Well, it's good to see you all this morning. Glad you could join us both in person and on the live stream.
You know, I've been rearranging my house a little bit these days, which has been great.
And I came across an envelope that I got from a friend of mine this summer.
And the envelope contained a series of letters that I wrote back in 1986
as I was in the process of coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
I had grown up hearing of Jesus.
I had heard his name and read some Bible stories, but I never understood him.
I was, in fact, blinded by my misunderstanding of who he was.
And I was not a follower of him.
In fact, I dismissed him and wanted to live my own way.
Anyway, my junior year in high school, some of you have been around for Trinity.
You've heard this story before.
But through conversations with friends and then reading through some C.S. Lewis, particularly Mere Christianity,
I came to understand who Jesus was.
And it was really fun to read through these letters again this week
and to see my 17-year-old self expressing the joy of finally and fully coming to understand who Jesus was
and hearing his call to respond to him,
to take my life and to follow him with all that I was.
And I knew what that looked like because I had these friends who had shown me what that looks like
as I had gotten to know them.
The thrill of understanding and living in light of the greatness of Jesus was pretty awesome.
As I read them as well, I was also reflecting on the fact that it's easy now, many years later,
to lose that thrill and that joy and that awe.
It's easy for Jesus to become familiar.
That if my experience of Jesus before I came to faith was that of misunderstanding
and therefore not really rejoicing in it,
how easy it is now for familiarity to also similarly blind me to his greatness
and dull my heart so that I don't respond.
I don't know about you this morning.
Maybe you're here seeking to understand Jesus for the first time.
Maybe you've known about him for a long time
but have not actually found the joy of knowing him.
Maybe you've been going to church for a long time
but familiarity and time have made it stale.
Wherever you're at this morning, our passage comes and invites us this morning
to look again at Jesus anew.
We're continuing in our series in the Gospel of John.
We're looking at John chapter 1 starting in verse 35.
If you have that at home or here, you can look at it on your phone or in your Bible.
We're going to read it together.
Then I'm going to pray and then we will dive in.
All right.
So John chapter 1.
And just to give us a little bit of context as we're diving in,
Pastor Nick preached last week on verses 1 through 18,
this grand prologue, this very, in some ways, almost philosophical depiction of who Jesus was.
The Word became flesh.
And here, after that, what we see is that the Apostle John begins to tell the story
of what that looked like on earth, how the Word became flesh on earth.
The end of chapter 1 and then in chapter 2, Jesus begins His ministry.
So that's where we're at in the Gospel of John.
Let's read our passage together.
John chapter 1, verse 35.
The next day, again, John was standing with two of his disciples.
And he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said,
Behold, the Lamb of God.
The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned, saw them following, and said to them,
What are you seeking?
And they said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher,
Where are you staying?
And he said to them, Come, and you will see.
So they came and saw where he was staying,
and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother.
He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him,
We have found the Messiah, which means Christ.
He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said,
So you are Simon, the son of John?
You shall be called Cephas, which means Peter.
The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee.
He found Philip and said to him, Follow me.
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him,
We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote,
Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Nathanael said to him,
Can anything good come of Nazareth?
And Philip said to him,
Come and see.
And Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,
Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit.
And Nathanael said to him,
How do you know me?
Jesus answered him,
Before Philip called you,
When you were under the fig tree,
I saw you.
Nathanael answered him,
Rabbi, you are the son of God.
You are the king of Israel.
And Jesus answered him,
Because I saw you,
Because I said to you,
I saw you under the fig tree,
Do you believe?
You will see greater things than these.
And he said to him,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
You will see heaven opened,
And the angels of God ascending and descending
On the son of man.
Will you pray with me?
Lord, as we look at this passage this morning,
Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes.
Lord, that we would see you, Jesus,
As you truly are.
That we would see you as this passage reveals you to be.
That we would see you as our king and our glory.
Lord, we pray that you would help us to see you.
And as we see you, Lord,
Will you turn our hearts towards you
In adoration, in worship.
Lord, I pray for your help this morning.
Will you give me your words to speak.
Lord, and may you bless each of us
Through the preaching of your word.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So, friends, as we come to this,
It's always good to remember
That when we read the Gospels,
That it's a narrative.
It's a story.
And it's built like a story.
And this story is built in a fairly simple way.
There is a setting in verses 35 and 36
Where John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus,
Which is that he's the Lamb of God
Who takes away the sin of the world,
Remembering the Passover and other places in the Old Testament
Where atonement for sin comes through the sacrifice of a lamb.
