Sabbath Day

"“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates." (Exodus 20:8-10, NKJV)

On Sunday evenings at LABC we have been going through the Gospel of John verse by verse. This week we are in chapter 5. This chapter in John marks a new tone in the book of John. From now on the intense conflict Jesus has with the Jews begins to simmer till it boils over at Calvary.

Chapter 5 begins with the healing of a paralytic man. Instead of rejoicing the Jewish elite were furious because Jesus broke their traditional understanding of the Sabbath. They had a misunderstanding of the Sabbath that caused them not only to miss the joy of the healing of this man but more importantly the joy of salvation. We may have expected them to rejoice, but their wickedness cause them to reject Jesus and persecute him even more.

In our day the Sabbath is still misunderstood by many. During the next couple of weeks we will be discussing the Sabbath with particular reference to this occasion in the Gospel of John. Some of the questions we hope to answer this Sunday are as follows:

1. What is the Sabbath?

2. When was the Sabbath Instituted?

3. Should Christians Worship on the Sabbath?

By the way do you know the penalty for breaking the Sabbath? See Numbers 15:32-35

Woman at the Well

" Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee." (John 4:1-3, NKJV)

On Sunday evenings we are going through a verse by verse study of the Gospel of John. As of January the 13th we have arrived at the fourth chapter in our study. In chapter three Jesus had drifted out into the countryside of Judea where He encountered John the Baptist. John’s disciples were concerned that Jesus was getting to be more popular than John. John the Baptist replied, "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30, NKJV)

The popularity that Jesus began to amass was troublesome because He knew that the crowds of people would want physical deliverance not spiritual deliverance. The people would want to make Jesus an earthly King. This very circumstance occurs in John 6:15. " Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." (John 6:15, NKJV)

Jesus’ mission was not to save His people from their temporary circumstances of life, but to deliver them from the greatest crises all men face. He came to save us from our sin. "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”" (Matthew 1:21, NKJV)

Join us next Sunday evening as we discuss “Christ’s Witness to the Woman at the Well.”

Look and Live

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up," (John 3:14, NKJV)

On Sunday nights here at LABC we are going through the Gospel of John verse by verse. Last evening we discussed the passage found in the third chapter of John concerning the serpent in the wilderness. In the context of John’s gospel Jesus is trying to teach Nicodemus what the meaning of the new birth (3:5) by using three illustrations.

The first illustration He employs is a theological. In John 3:5-7 Jesus explains that the new birth is ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant as proclaimed by Ezekiel (36:25-26). The second example is that of wind as Jesus explains its mysterious effects in John 3:8. The third analogy given in John 3:14-15 is that of the serpent in the wilderness.
In what ways did lifting up the brass serpent (see Numbers 21) in the wilderness illustrate salvation? Below are just a few for your consideration:

1. The cure was for those who were bitten—men must recognize their need for salvation (John 3:19)
2. The cure was received by looking—men must call on the Lord by faith not works (John 3:15)
3. There was only one cure—men must trust in Christ alone (John 14:6)
4. The cure was given by God—salvation is solely a work of God’s grace (John 1:13)
5. The cure always worked—salvation is not partial it is permanent (John 3:16)
6. The cure was individually administered—people do not get saved in groups (John 3:18)
7. The cure was proclaimed to others—those who are saved have an obligation to point others to Christ (John 3:14)

On October 19th, 1879 C. H. Spurgeon preached a sermon on this text in John. His message is still relevant today. You can read it by clicking on the following link.

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/1500.htm