The goal of the Christian life is for Christ to increase and for us to decrease. While talking to his disciples, John the Baptist explains what this concept means and why Christ deserves all the glory from his people

In John 4, Jesus walks into Samaria and meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well. As their conversation commences, they will dialogue about living water, true worship, and spiritual food. This sermon covers their introduction to each other, as well as Christ being the living water as the first subject of their conversation.

This sermon wraps up our preaching on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. We continue to consider how this conversation reveals the identity and purpose of Christ. As the unnamed woman believes on Christ and runs back to the village to tell everybody about him, the disciples return and hear from the Son of God how his food is to do the will of the Father.

John 4:43-54

In this passage we consider the apparent disparity between Jesus saying He has "no honor in His hometown," but upon His arrival, "the Galileans welcomed Him." But the main message that rings throughout the entire chapter is that living faith rests upon the word of Jesus/God, not upon "signs and wonders."

Jesus meets a suffering man beside the pool of Bethesda where the sickest in Jerusalem gather. Jesus grants the man a miraculous healing which enables him to walk right away. His experience allows us to see how Jesus meets his people in their hopelessness and ministers to them there. We also deal with the matter of healing miracles. We conclude that God can and does still heal today, but it's his gift to extend or not extend. What remains certain through all sin, suffering, and physical illness is that we have a living hope in the Son of God.

John 3:16-21

God is entirely motivated by love in giving His "one and only" Son, but as it turns out, the world isn't interested in any provision for salvation. What now?

John 3:9-15

Nicodemus (and the Pharisees) don't understand "earthly things." They don't receive "their" testimony; they don't believe. What will Jesus do now? Jesus pulls a telling (and compelling) example of the basis (foundation) of new birth from Numbers 21 for Nicodemus's consideration...

John 3:1-9

Nicodemus comes to Jesus with what he understands to be true. Jesus "answers" with information Nicodemus does not understand -- "unless one is born again [from above] he cannot see (or enter) the kingdom of God!"