And so, in the setup, it just reminds us of that.
It doesn't expound on it.
And we're not going to spend a ton of time on it today.
But it starts there.
And then it launches into these two stories,
These two accounts of people,
The first disciples encountering Jesus.
First, we have Andrew and probably the Apostle John,
Who wrote this Gospel.
Andrew and John following Jesus.
And then Andrew coming and bringing his brother Peter to come with him.
And what that, and the interaction that they have with Jesus.
And then in verses 43 through 50,
You have the next day in a different place,
Jesus calling Philip,
And Philip bringing his friend Nathaniel,
And their encounter with Jesus.
And then in verse 51,
There's a final pronouncement.
And it looks like it might simply be a normal part of the end of that conversation.
But in fact, for two reasons,
I think it stands out as John's summary statement
That would stand out to us.
First, because Jesus says,
Amen, amen.
In this ESV, it says,
Truly, truly, I say to you,
Jesus is giving, saying,
Pay attention to this.
What I'm about to say is really important.
And then when he says,
I say to you,
You will see heaven opened and the angels of God descending.
Those you's are no longer singular.
The rest of the narrative says that he's talking to Nathaniel.
And then in verse 51,
It changes to talking to all of you.
And all of us.
And the gospel writer, John,
Wants us to see that verse 51 is the capstone of this narrative arc.
And in fact, a critical piece.
So having said that,
This passage is about this invitation to come and see.
Jesus invites Andrew and John,
Come and see.
Philip invites Nathaniel,
Come and see.
What is it that the gospel writer, John,
Wants us to see in this passage?
He wants us to see, first, how others see Jesus.
He wants to see, second, how Jesus sees others.
And third, how Jesus wants us to see him.
All right?
So we're going to work through those.
How others see Jesus is the first thing that the apostle wants us to see.
And one of the things that's striking as you read through this passage
is the number of times when Jesus gets put a label or a title on him.
I'm just going to run through them really quickly so we can see how clearly.
Verse 36, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
We've already talked about this as a reference to the Passover and the sacrificial system.
Verse 38, Andrew says to him,
You are rabbi.
That means teacher.
An honored one.
A spiritual leader.
Who in those days people would literally pick up their life
and follow someone in order to be taught by them.
And then in verse 41, as Andrew's talking to Peter, he says,
We found the Messiah, the Christ.
John transliterates it for his Greek-speaking Jewish audience of this book.
And he says,
The Messiah, which means Christ, which means anointed one.
And this imagery of the anointed one would arouse in the Jewish mind,
the king and the priest who would serve in the temple and serve in the capital
and who would rule over God's people.
The descendant of David, that the Jewish people were longing to come
and rule and reign over his people.
And then we see in verse 45, as Philip is saying,
Nathanael, you've got to come see this guy.
He says,
This is the one of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote.
He is the fulfillment of all the things that we've heard.
Those are sort of summary statements that say the whole Old Testament,
from beginning to end, is pointing towards something.
And we think this is the thing, this is the person, in fact, that it all points to.
The one who will come and restore God's kingdom,
bring the abundance and fullness of his love and provision,
who will establish peace and restore hope to his people.
And he says,
This one that the whole Old Testament, he's this particular guy.
He's this dude.
He's Jesus from Nazareth, the town up the way,
who's the son of Joseph, the carpenter,
who may have built your table.
And he locates this grand promise in this very particular person.
And John is helping us see,
this is the word became flesh.
This is the second person of the Trinity who was God and was with God
in a human body,
who lived in the town next door.
And finally, in verse 49,
as Nathanael interacts with Jesus,
Jesus reveals himself as being one with supernatural power.
Nathanael says,
You are the son of God.
You are the king of Israel.
Not someone who had come from Nazareth, by the way.
Nathanael looks at him and he says,
You're the promised one.
You're the one we've been looking for.
And John writes this gospel.
Here's the amazing thing.
You read this and you get the sense that
none of these people fully understood
what they were reading
and what they were saying
when they gave Jesus these titles.
None of them understood
who they were really talking to.
None of them had this fullness
of the word of God made flesh.
John is writing to say,
There's just this beginning.
And these people spoke better than they knew.
Better than they knew of who Jesus was.
Because the gospel writer is saying,
I'm going to set this up for you
and now I'm going to give you 20 chapters,
21 chapters,
so that you understand who this one is.
that in his life and ministry,
in his death and atoning sacrifice,
in his resurrection and victory
over sin and death,
these titles all foretell
how and who Jesus is going to fully be
as the Savior of the world.
