Sermons from the College and Young Adults class at Midtown Baptist Temple
At the Feast of Tabernacles, the debate over Jesus' identity as Messiah reaches a climax. On the final day, He issues a bold invitation: 'If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.' In this week's sermon, we unpack what it means to have 'living water' and consider Nicodemus as a model of trusting God for the souls of others.
In this passage, the Jews in Jerusalem are outraged by the perceived inaction of their religious leaders. Many among the crowd are eager to see Jesus arrested and even killed, disturbed by His "unorthodox" teachings and miraculous works—particularly one performed on the Sabbath. They challenge His identity by questioning His origins, insisting that someone from His background could not possibly be the Messiah. Yet, Jesus' interaction with them reveals how He resists temptation and pride, offering us a deeper understanding of what it means to be rooted not in earthly identity, but in a heavenly calling.
The Jewish people are gathered together in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles, but behind closed doors they are curious about whether or not they will catch a glimpse of the man some are calling Messiah. They all seem to have differing ideas about Jesus but most are too afraid to discuss them openly. About halfway through the celebrations, Jesus presents himself and begins teaching but is soon confronted by his naysayers. What can be learned by the decisions Jesus makes? What can be learned by his response to the men who oppose him? What does it mean to judge or discern righteously?
As Jesus goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, the Bible gives us a glimpse into how the people in Jerusalem for perceiving Jesus. In our sermon, we discuss the differing and often unresolved views that people have of Jesus and how we as Christians can encourage the lost to work through their questions surrounding the gospel.
Duncan and Ali Murithi are headed to Nairobi to do missions work. Duncan takes time here to share is testimony and give the young adults a charge.
The Feast of the Tabernacles is approaching, a big day on the Jewish calendar where a pilgrimage is made to Jerusalem to participate in a seven day celebration. Jesus has been residing in his hometown of Galilee for a season, where is family lives. In today's sermon, Jesus' brothers deceitfully and doubtfully try and tempt him to go to Jerusalem and establish himself as the leader he claims to be. Jesus rejects their advancements, but why? And what can be learned from Jesus about ministering to friends and family?
As we continue looking at the motivations of the crowd that followed Jesus to Capernaum, we study Christ's words to the them; he is the bread of life and they must take of his flesh and blood in order to have eternal life. These were hard words that conveyed a simple truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this sermon we learn a lot from Jesus and the way people respond to his doctrine. From this moment, some stay with Jesus but many turn away - - which reveals to us the nature of our own faith and what we truly hunger for.
John 6:22-40Why do you seek Jesus? In our story the multitudes venture to find Jesus, and when they discover him in Capernaum, Christ confronts them and reveals their true motives. What we find is that they were more interested in having their hunger satisfied than they were in having their souls satisfied. Join us as we ask ourselves hard questions about what motivates us to find Jesus? Do we desire to serve him or would we prefer he bless and serve us?
John 6:15-21After the large crowds and excitement, Jesus and his disciples are ready for a break. As Jesus retreats to the mountains to rest and pray, he sends his disciples across the sea of Galilee with the intention that they meet him in Bethsaida. As the disciples sail, they find themselves in a storm that has them afraid and fighting for their lives. In our greatest moments of trial and fear we often forget all the miracles that Christ has done; we forget that he sees, he hears and he knows.
John 6:1-14 / Jesus and the disciples find themselves back in Galilee, but this time a crowd of five thousand people have gathered together to hear him teach. But the multitude began to grow hungry and they need a plan for feeding them. As Jesus engages with his disciples over this matter, we observe a series of character qualities that not only make Christ spectacular in his kindness, but teach us invaluable principles for ministry and leadership.
Hear how God used the Spring Retreat in the lives of our growing leaders.
John 5:25-45 / In this study, Jesus continues his line of argument against the Jewish leaders who were enraged that he made himself equal with God the Father. Jesus provides us with a proclamation of his deity as well as an thorough apologetic. We listen to Jesus as he not only declares his power and authority, but provides four witnesses to his divine identity
Acts 10 What do we do when God changes our plans?
John 5:18-24 / After Jesus healed the certain man on the Sabbath, many of the religious leaders were upset, but that alone was not enough to stoke their desires to kill him; the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus because he claimed he was God. In our study, we are going to look at the scriptural evidence that Jesus was who he said he was, Jehovah - the existing one. We are going to also look at the specific claims that he makes and unpack what they mean for the world, but also for us as forgetful Christians.
John 5:1-17 / Jesus once again returns to Jerusalem for a feast celebration. While there he comes across a multitude of people with severe ailments waiting by an ancient pool, hoping in the second hand promises of a miracle. Jesus engages with a certain man who is unable to walk, and calls him to receive healing - and he does! This certain man receives such a wonderful gift, but responds to that blessing in a very peculiar but unsurprising way.
Acts 9:10-19 In this message we study Ananias' reaction to getting a call on his life to reach Saul of Tarsus. From this interaction we learn how disciples of Jesus Christ must have total faith in their Lord to answer when he calls and how if this is done in obedience, we can trust that God will do something wonderful.
John 4:46-54 / Upon Jesus' return to Cana, a man seeks him in desperation. He has heard that Jesus is capable of great miracles and in his hour of need decides to leave his dying son's bedside to find Jesus and ask for his mercy. When Jesus meets him, he challenges the motivations of his request. The result of their interaction is a story of God's grace and how faith grows when we choose to rely on the promises of Christ.
