Tag Archives: John

Jesus is the Son of G*d

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 30, 2015
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I Am a Fool For Jesus — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 30, 2015

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”” John 4:10-16

“You see, the issue in Christianity, in spite of what some people say, is not usually an intellectual one…..it is moral. Human nature does not change much from age to age. Jesus Christ understands human nature–all its foibles and dodges. He knows our difficulty. See how he dealt with this problem in a woman of the first century. Christ….came back to the first point–the real point, the wrong in her personal life which was cutting her off from a relationship with G*d…”  Peter Marshall (1902 – 1949) John Doe, Disciple – “For All The Saints”, volume IV (p. 450-451)

There is so much that can cut us off from a relationship with G*d….but so much of what does cut us off from G*d comes down to human nature — the desire to live our lives the way we want to — and not the way that G*d wants. We can’t fool Jesus — Jesus knows the human mind and the intellectual gymnastics we go through thinking we have fooled G*d. We have not fooled G*d. We have only fooled ourselves. We can go on playing the fool “with” G*d — or we can play the fool “for” G*d. I would rather play the second fool — for what is of the world is foolish compared to the glory of the kingdom of G*d. Come join me in being a fool for Jesus….

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on July 26, 2015
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Where? — Rev. David J. Schreffler

July 26, 2015
Sunday

“When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.”  John 6:5-10a

“The story of the feeding of the 5000 appears in all four gospels, but only John’s gospel says the loaves and the fishes came from a boy. Like the New Testament widow who put her last two coins in the treasury, like the Old Testament widow who used the last of her meal and oil to make bread for Elijah, this young boy gives all he had. These three people are nameless, yet their acts of faith, trust and generosity are still remembered.” “Thoughts by Pastor Lisa” website March 24, 2011

“Gandhi used the spinning wheel as both physical embodiment and symbol for radical change. Today, the foundation for social justice is healthy food — our “spinning wheel” for the 21st century.” Francisco Ramos Stierle

Jesus said to his disciples “Where…?” Where will the bread come from? Where will the food come from? Where will we find things for all of the needs that we have? Where? Where? Where? The answer for the feeding story comes in the form of the least likely source they could have thought of. Surely an adult, one of the disciples, or even a leader in the Synagogue would have an answer. Why did they not consider someone from the crowd? Because sometimes the most likely answer is right in front of us and we miss it — because it just doesn’t seem possible. But G*d is in the business of doing the impossible — one day’s oil lasting eight days — five loaves and two fish feeding 5000+ people. With all of the things that we do and don’t have, G*d can still work miracles — we just need to be willing to listen, and follow.

Pastor Dave