These titles are like black and white sketches
that then the rest of the gospel
fills in with color
so that we understand him.
And the overall effect of it is this.
The one who you've been waiting for has come.
Don't delay.
Don't get distracted.
Don't miss this.
He is here.
Come and see this Jesus.
Come and spend time with him.
Come and ask him the questions
you need to ask.
Jesus invites the disciples.
Come.
Come and stay with me.
Come and follow me.
Come and see my greatness.
Friends,
do you see Jesus this morning?
Like this.
Do you hear his invitation in your life?
Whether you're exploring
or have known him for a long time,
he says,
come and see.
See him in all his majesty.
He knows you don't understand it all.
Who would?
He's the God of the universe.
Become flesh.
It'll take us a lifetime
to seek to understand.
And still,
we will continue to grow.
He knows that the spiritual words
and the terms that we use of him
will continue to mean more and more
as we go along in our lives.
But he says,
come.
Come and see the greatness of who I am.
This is the most important thing
you will ever know.
This is the most important thing
you will ever encounter.
And following him
and finding him
will be the greatest joy of your life.
And this is Jesus.
He invites us to explore it.
To explore his glory.
I remember
the opportunities I had
when I worked in Campus Ministry
to go to Colorado
every other summer
and go to Rocky Mountain National Park.
And the first time you drive
through Rocky Mountain National Park,
it's awesome.
Right?
It's absolutely majestic.
And you go up through the road
that goes through the whole thing.
And it's just,
it's breathtaking.
But you know what I found
because I had the opportunity
to stay there for a number of weeks
is that the glory of it
just continued to increase
as I found different hiking trails
and different paths
and climbed different peaks
and got to different mountain valleys.
And the beauty
and the glory
and the majesty
only increased
as I explored it more and more.
And this is what Jesus
is meant to be for us.
And this is what John is saying
that he's lifting up.
This is the one
who you should spend your time
worshiping and glorifying.
I want to step for just a second.
Pastor Nick alluded to this
in his prayer.
One of the pastoral concerns
that I've had over the last week
as I've been reading the news
is that some of our national discussion
about politics
have had very, very strong
religious overtones.
I'm concerned
that the name of Jesus
has been co-opted
for political ends
in our country.
I think there is confusion
in the broad society
and maybe even in the church
about how we understand
politics in the kingdom of God
and how they interact.
When you read the accounts
of the crowd
that ended up becoming a riot
and I can't
we're not going to start
with broad strokes
there was clear evidence
that many people there
not all
but many people there
were carrying signs
that says
Jesus saves.
They were having sing-alongs
to Our God Reigns.
One of the protesters
who was in the capital
said
I had to get in there
to plead the blood of Jesus
inside the capital.
Friends
this use of biblical verses
and apocalyptic imagery
for political agendas
reveals that
some have put their hope
in politics
and in political leaders
and have adopted
a religious fervor
about politics.
And we must be clear
that the Jesus
that John lifts up
in his gospel
is greater than that.
Neither Donald Trump
nor Joe Biden
will save us.
No political party
has the power
to rescue our nation
or our country.
Nor do they have the ability
to destroy it.
We cannot put our hope
in human systems
and human structures.
And look
I know
that in this room
and in our congregation
virtually
people have supported
different parties
different candidates
and there can be
good reasons
to do so.
But we cannot say
that one of them
has the imprint
and the blessing
of Jesus Christ
at the expense
of the other one
because Jesus
is above these things.
And when we see
that clearly
when Jesus is our king
and when Jesus reigns
over the world
we are then free
friends
to engage in politics
to engage in seeking
to bring righteousness
and justice
to bring light
and hope
to address the evils
of our day
from a biblical standpoint
to speak
to these things
we have a freedom
to know
that ultimately
those things
will not be
transformed
because of politics
or because of the person
who is sitting
in the White House
but because of the power
of God
and the redeemer
who sits on the throne
in heaven
over all things
for all time
and who will one day
come and establish
his kingdom.
Jesus alone
is our savior
and king
who calls us
to follow him.
He is the one
who won his victory
by dying for us
in humility
and weakness.
He is the one
worth dying for
and worth living for
and all other allegiances
must be secondary.
And the kingdom
that he builds
is not a kingdom
of this world
but it is a kingdom
of a people
from every tongue
tribe and nation
called the church.
