesus. And our long way home.And you don’t know if your marriage will ever be better. Or your depression will ever be gone. Or your body will ever be healed. But you are trusting Jesus -- taking Him at His word. That by the time you get home, it’ll somehow be ok. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885927522.03.20

Just like the Samaritan woman, you may feel overwhelmed by the weight of your sin. And just like her, while you might think that Jesus is holding your past over you he is tenderly saying that even this will not keep him from holding you. He is saying “I know everything you have ever done. I have seen you at your worst. And I am not leaving.” Why did Jesus have to pass through Samaria? Because his beloved was on the other side. Jesus went to Samaria so that this woman would meet him and proclaim he is the Messiah. And this would begin the wildfire spreading of this gospel that eventually made its way to this time and place to reach you and me. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885568722.03.13

The only true and lasting way to wage war against the sins of comparing and complaining is to delight in and declare the truth of Jesus. The road sign on the path of repentance is not a Stop Sign but a U-Turn. It is not simply about ceasing from sin, but also seeking a better joy. I believe that so much of our despair, discontent, and disdain in life stems from a failure to delight in and declare the beauties of the better joys of Jesus. This is why the habits of encountering Jesus through the scriptures, prayer, service, evangelism, and gathered worship are so vital. For they cultivate in our hearts greater capacities to delight in Jesus who must be greater. Sermon Notes: https://www.bible.com/events/4885174422.03.06