John 4:31-45 / Jesus knew his mission. Christ had devoted his faith, his time and his energy into doing exactly what the Father asked - and it was deeply satisfying to him. The twelve disciples on the other hand, they were just getting started; they were easily distracted and often misunderstood the goals of their work. In this sermon, we listen as Christ helps correct their temporal thinking and gives them eyes to see just how fulfilling it can be to labor in the fields of the Lord.
John 4:1-30 / Jesus had an appointment to get to; regardless of the pressure from his friends, the inconvenience of his journey and the cultural lines he had to cross, Jesus had a woman he needed to meet. When he arrived he delivered a message that would change everything about her life and impact everyone she knew.
Today, we will dive into the Bible to learn about God's heart for the nations and the stranger, and how that should impact our perspective towards them.
John 3:22-36 / A group of religious Jews and a handful of John the Baptist's disciples came to him to inquire about his ministry in relation to Jesus. They sought to inquire about the possibility of contention between John and Jesus. John graciously instructs them on the doctrine of salvation through Christ, but also what it means to be humble in ministry.
John 3:8-21 / A Pharisee named Nicodemus seeks Jesus to inquire about spiritual matters and Jesus provides him with four illustrations to help him understand the salvation that he brings. John chapter 3 helps us to fully understand the gravity of the gospel message and what it means for our souls.
John 3:1-7 / A Pharisee named Nicodemus seeks to ask Jesus questions about his identity and his views on spiritual matters, but when he arrives Jesus begins answering all the questions Nicodemus never knew to ask. In this study, we look at Christ's call to “be born again” and discuss what this means in our story and what it means for our lives.
John 2:13-25 / Are you struggling with making Christianity about you? Has worship and ministry grown stale? After the wedding in Cana, Jesus and his disciples go to Jerusalem to celebrate the passover. When Jesus arrives, he finds something seriously wrong with the way in which people are approaching God in worship. Jesus responds in a way that is befitting the offense, a reaction that precisely deals with the false religion, cheap worship and empty symbols he finds in the temple of God.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 In order to live as mighty men, we must go from debtors in sin to debtors of the gospel message.
John 2:12 / Jesus and his disciples are invited to a marriage feast in Cana of Galilee, but when the wedding party runs out of wine, Jesus's mother requests that he do something miraculous. In the first public miracle of Jesus we learn about faith, expectation and what it means to always be ready to obey Christ.
John 1:43-50 / Jesus is beginning to gather disciples to follow him and learn from him. Philip of Bethsaida begins following Jesus and in his zeal goes to find his friend Nathanael to share that he had found the Messiah, but Nathanael is resistant. Like many of our friends and family, Nathanael holds a bias that becomes an impediment to the gospel. In this sermon we learn how to reach those who seem to be hindered in their view of Jesus.
John 1:29-42 / As we continue in our story, John the Baptist reveals Messiah and points his disciples to Jesus. As those disciples spend time with Jesus, it produces a desire to invite others to experience the goodness of Christ as well. This portion of the Gospel of John provides us with incredible insight into what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ and to understand ministry the way God intended.
John 1:14-27 / Do you know who you are and what you have been made for? Many Christians don't. The purpose of our Christian faith is often clouded by our culture, pragmatism, elitism, politics, entertainment and other distractions that only serve to make us tepid and ineffectual. In this sermon, John the Baptist serves as an example of what it means to know what we've made for and unabashedly embrace our cause.
John 1:1-13 / Of the four gospels, John most clearly magnifies that divine attributes of Jesus. The opening of this gospel declares Jesus as God, but more than that, it defines what that means in terms of humanities relationship to him. Join us as we begin this wonderful journey through the Gospel of John.
Brotherly Love / 1 John 2:8-11 In today's message, we will cover some hindrances in our brotherly love, and then clearly see how Jesus Christ is the best brother a man could have.
Ephesians 6:18-24 /In our last sermon on Finding Our Identity, Paul closes his letter to Ephesus by calling them to prayer. In this study we look at the discipline of prayer and discuss it as a necessity of spiritual warfare. We also look at the value and importance of a ministry that delegates in order to meet the needs of the church.
Ephesians 6:16-17 / Are we preparing for evil days, trials and difficulty by actively putting on the whole armor of God? In the last sermon we looked at the first three elements in the divine armor of God, this week we look at three more. Join us as we consider what it means to find our identity as a soldier engaged in a spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:14-15 / Each of us face “evil days” in our lives, moments where we are frustrated with our circumstances, afraid and tempted to despair. As Christians, do we know how to remain resolved and emotionally strong in those seasons of life? Do we acknowledge the nature of our enemy's warfare? Are we actively preparing by putting on the whole armor of God?
Ephesians 6:11-13 / We have an enemy who actively seeks our deception, distraction and destruction. He hates us with a passion and his influence and power is greater and more extensive than we can imagine. Do we know who he is? Do we know how to prepare ? Are we battle ready?
Ephesians 6:10 / We have learned so much from Ephesians about our identity, but as we reach the closing admonition we learn a hard truth - that we must be fearless in the face of difficulty. Hard ship is common to all people, but the way in which Christians endure life's challenges should be unique. Today we consider, what does it mean to fight life's battles in the courage of Christ?
2 Corinthins 10:3-6 Today we will look at 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 which has the keys to engaging effectively in spiritual warfare through prayer.
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