And I say this
because
I want
the clarity
of Jesus' glory
to be the greatest
focus of our lives
and for us
to not confuse
and not conflate
politics
and political leaders
and political agendas.
And when I read
in the media today
there are a lot
of people
who are confused
about that.
But John the Apostle
says come and see.
Come and see
what kind of savior
he is here.
Come and see
and as he unfolds
the gospel
come and see
with a woman
in Samaria.
Come and see
with Nicodemus.
Come and see
with the lepers.
Come and see
with a blind man.
Come and see
with the priests
and the scribes.
Come and see
with his mourning friends
and the adoring crowds
and his disciples
who are stumbling
and fumbling
and failing
as they don't
fully understand him
and yet they stay
with him.
Come and see
Jesus
through their eyes.
That's not going
to work.
Come and see
Jesus
as others
see him
as the first
thing that
John wants
us to do.
The second
thing that
John wants
us to see
is how
Jesus sees
others
and by extension
us.
It's kind of
striking.
The narrative
structure
if you look
at these
two narratives
one with
Andrew and Peter
and one with
Philip and Nathaniel
is ending
with this
person being
invited to come
and interact
with Jesus
and Jesus
interacts with
them in a
particular way.
He sees
them in a
way that
transforms
them.
Simon comes
in and
Jesus says
who are you?
Oh you're
Simon son of
what is it?
John.
Simon son of
John.
Now I see
who I'm going
to make you
to be.
I'm going to
make you
Cephas which
means Peter.
And we know
from other
places this
means the
rock.
This is he's
seeing what
Jesus will do.
And one of the
things you need
to know is
John's audience
would have
known exactly
who Peter
was.
Because he
was one of
the most
famous Christians
in the first
century.
Everyone would
have known
the apostle
Peter the
bishop of
Rome.
And therefore
John doesn't
have to say
anything about
him.
He's like
you know
how this
turned out.
He became
the one that
Jesus saw
that he was
going to be.
In fact
Jesus made
him the man
that he was
going to be.
The focus
here is on
a Jesus who
knows people
thoroughly and
doesn't only
see into the
future to
see what
they will
become.
But he so
calls them
that he makes
them what he
calls them to
be.
And then
in Nathaniel
as Nathaniel
comes to
Jesus Jesus
looks at him
and says
behold an
Israelite in
whom there is
no deceit.
Jesus looks
at this man
and he says
well here's
someone who
is of the
tribe of
Israel.
And there's a
reference here
and we'll come
back to why
we get here
because you'll
see at the
end verse
51 is going
to be very
strongly
attached to
the story of
Jacob in
Genesis.
But here
Jesus looks
at Nathaniel
and says
you know
what the
people of
Israel one
of their
patriarchs was
Jacob and he
was a deceiver
but you are
one in whom
there is no
deceit.
You are
actually one
of Israel.
That is those
who follow
the God
who sees.
And Nathaniel
is transformed
by that comment.
Isn't it
striking?
Now Nathaniel
also says
how do you
know me?
And Jesus
says well
I saw you.
And this
seeing obviously
was supernatural.
It was not
physical.
It wasn't like
Jesus peeked
around the
corner and
said I'm
going to
get this
guy.
You know
this is not
a charlatan
with some
smoke and
mirrors.
Jesus had
an understanding
of where
Nathaniel was
that could
only be
because of
his deity.
I believe
that's what
the implication
of this
passage is.
And Nathaniel
says wow
you saw
me even
before you
could see
me with
your eyes.
And you
see me
as someone
in whom
there is
no deceit.
And in
these things
he then
responds.
He says wow
you are God.
You are the
son of God.
You are the
king of Israel.
You are the
one that
Philip told me
about.
And the
cynic becomes
a believer
in the instant
that he
encounters Jesus.
and friends
the beautiful
thing about it
is that Jesus
looks at us
as well.
And he
sees us
not as he
hopes we
will be
nor does
he see us
as we
try to be
but he
sees us
as he
will make
us
to be.
he sees
us
and he
knows
that in
his
calling
of us
to himself
he is
going to
bring a
transforming
power
whereby
because of
union with
him
he is
going to
make us
new
and he
sees the
woman
and the
man
that we
will
become
because of
his power
at work
in us.
and this
is an
amazing
thing.
Jesus'
vision of
us
has
transforming
power.
Friends
if you
encounter
Jesus
like this
not
not just
about what
you know
of him
but do
you know
what it's
like for
him to
know you?
