Gospel of John Study Guide Now Available

Dale and I, along with Elliott, give thanks to the Lord for the sabbatical we recently completed in Japan with SYME. We are especially grateful to our church for allowing us to go. We were blessed by the many expressions of support prior to going. And upon our return, it has been easy to see the Lord’s hand on the church in our absence. We want to commend everyone for their faithful service to the Lord! We are especially thankful for Pastors Doug, Adam, and Jeremy and their wives, and to the Church Leadership Team for the way their carried the ministry forward. I also want to commend Mary Pittman, Greg Bray, and Michelle Kosegi for their faithful ministries in church administration and in the Hamilton Hills Pre-school. I know there are so many others who also served faithfully in teaching, leading Bible studies, doing men, women’s, youth, and children’s ministry, making FAITH visits, producing materials, or in carrying out some aspect of ministry. It simply is not possible to name everyone. The Lord himself will remember all you have done for him, and great in his reward!

I am excited to be back in the pulpit this Sunday, December 16! Prior to going on sabbatical, I felt the Lord leading me to choose the Gospel of John as the subject of my next Sunday morning sermon series. So I began reading, studying, and pondering with that end in mind. I’m exited now to share with you the fruit of my restful labor in the Word.

Our approach on Sundays will be both new and the same as usual. We will study together using verse-by-verse exposition of the text. No difference there. What’s new involves the availability of a study guide to go along with the sermon each week. Beginning today, a Gospel of John Study Guide is available for download here. It will also be available in booklet form on Sunday.*

In years past, I have often wished I could take the time to publish this kind of sermon series resource for the church. Perhaps I should say, I often wished I could find the time to publish such a resource. The press of ministry routines made it difficult to work ahead far enough to be able to carry out this dream. But then, along came the sabbatical. The time in Japan, combined with our coming home a week early and my recent surgery, afforded me the chance to get it done.

The Gospel Of John Study Guide now available is only intended to go with the first six sermons in the new series. For that reason, we are calling it “The Gospel of John Study Guide - Part 1.” As I complete the next block of sermons, Part 2 will be published, and so on, until we finish with the series. In the meantime, those who make use of the study guide will have in hand a useful tool for recording notes on Sunday and interacting with the text through the week.

Other than the sabbatical, there are three reasons why I believe this is the sermon series to begin making a study guide like this available to the church. First, it underscores that our church really is focused on the study of God’s Word, and that’s central to our worship. Secondly, it has long been my desire to extend the impact and usefulness of Sunday morning sermons beyond the time of the worship service itself. The busyness of life can be so distracting. It can be easy to forget about the Sunday morning series of sermons and not think about them again until the following Sunday. To this end, the study guide will afford people the chance to stay connected to the series through the week with daily readings and interactive exercises. Finally, I am personally so passionate about John’s theme and purpose for writing his Gospel that I want to use every means possible to pass along to others what the Lord has taught me.

In addition to describing Jesus as our Savior, John the Apostle convincingly lays out the case for Jesus as the one God promised to send to restore the earth after the Fall. Understanding what John wrote will impact the worldview and daily life of any person willing to receive and act on it. I believe the study guide will facilitate this kind of focus and response.

So I invite you to download the study guide, or pick up one of the booklets this Sunday. Then join us at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday in the auditorium. I hope you also will tell others about our new study, and pray for the Lord’s blessing and presence with us.

*A big thank-you goes to Jamie Ryan and Rick Terry for their help with designing and publishing the study guide!