Recent Sermons

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

John 1:10-18

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me." 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

What is the first thing we should know about Jesus?

The beginning of the story (within our reach) is that God became human flesh. Infinite, eternal, perfect all powerful God became like us to forgive us, to be in relationship with us, to change us.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9)

C.S. Lewis writes: “our faith is not a matter of our hearing what Christ said long ago and trying to carry it out. Rather, the real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind of thing as Himself…beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that does not like it is the part that is still tin.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15)


He came with grace:
Grace is receiving a gift that we do not deserve - that gift is salvation - right standing in the presence of God.
To accept grace is a direct assault on pride.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

He came to “Tabernacle” with us:
The figure here is from the Old Testament. The tabernacle was the dwelling-place of the LORD; the meeting-place of God and Israel. So the Word came to men in the person of Jesus.
Just as God’s very presence was in the tabernacle in the wilderness, God’s very presence came and lived with us in the person of Jesus. God’s glory is seen in the servant hood and sacrifice of Jesus.

He came to change us:
Those who receive the light are given the “power” (exousia) literally “authority or the right” to become “the children of God.” Those who are born are those who “believe.” This is such a profound truth that apparently John never got over it for when he was very old he wrote (1 John 3:1) “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!”

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up? (2)

Luke 9:18-25

18Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" 19They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." 20"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." 21Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." 23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?

The Jesus of “Public Opinion”

The Gospel of Luke builds to this ultimate question “Who is Jesus?”

Luke makes us think about this from the very beginning:

In chapter one Gabriel announces to Mary she will bear a child who will be called “The Son of the Most High.”

In chapter two the angel declares to the shepherds that a savior is born and he is Christ the Lord.

In chapter three, the voice of the Father declares this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

In chapter four even the demons testify as they are being cast out, “you are the Son of God.”

But now, for the first time the Disciples are confronted with this most important question. They have to choose their answer. And now so do we… and like them we have to wrestle with what the answer means for us.

They answer His question with some of the popular theories being spread. John the Baptist… Elijah… one of the other prophets.

Today’s answers are sometimes similar.

A prophet, a story, a good man.

The real issue for Jesus is who the Disciples say He is.

The Jesus of Truth

The Christ of God the anointed one of God. (V.20)
As the Disciples come to this understanding, the preparation to move toward the Cross begins. By verse 51 he has “set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
But Before You Answer!
We must understand, like Peter, and the others what it means to say “yes” to this truth of who Jesus is.
We have to make a choice:
Option 1. We can “lose by winning.” (v.24) Living our lives our own way for our own selves.
Option 2. We can “win by losing.”
Salvation is free...but discipleship will cost you your life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
If we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, it will cost us the right to live our own lives our own way.
The alternative becomes a life of intentional obedience to Christ, bearing our cross daily. William Barclay says the cross "means to be ready to endure the worst that man can do to us for the sake of being true to God."
The Jesus of Truth calls us to an incredibly radical life of love and empowered servanthood.

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up? (3)

John 3:14-17

14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

1. What is the starting point? John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
He came with grace and truth.
He “tabernacled” with us.
He gave us the right to become children of God.
He transforms us.

2. Who do you say Jesus is? Luke 9
The Jesus of public opinion: A prophet, a story, a good man
The Jesus of Truth: The Christ of God “the Anointed One”
Option 1. We can “lose by winning.” (v.24) Living our lives our own way for our own selves.

Option 2. We can “win by losing.”

If we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, it will cost us the right to live our own lives our own way.

Salvation is God’s “pursuit” of us:

Jesus becomes SIN for us.
21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2Corinthians 5:21

13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. Galatians 3:13


Just as the Israelites were instructed to gaze in faith at the serpent, so are we to gaze at Jesus on the cross in faith.

Jesus becomes our SALVATION

Martin Luther called verse 16 the miniature gospel.
What he meant by this is that no verse condenses the whole gospel as cleanly and understandably as John 3:16.
This is the way God loved the world…He gave His Son…
This means that…

1. Salvation comes through Jesus alone.

For Nicodemus, he was being introduced to a whole new thought process.
Salvation was not a matter of birth.
Salvation was not even a matter of being good.
Salvation comes through the Messiah.
God loves us through the Messiah, His unique Son.

2. Salvation is for the world.

Though the Jews were God’s chosen people, they were God’s chosen people so that the world might know God.
Salvation was to be for the Gentiles as well.
This had been God’s purpose all along.
Salvation is for everyone.

John 3:16
God - The greatest Lover
so loved - The greatest degree
the world - The greatest company
that he gave - The greatest act
his one and only Son - The greatest gift
that whoever - The greatest opportunity
believes - The greatest simplicity
in him - The greatest attraction
shall not - perish The greatest promise
but - The greatest difference
have - The greatest certainty
eternal life - The greatest possession

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up? (4)

Matthew 11:28-30

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

What are the “real” things we know about Jesus”
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
He came with grace and truth.
He gave us the right to become children of God.
He is The Christ of God “the Anointed One.”
Jesus became sin for us.
Jesus became our salvation at the moment and place of the cross.

This passage invites us to exchange our present burdens for the “yoke” of being like Christ.

Jesus tells us that we can come to him, take his yoke, and learn from him. This is a powerful invitation to discipleship, to learn of him and live like him.

He does not call us to the Temple, to the religious institutions or rituals of then or now, He says “Come to ME.”

He says "My yoke is easy." The word easy is in Greek chrestos, which can mean well-fitting. In Palestine ox-yokes were made of wood; the ox was brought, and the measurements were taken. The yoke was then roughed out, and the ox was brought back to have the yoke tried on. The yoke was then carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and would not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yolk was tailor-made to fit the ox.’ William Barclay

Jesus’ yoke (his commandments) fits us well. The life that he gives us to live is not a bitter, heavy burden; it is a life-style that is made to measure to fit us.

The yoke was a wooden frame used to harness together a pair of oxen at their necks so that they could pull a plough or some other load. It was a balancing device. Sometimes a younger ox needed to be taught to work and thus was paired with an animal of more experience. This beautifully illustrates our relationship with Christ.

As we walk by his side, sharing the yoke and burden, the load does not disappear but is made lighter.

If the yoke is a Christ-like life, what will it look like for each of us?

Jesus gives a rare autobiographical statement: I am gentle and humble in heart.
We learn from Christ how to be patient in suffering, to walk humbly, to trust implicitly, to love intensely, and to rejoice exceedingly.

Jesus distilled all the laws and regulations into two major commandments: ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40). To take His yoke means to love God with your entire being and to love others as you love yourself.

Do we still have burdens?
Burdens for others move us to prayer, to worship, to actions.
2Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6

1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. Romans 15


Additional Notes

In his latest book, The Case For The Real Jesus, bestselling author Lee Strobel lists several helpful websites to visit as you consider the biblical claims for who Jesus is:
LEESTROBEL.COM
... a video-intensive site that explores what Christians believe about Jesus—and why. Also available is a free e-newsletter, "Inves¬tigating Faith."
JESUSCENTRAL.COM
... a place to learn and dialogue about what Jesus said.
CHRISTTAN-THINKTANK.COM
... a vast resource of answers to current objections to Christianity.