Do you
know his
redemptive
power?
Revealing
himself to
you in
such a
way that
you respond
that your
heart changes
that you
fall down
and worship
that you
forsake
other things
to follow
him
that you
call him
God's
chosen
one.
So John
has shown
us what
other people
see in
Jesus
with this
list of
titles.
John
has shown
us what
Jesus sees
in other
people through
his redemptive
eyes but
finally in
verse 51
John wants
us to see
how Jesus
intends for
us to see
him.
Let's look
at these
verses again.
The end
of the
narrative
Jesus answers
Nathanael
and says
because I
said to
you I
saw you
under the
fig tree
do you
believe?
You will
see
greater
things
than
these.
You will
see
greater
things
than
these.
This
supernatural
vision that
I've had
of you
that could
only be
because I'm
God
is only
the beginning
of what
you're going
to see.
And then
he shifts
gears in
verse 51
and he
said to
him
truly
I say
to
you
will
see
heaven
open
and
the
angels
of
God
ascending
and
descending
on the
son
of man.
And every
Jew who
heard that
story would
know oh
he's talking
about
Jacob.
In
Genesis
28
verses
12
through
17
18
the
patriarch
who
had
deceived
his
father
into
receiving
his
blessing
and now
was
fleeing
for his
life
from his
home
and while
he's out
in the
wilderness
he lay
down
put his
head on
a stone
and fell
asleep.
In
Genesis
28
it says
this
starting
in verse
12
and he
that is
Jacob
dreamed
and behold
there was
a ladder
set up
on the
earth
and the
top
of it
reached
to
heaven
and behold
the angels
of God
were ascending
and descending
on it
and behold
the Lord
stood above
it and said
I am the
Lord
the God
of Abraham
your father
and the
God
of Isaac
the land
on which
you lie
I will
give to
you
and to
your
offspring
your
offspring
shall be
like the
dust
of the
earth
and you
shall
spread
abroad
to the
west
and to
the
east
and to
the
north
and to
the
south
and in
you
and in
your
offspring
shall
all the
families
of the
earth
be
blessed
behold
I am
with
you
and will
keep
you
to this
land
for I
will
not
leave
you
until
I have
done
what
I
promised
you
and then
Jacob
awoke
from his
sleep
and said
surely
the Lord
is in
this
place
and I
did
not
know
it
and he
was
afraid
and he
said
how
awesome
is
this
place
there
is
none
other
this
is
none
other
than
the
house
of
God
and
this
is
the
gate
of
heaven
so
this
well
known
story
of
the
patriarch
Jacob
having
this
vision
this
dream
of
a
ladder
and
we
usually
think
of
an
extension
ladder
that
we
sort
of
throw
up
on
the
side
of
our
house
this
is
not
a
good
vision
for
us
I
want
you
to
think
of
a
Babylonian
pyramid
with
a
staircase
going
up
one
side
that
has
layers
and
levels
and
the
stairs
go
up
and
up
and
it
was
built
like
the
Tower
of
Babel
in
Genesis
11
it
was
built
because
there
was
this
idea
that
you
could
somehow
create
a
connection
between
heaven
and
earth
by
creating
this
ladder
or
this
staircase
or
this
temple
so
God
takes
this
picture
and
he
plants
it
in
the
mind
of
Jacob
and
he
says
this
is
really
what's
going
on
I
am
creating
a
place
where
heaven
and
earth
will
meet
the
gate
of
heaven
and
he
comes
and
he
says
Jacob
you
are
the
one
who
is
the
fulfillment
of
the
promises
of
the
covenant
that
I've
made
to
Abraham
and
Isaac
I
will
make
your
people
great
and
I
will
bless
the
whole
world
and
I
will
make
my
glory
known
through
all
of
you
and
Jacob
receives
all
this
and
he
says
this
is
where
the
Lord
is
this
is
the
gate
of
heaven
and
I'm
going
to
call
this
place
Bethel
which
means
the
house
of
God
the
place
where
man
and
God
where
humans
men
and
women
can
meet
with
God
a
place
where
a
sinful
deceiver
could
be
welcomed
by
God
himself
and
what
Jesus
says
to
Nathaniel
and to
Philip
and to
Andrew
and to
us
I'm
the
one
I am
the
son
of
man
upon
whom
the
angels
are
