The 7 I AM Statements of Jesus - John

So That You May Believe - John 18:1-11

March 24, 2024 • Denis Garijo • John 18:1–11

“When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground” John 18:6. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Jesus' journey towards the crucifixion and resurrection. It starts with the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, where He was received as the king of the Jews, the Messiah who would rescue them politically and nationally. However, Jesus came to bring salvation not for their nation but for their souls. After His entry, we will fast forward a couple of days to the events when Jesus was arrested, where He delivered the last 'I Am' statement, displaying His power and Divinity. As we look at these events, let us learn from human mistakes and, most importantly, from Jesus, the humble King, Lord, and Savior. John 8:58 - “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” I appreciate your prayers and hope to see you there! Denis Garijo

I AM the Vine - John 15:1-16

March 3, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 15:1–16

Jesus has used several illustrations of agriculture and common everyday things to demonstrate how uncommon He is – for our understanding. The seventh of the I AMs is just as rich – Jesus steps into the vineyard and draws some heavenly analogies – He is the Vine and we are the branches. Sunday I will try to unpack these life lessons and emphasize how important it is to ‘abide’ in Christ. Jesus is the Vine and His Father the Vinedresser – doing the pruning. We are the branches extending from the Vine whose purpose is to bear fruit for the Vinedresser. Sunday I will cover the 4 types of produce God desires from His vineyard. Fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and fruit that remains. The most important step to this is being connected to the Vine and then to be fruitful in this World. Come Sunday and listen to the lesson from Jesus – our True Vine! See you Sunday - Pastor Mike Fruit of the Spirit - Growing by the Water of the Word and lots of 'Sonlight'!

I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life! - John 14:1-6

February 25, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 14:1–6

“We fear men so much because we fear God so little.” William Gurnall John records the fear of the Disciples when Jesus announces in John 13 that He is ‘only with them a little while longer’ (John 13:31). As we might expect Peter asks ‘where are you going?’ – and Jesus replies with a short answer and then the longer promises of John 14 – the text for Sunday. The conversation in chapter 14 follows in form closely to the preceding chapter. The conversation continues to flow as Christ prepares His disciples for the day ahead. He comforts them by telling them His departure is to His Father's house, with a view of preparing a place for them and then coming again to those who know the direction of the journey. Our key verse is Jesus establishing that knowing Him is not only the ultimate meaning and fulfillment of life on earth but the only way to really know the Father in heaven. Sunday I will take us into the teachings of the Way, the Truth, and the Life – all found in Jesus! Invite someone to join you! Pastor Mike

I AM the Resurrection and the Life - John 11

February 18, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 11:17–27

“Don’t fear death – fear a life of no consequence!” If only you had been here – so many storylines in John 11. Sunday I will take a few of them focusing on Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life. Why did Jesus delay? Why did Martha go out to meet Jesus? Nothing was to be required of Martha or Mary – Lazarus was dead and buried. Why is Jesus showing up now and speaking of life when they had gathered for mourning? Jesus did not speak of death nor of distractions – He spoke about life! Jesus’ words were not about having a better life nor a longer life nor ignoring the inevitable effect of death – He spoke about resurrection and life to follow – in Him. Sunday I will take us through the conversation of Jesus and Martha (we will revisit the raising of Lazarus later) and we will hope to see the promises made by the Lord and the comfort we might have in those promises. Join us Sunday for the 4th I AM – Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life! Pastor Mike “Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, 'Christ is risen,' but 'I shall rise.'” Phillips Brooks

I AM the Good Shepherd - John 10:11-18

February 11, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 10:11–18

“The only safe place for sheep is by the side of the shepherd, because the devil does not fear sheep; he just fears the shepherd.” A.W. Tozer, A Man of God Jesus is truly the good shepherd. We use the word “good” in so many different ways describing food, appearance, music or even our well-being. Sometimes we speak of something or someone being good in a moral sense, but other times we speak about something being good in quality. That’s the way the word is used here. It’s a word that means good in quality. It can even mean beautiful, handsome or excellent. So when Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, he means that he is the most excellent shepherd; he is the pre-eminent shepherd; he is what shepherding is all about. He is the beautiful shepherd, the ideal shepherd – the perfect example of what a shepherd should be. And as we look at how Jesus fulfills his role as the good shepherd, we see even more the wonder and the beauty of our Lord. In our passage Sunday Jesus shares four different ways that He is the good shepherd. Jesus has Compassion, Courage, Community and a Calling – all for the Sheep = us! I will take us through the New Testament to see Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd – but the most important question I will ask you is – ‘can you say He is my Shepherd?’ See you Sunday, Pastor Mike

