John 1:29-42
1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world!
1:30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was
before me.'
1:31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he
might be revealed to Israel."
1:32 And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it
remained on him.
1:33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me,
'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy
Spirit.'
1:34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."
1:35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples,
1:36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of
God!"
1:37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
1:38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking
for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher),
"where are you staying?"
1:39 He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying,
and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.
1:40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's
brother.
1:41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the
Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).
1:42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of
John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).
Last week the question was raised about the quality or lack of contributions by Pastor
Will in the High Mountains. I have been a long time lurker ( reader but not contributor)
on the site. I too enjoyed the give and take between liberals and conservatives that used
to take place on the site, and although I didn't contribute, many times Rick spoke for me.
When he was censored, and then quit in disgust, something was lost, and quite frankly I
have been losing interest rapidly. I find now that I only check this site rarely, hence
the reference to last week this week.
Some people view conflict as negative, and even unchristian. I firmly believe that in
conflict and crisis, creativity has a chance to happen.
Just my opinion
Dave in Pa
The first verse of the Isaiah reading says, "The LORD called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me."
This Gospel pericope is also about naming.... the Baptizer names Jesus "Lamb of
God" and "Son of God", his disciples name Jesus "Rabbi", Andrew
names Jesus "Messiah", and Jesus names Simon bar Jonah "Cephas"
(Peter, rock).
Naming, titling, describing (which the Psalm is about -- "Here I am; in the scroll
of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within
my heart.") these are important activities. How and what we name, title, or describe
people has a lasting impact on who they are. Names, titles, and descriptions can become,
in many ways, "self-fulfilling prophecies".
Just some thoughts....
Blessings, Eric in KS
More thoughts ... these comments are from Roger Hahn's "The Voice" Bible
Studies:
First, about John's disciples naming Jesus "Rabbi":
"They called Jesus, "Rabbi." John provides the translation,
"teacher." But even the word "teacher" does not communicate the depth
of respect in the Hebrew word Rabbi. Rabbi literally means, "My great one," in
Hebrew. The Jews' respect for knowledge was so great that the teachers were the great
people of their culture. There is really no higher compliment the two would-be disciples
could have paid another human being than to call him, Rabbi."
Second, about Jesus's naming of Simon "Cephas":
"Cephas is Aramaic and Peter is Greek for 'rock.' As William Barclay notes, 'Jesus
does not only see what a man is; He also sees what a man can become. He sees not only the
actualities in a man; he also sees the possibilities.' Jesus saw Peter's potential as the
rock upon which the early church would be built. The change of name was the first step in
the process that brought Peter to the role of leader in the early church."
Blessings, Eric in KS
I thought this Sunday I would preach about giving our witness - an evangelism emphasis.
There are two witnesses given in this scripture. The first is by John the Baptist. He
testifies to what he has seen. He bears witness that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes
away the sins of the world. It is this witness to his own disciples that leads at least
two of them, Andrew and an unnamed disciple, to follow Jesus. Then Andrew gives his
personal witness to his brother, Simon. He serves as the first evangelist, at least in our
denomination. We sing the song "Pass It On" at the end of our service. I want to
emphasize the importance of passing on our testimony/witness about Jesus to others. Too
many people feel religion is a private matter! No, our faith is something to be shared!
This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. A Deacon from the Catholic Church across
the street will be preaching at my church and I will be preaching at their mid-morning
mass. I guess I will title things, "Our Shared Witness." In my church we have
weekly communion. The trays are passed in the pews. How would people feel if we didn't
pass it to them? I have known some Deacons who overlooked someone and boy do they get mad.
If we don't share our witness with others aren't we doing the same thing? PH in OH
I'm relatively new to this discussion group (just over the last few weeks) and I can't
tell you how much I appreciate the help I get from everyone's contribution to the
discussions.
I need prayers this week too (and input). I currently pastor a small church with about
55 average weekly attendance. Activity (no matter how much I try) is pretty
limited to
Sunday Worship. We have no mid-week programs or study groups simply because no
own will
participate.
I'm being called by a church that has almost 300 weely attendance and offers a much
more stimulating ministry with plenty of lay involvement and plenty of things going on.
It seems a "no-brainer" I'm excited about being called by this congregation,
yet the idea of leaving the little church hurts me in the stomach.
Any words of wisdom or prayers are welcomed...
unsigned for now...
I'm rather drawn to a combination of Isa and Jn this week. There is something to God
calling us by name, or naming or renaming us that ought to be comforting. I've been
dealing with this personally, as I often feel like the task is larger than I am. The key
is that OF COURSE the task is larger than I; but so is God! I also believe this to be
where many in my primarily older congregation are (projection aside) ... I often hear
"I can't do that," or something along those lines. While I do believe this is
often an excuse to politely say, "this is not a priority for me," I do think our
society tells older people that they become incapable once they stop being able to walk
and think quickly (or drive after dark).
My favorite line (don't hold me to the exact quote) out of any movie, and which I quote
frequently in sermons, or any leadership situation, is from "Coal Miner's
Daughter," when Loretta Lynn's husband gives her the guitar. She says, "I don't
know how to play this." and he says, "Well, no one knows before they learn
how."
Often, others have more faith in us than we have in ourselves. I think God does, too.
Sally in GA
Dave in Pa:
I agree in general w/ your comment about conflict. I believe good argumentation is what
we're trying to get at here. However, I have observed narrow-minded, high-handed theology
on this site (cons. & lib.) that was left to go on too long and that turns me off;
that and some ongoing lack of moderation.
Of course, this "sermon contribution" area is not the forum for this
discussion either. Let's respect one another and argue in love and at the right place and
time.
Mike in IN
