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Fifth Sunday of Easter
(cycle a)

HumorPeace & JusticeNexGen Worship
 
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| Pentecost

Texts & Discussion:

Acts 7:55-60
Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14

Mother's Day Resources by DPS

Other Resources:


Commentary:
Matthew Henry,    Wesley
Word Study: Robertson

This Week's Themes:

Commitment to the Gospel
New Life in Christ

Living Life in Light of Eternity
Effective Prayer

 


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 Texts in Context | Commentary:   PsalterFirst LessonEpistleGospel
Prayer&Litanies
|  Hymns & Songs | Children's Sermons | Sermons based on Texts

 


Sermons:

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Doing the Works of Jesus,
 John 14:1-14
by HW in HI

Jesus calls out to his people. He called out 2,000 years ago, and he has not stopped. At first, his only followers were Jews, and Jesus himself only seemed to seek after Jews. It was well known that the Jews were a chosen people, and God has worked to be known by them. I see Jesus’ ministry as sort of a circle. He started off with his close friends – the fishermen, the tax collector and so on. They were known as the twelve, or the disciples, or the apostles. They were his first followers. Over time his circle widened. He spoke to thousands of people. His longest recorded conversation was with a Samaritan woman at the well. She became a follower, and so did her whole town. And Samaritans were not Jews. They were the first gentile believers. And so the circle widened. Following his resurrection Jesus gave the great commandment: “Go and make disciples of all nations”. Which means everybody. Jesus came at first for the Jews, but in the end he came for everybody.

This morning in churches throughout our country, Christians are congratulating themselves for being followers of Jesus. In some churches there are altar calls, and people are choosing Jesus. This is not a bad thing. But we have to stop and wonder if it is Christian for us to draw a circle around ourselves and basically say, “We’ve got God, and you don’t. We’re going to heaven, and you aren’t.” It doesn’t sound much like Jesus, does it?

The Gospel for today is one of the most widely quoted, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Which sounds pretty good, if you’re a Christian. This is why some people get their babies baptized. They figure that the key is baptism, and one of the biggest problems the church has is baptizing babies we never see again. Some people will take it a step further and say that no one gets to heaven unless they believe exactly the right things about Jesus, some people call this dogma. [continue]