descending
and
ascending
I
am
the
gate
to
heaven
I
am
the
place
where
God
dwells
I
am
the
way
do
you
want
to
get
to
God
I'm
the
way
that
you're
going
to
be
able
to
do
it
he
uses
his
title
son
of
man
that
would
have
probably
not
been
super
clear
to
the
disciples
and
he's
going
to
fill
in
all
the
meaning
of
that
as
he
lives
his
life
and
death
and
resurrection
and
ascension
says
I
am
the
one
where
you
can
meet
God
I
am
the
one
who
can
show
you
the
way
to
heaven
this
is
the
savior
that
we
were
looking
for
and
he
invites
us
to
come
and
see
and
friends
we
know
the
rest
of
the
story
just
as
many
of
the
readers
of
John's
gospel
would
have
we
know
that
Jesus
lived
a
life
of
miraculous
power
of
great
humility
and
weakness
he
lived
a
life
of
love
and
he
brought
foretastes
of
the
kingdom
of
God
as
he
overcame
the
effects
of
sin
and
death
and
at
the
end
of
his
life
he
offered
himself
up
on
the
cross
as
a
sacrifice
and
a
substitute
for
our
sin
dying
in
our
place
so
that
we
might
no
longer
live
in
death
and
darkness
separate
from
God
without
access
to
him
but
that
through
the
cross
and
through
his
resurrection
we
now
actually
have
by
faith
in
Christ
access
to
God
himself
this
is
the
word
made
flesh
dwelling
and
living
in
this
earth
among
people
John
says
and I
write
all of
this
so that
you
may
believe
that
Jesus
is
the
Christ
the
son
of
God
and
that
by
believing
you
may
have
life
in
his
name
friends
if you
don't
have
life
in
Jesus
name
this
morning
I
invite
you
come
and
notice
too
how
often
just
as
it
was
true
for
me
with
my
friends
Billy
and
Becky
John
and
Kim
and
others
how
often
we
come
to
see
Jesus
through
one
another
and
if
we
do
know
Jesus
we
don't
have
to
explain
him
to
people
we
don't
have
to
beat
people
over
the
head
with
who
he
is
we
don't
have
to
destroy
we
don't
have
to
argue
people
into
the
kingdom
we
can
just
say
come
and
see
come
and
see
this
Jesus
we
can
invite
others
to
see
what
we
see
the
great
savior
the
one
we've
been
waiting
for
the
one
in
whom
we
have
access
to
God
I'm
going
to
pray
in
just
a
minute
I
don't
know
maybe
some
of
you
this
morning
are
hearing
Jesus
invitation
to
come
to
him
in
faith
this
morning
like
Nathaniel
maybe
you
have
heard
something
that
has
sparked
in
your
heart
belief
maybe
some
of
you
are
sparked
to
explore
further
I
would
love
to
talk
with
you
I'm
sure
the
other
pastors
or
maybe
your
friend
who
invited
you
to
church
can
talk
to
you
about
it
more
and for
those
of
us
who
have
seen
Jesus
for
many
years
may
we
be
refreshed
and
renewed
in
how
glorious
and
awesome
he
is
how
John
the
apostle
sketched
this
story
so that
we
might
be
reminded
of
the
greatness
of
Jesus
and
find
joy
in
him
so
let's
pray
together
Lord
we pray
this
morning
Lord
we pray
this
morning
that
you
would
by your
spirit
help us
to see
you
Jesus
as you
truly
are
Lord
to see
us
ourselves
as we
truly
are
lost
without
you
Lord
I pray
for those
who
you may
be
working
in this
morning
prompting
them
to
place
their
faith
in
Jesus
and
to
say
yes
I
will
follow
him
I
believe
he
is
the
son
of
God
the
only
savior
the
way
to
heaven
the
way
to
know
God
Lord
I
pray
Lord
right
now
that
they
would
pray
this
prayer
Lord
confessing
their
sin
asking
you
to
be
their
savior
and
their
Lord
I
pray
for
many
others
Lord
as
we
continue
to
seek
to
know
you
better
Lord
will
you
open
our
eyes
Lord
help
us
not
to
be
distracted
by
the
many
things
in
our
lives
that
prevent
us
from
spending
time
with
you
and
Lord
we
pray
that
you
would
show
us
if
there
are
ways
in
our
heart
places
in
our
hearts
where
our
love
for
you
and
our
allegiance
to
you
has
been
turned
aside
to
other
things
Lord
that
we
would
follow
you
alone
God
I
pray
you
would
restore
our
joy
in
knowing
you
today
Lord
we
pray
all
these
things
in
Jesus
name
Amen