Why We’re Doing This. Quite simply, I personally have felt for some time that it’s time to stop “doing church,” and instead to “be the church.” This means to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and to do what Jesus did. It’s a lifestyle and process of spiritual formation. Jesus’ message is so much bigger and profound than the sin management that modern church has focused upon.
Vines require pruning to fulfill their full potential. In the same way, there are likely areas in your life that require pruning to fulfill God’s full potential. What can you prune from your packed life? In addition, branches must stay connected to the vine to thrive and survive.
Jesus isn’t someone who guides us to the way, he is the way. Jesus is himself the spiritual truth who people seek. Jesus is the counterpoint to moral relativism and individualism because only God defines truth itself.
One of the important principles about our faith in following Christ is that there is death so that there is life; death to our old life so that we can become “born again” in Christ. Baptism is one such example of death and resurrection. When we die, in our sins, and live a life following Jesus, we receive a rebirth into an abundant life.
In just eight verses of the fourth “I AM” in John 10: 11-18: “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus provides us with seven characteristics of a good shepherd: Lays down his life (v.11) Knows his sheep personally (v.14) Known by his sheep (v.14)
In the third “I AM” in John 10:7: “I am the gate for the sheep,” I believe Jesus is saying that He is the only means of coming home to God and enjoying a life of spiritual fulfilment.
We’ve been reviewing Jesus’ 7 “I AM”s in the Book of John. These are 7 characteristics of God that Jesus used to describe himself. With the second “I AM” in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world,” I believe Jesus is saying that he defines life’s universal moral law and illuminates truth and goodness.
Do we trust that Jesus is all that we need? As the “bread of life,”(John 6:35) Jesus is the only one who fulfills our spiritual hunger. Sunday was Week One of our seven week series on the seven “I AMs” of Jesus found in the Book of John, and will prepare us for Easter on March 31st.