I AM the Door! - John 10:7-10

February 4, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 10:7–10

Jesus’ claim in 10:7 starts with the setting back in 10:1 about the sheepfold. We need to understand the fold if we are to have any idea what he means by the door. From this introduction, we see that Jesus is calling out to sheep from the heart of a Shepherd. By verse 7 He is inviting us inside for salvation and taking us out for feeding. This sounds so much like the 23rd Psalm and will be a part of next week's look at Jesus the Good Shepherd. This week I will focus on Jesus the Door – the way in and out of the fold. The physical aspects of the sheepfold are both simple and clear – from these, we will better understand the spiritual lessons Jesus wants to teach us. During the day flocks roamed the pasture, but at night they were corralled into a sheepfold. The sheepfold was an enclosure surrounded by a wall of rocks that was too high for the sheep to jump over. The shepherds sometimes put thorny branches on the tops of the walls to deter thieves from trying to climb over. The opening in the wall allowed the sheep to enter and exit; and at night, the shepherd lay across that opening and became the door of the sheepfold. No animal could get out and no enemy could get in without the shepherd knowing it. On the outskirts of many villages, there might be a community sheepfold where all the shepherds brought their flocks each evening. In the morning, the shepherds would call their sheep, and each flock would follow its shepherd out of the sheepfold. The sheep knew the voice of their own shepherd and would follow nobody else. But this again is next week! Join me Sunday as we focus on the opening of the fold where Jesus is The Door – He is the only way in and the only one we can trust to lead us out into the World. See you Sunday! Pastor Mike

I AM the Light of the World - John 8:12; 1:4-9

January 28, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 8:12, John 1:4–9

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 This is the second I AM statement that Jesus makes in the Gospel of John. These statements reveal to us who He is and what He came to do. The meaning of John 8:12 is powerful and can change our life and our faith if we let it sink in and become our way of life. Sunday I will dive into what the ‘I am the light of the world’ means and see how it should change our approach to Growing in Christ and Growing Others! In Jesus’ first I AM statement in John 6:35 he says he is the Bread of Life. Food was a too scarce commodity in the 1st Century world of the Jews. It was the first thing God provided the Israelites with on their journey in the Exodus from Egypt – ‘manna’ the Bread of Life. Here Jesus uses an equally iconic illustration: light. The Jews in their wanderings followed a pillar of fire by night and day. Moses knew this was of the LORD as he had visited the burning bush that was not consumed and he heard the commands of Jehovah. Today when it’s dark we simply flip a switch and instantly the darkness is gone. But in the 1st Century, it wasn’t so simple. In Jesus’ day when it got dark, it was DARK. So when Jesus calls Himself the light it’s a big deal. Not so in the days of lamps and oil or even just meager candles – real light! From the Menorah to the Hannukah miracle – Light was a big deal! Dr Thomas Constable says, “The light of life figure stands for what dispels the darkness of ignorance and death. Jesus was claiming that whoever believes in Him will enjoy the light that comes from God’s presence and produces life.” Join me Sunday for this second I AM and let me share the 3 ways we are illuminated by Christ and how we are to walk in that light and shine that light – see you Sunday. Pastor Mike

I AM the Bread of Life - John 6:26-40

January 21, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 6:26–40

Good day, Grace Family! Sunday I begin our series on the I AMs of John – each one adding to the testimony of Jesus – as we heard last week “so that you may believe!”. I will begin with some basic background on the name I AM and then quickly into the claims of Jesus as the Bread of Life. We will wander through the annuals of Exodus recalling the name of Jehovah and the manna provided in the Wilderness Journey. Then fast forwarding to the Gospels where Jesus takes the offering of the little boy’s lunch and after a time of prayer – He feeds a crowd of 5000 a picnic! On the heels of that miracle, Jesus seizes a teaching moment – “I am the Bread of Life” was the lesson though we will hear Sunday that it was part of a longer lesson that began with some impertinent questions from the people. Join me as we begin a series of Sevens recorded in John’s Gospel – I will also be sharing my Banana Bread recipe (not kidding!) as an illustration of the difference between studying bread and eating bread! See you Sunday, Pastor Mike

That You May Believe! - John 20:30-31

January 14, 2024 • Mike Burt • John 20:30–31

Why did John write this Gospel? And why do we need to hear it so badly? Because John needs to feed our faith and build our vision of Christ! That is the unique contribution of this Gospel. In one book, it presents Christ to us in a way that is far fuller, far richer, and far more divine than any other book, chapter, or verse in the entire New Testament. Like the closing years of the 1st Century (which John saw), the early years of our 21st Century are filled with lots of false ideas about Jesus; pictures of Christ shaped by popular ideas, movements, and religions of today. I wish all of these were outside the Church, but it is not so. There are also false Christs in the church! False ideas come from selfish desires and lazy study. John challenges us to look at the Messiah – study His works – listen to His words – watch His reactions – there is the Son of God! The Gospel means “good news”. And the good news is that God wants to feed us in exactly this way through this book. Are you heart-hungry? Does your soul thirst? Please hear this: your satisfaction as a true believer is directly related to the healthiness of what you truly believe about Jesus. That's why all of us need to understand John and these seven signs of Jesus. Join me as we journey with John and visit a few of Jesus' many and mighty works. May God bless this study and every one of you who comes with a humble heart and ears to hear. Let's pray and ask God for exactly that. See you Sunday! Pastor Mike

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