Receiving the Bible's Full Impact
How to See the Bible's Power
John 12:12-50
Matthew Raley (05/10/09)
| The reason for the lack of spiritual power in families and churches today is that the Bible is not a focus of passion. The idea that an emotional blessing from studying the Bible is not very important is deeply offensive to the Bible’s own teachings (Ps 119:9-16).
We are going to devote ten weeks to the issue of how to see the Bible’s power. In this sermon we survey John 12 and see that the main reason we can’t relate emotionally to the Bible is that we are trying to make it fit our story instead of God’s. |
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What the Bible Claims About Itself
John 12:37-38
Matthew Raley (05/17/09)
| The Bible’s power comes through its point of view. In order to understand how to exchange your point of view for the Bible’s, you first need more specific information about what it is.
In this sermon we see what the Bible says about its own origin, nature, qualities, and authority. |
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The Old Testament in the New
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Matthew Raley (05/24/09)
| As we continue to survey what the Bible claims about itself, we turn to the vexed issue of how the testaments relate to each other. It is impossible to understand the New Testament (NT) without going where it sends you in the Old Testament.
In this sermon, we study one passage from Isaiah (that we’ll find used in John 12) and see how it is used in the NT.
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John's Use of Scripture
John 12:42-43
Matthew Raley (06/07/09)
| The Bible is the foundation of the Christian’s freedom of conscience and the source of Christian unity. In this sermon, as we continue to set up the drama of John 12, we look at the particular emphasis on Scripture in John’s Gospel. |
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Three Characters to Follow
John 12:12-19
Matthew Raley (06/14/09)
| Three characters, or sets of characters, are before us in John, as we look at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem for Passover.
In this sermon we’ll see that you can identify with one of these characters in your relationship to the scriptures. You’ll also see there is no category for those who already fully understand God’s purposes.
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A Kingdom-Scaled Life
John 12:20-26
Matthew Raley (06/21/09)
| The scale of the Gospel of John is cosmic. It begins with the statement that anyone from any ethnicity can become a child of Israel’s God by faith. Christians today want the Bible to make a big impact within their narrow horizons, but when they read their Bibles, they are confronted with a kind of coldness, as if God isn’t interested in their lives.
In this sermon, we are challenged by the Bible’s proposition: Come live with God at an entirely different scale.
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A Cross-Focused Life
John 12:27-36
Matthew Raley (06/28/09)
| There are two dominant superstitions among Christians today. One is that if we have signs from God we will know his will and follow him. The trouble with this is that without the Bible, there is no knowledge of God’s will. But the second superstition is that the Bible fixes everything – a hope that it is a magic wand that will fix your problems with a wave. The common denominator is spiritual passivity.
In this sermon, we see how such passivity infected the crowd in John 12.
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A God-Driven Life
John 12:36-43
Matthew Raley (07/05/09)
| The abundance of Jesus’ signs had no effect on his people, “they still did not believe in him.” The issue here, as from the beginning of John, is the glory of God. Glory should be envisioned as the radiance of God.
In this sermon, we see that the scriptures are either blinding you or enlightening you about this radiance. |
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An End-Targeted Life
John 12:44-50
Matthew Raley (07/12/09)
| The Kingdom of Christ, the cross of Christ, and the glory of Christ are three big themes that help us relate to the Bible emotionally.
This sermon concludes this series, and this section of John, by studying the last of these themes: the return of Christ. The way to get into the Bible is to submit your mind to these themes. The Bible is telling the story of the End. |
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