“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9
I recently discovered that NASA is in possession of the world’s largest door; four doors to be exact! These doors open into the (VAB), The Vehicle Assembly Building in which the Space Shuttle was assembled.
But what about the world’s most important door? This door was born in Bethlehem and was about 19-21” long, weighing 6-7 lbs. This baby would grow into adult hood standing about 5’7-10.”
Who is this door? Jesus Christ, the Son of God! John Ten records Jesus using pastoral (shepherding language) to explain to His disciples and the crowd that He is the Door for the sheep. He would have been referring to the hillside shepherds of Israel who would lay down to serve as the door to their respective flocks of sheep at night during the warmer months. Those the angel addressed in Luke Two!
John 14:6 records Jesus astounding the religious elite and the world when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” The Bible tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, He opened the one and only way for all people to have access to the Father now, and forever! Therefore, when one surrenders his/her life to Jesus at the cross and is washed clean of his/her sin disease by Jesus’ blood, Jesus Himself says that person shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. In other words, he shall find rest, joy, the forgiveness of sins, and the filling of the Spirit when one confesses his sins (See I John 1:9). So, if we stumble or sin or just want to talk, Jesus is waiting to hear (His sheep), and talk to us. Adoration to the Great Shepherd of the Sheep!
Pastor Louie
The True Vine: Adorenament No. 3
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5
Have you ever cut off a branch for a Christmas tree? What happened? It died, right? When a branch is cut off from a tree, it stops growing because it’s not receiving the water and nutrients it needs. The same is true with the grape vine. Unless a branch abides or stays connected and gets the food it needs, it won’t produce grapes. The branch is good for nothing.
In today’s verse, Jesus is announcing to His disciples as well as the religious elite and other onlookers in the crowd, that He is the vine and His disciples are the branches. He says, if they choose to abide (stay connected) to Him they will flourish and bear not only fruit, but much fruit for the Kingdom of God, but if they choose not to stay connected to him they, will be fruitless to the Kingdom.
How does a Christian maintain the healthy relationship the Father (the Vinedresser) desires for all His children in Christ? One way in which Christians abide is by obeying God’s Word, the Bible. As we study, memorize, and hear the Word, we learn how to live as Christians. When we ask the Holy Spirit (likened to the sap in a grapevine/branch relationship), He’ll help us understand and obey God’s Word.
Another way we stay connected is to spend time with other Christian believers in fellowship during worship, ministry, and other activities, as well as sharing the truth of the Gospel: that Jesus saves, with others. This Christmas, let’s live the True Vine life! (See Galatians 5:22-23). Pastor Louie
The Giver of Living Water: Adorenament No. 4
“Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10
The Adorenament I used for this past Sunday’s children’s time is named, “The Giver of Living Water.” It features today’s Scripture printed on a water pot with some of the water spilling out its mouth.
Have you ever been thirsty? Of course! We all get thirsty because we have a physical need—the need for water of something to drink. But did you know you have a spiritual thirst also? This spiritual thirst comes from our need to know God and His gift to us—Jesus! We all need spiritual or living water to take care of our spiritual thirst.
When Jesus saw the woman at Jacob’s well, He asked her for a drink because He was thirsty. But He knew she was lost in sin, so He wanted to help her understand her spiritual thirst that could only be satisfied by ‘living water.’ He was trying to help her see He would give her living water if she would receive Hi as her Savior.
What is this living water? Unlike the water at the bottom of a well, living water never ends. In John 7:38, Jesus says, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’” When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, He gives us this living water, the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and helps us obey God. Have you invited Jesus to be the Giver of Living Water to your inmost being? With Him you’ll never be thirsty again! Read more about Jesus and the woman at the well in John 4:1-42.
Pastor Louie
Christmas Adorenament No. 5: A Candle Name of Jesus: The Light of the World
Christmas Adorenament No. 5: A Candle
Name of Jesus: The Light of the World
“Again, therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’” John 8:12
Studies indicate that people living at the extreme Northern and Southern Hemispheres suffer from depression when there is an increase in darkness due to shorter days. Have you ever tried to find your way through a dark room? That room may have been a physical room or perhaps a room of darkness, such as the room of fear, the room of hopelessness, or the room of despair. You can even hurt yourself in the darkness if you’re not careful. But when you turn on the lights, you can see your way.
Ever since Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there has been a deep darkness in the world that comes from being separated from God, His truth, and His love. We are lost apart from God and we need to be made right with Him so we don’t have to walk in darkness anymore. We need light!
John 1:4-5 tells us, ‘In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness…’ Praise God! Jesus said Himself, that He is the light of the world and he who follows Him does not walk in darkness, but has the light of life living inside him! Just like the sun that lights up the earth, Jesus lights up our lives spiritually. And just like the Christmas lights that make a tree or a house look pretty at Christmastime, Jesus makes us look beautiful to others by lighting up our lives with His truth and Spirit.
Praise God that Jesus is the Light of the World! He came to earth to light up our hearts with His love so that we can display what Christmas is really all about and that is, to love others the way in which Christ loved us from the Cross and loves us still!
Merry Christmas God’s Children of the Light! Pastor Louie