Old town and Friendship

Greeting and Opening Prayer

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

The Psalmist wrote, “I was glad when they said unto me, “We will go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1[1]

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and all the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.[2]

Pastoral Prayer

Spirit of God,

breathe into our hearts

peace that is content in your love.

Spirit of God,

unite us in honouring

the gift we are to each other.

Spirit of God,

give nations common cause

to strive for justice and the welfare of all people.

Spirit of God,

fill us with your grace

to trust in your promises

and accept your forgiveness for ourselves and others.

Spirit of God,

breathe into the whole of your creation

the peace that comes from you alone

through Jesus Christ. Amen.[3]

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.[4]

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14[5]

The Sermon.

He did it all for You

Terry Cavanaugh / General

John 20:30–31 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

As we look at these two verses here we see Christ is coming to end of his ministry. In fact one commentator even said these two verses are the concluding episode in Christ ministries. We also see in these verse what Christ was willing to do just for you.

OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THREE ACTIVITIES WHICH CHRIST DID JUST FOR YOU.​

First, he came for Just you​

Even before Jesus was born, God made sure everyone knew He coming to be our Savior. That is what the angel said to Joseph. Listen to Matthew 1:21 as the angle speaks to Joseph about Mary.​

Matthew 1:21 ESV

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

God also sent his angels to proclaim the birth of Jesus to the shepherds with these words.

Luke 2:10–11 ESV

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

​Jesus was the only person who came into this world in order to die for others, and even the angels proclaimed it at his birth.​

​Jesus Himself also claimed he came to be our Savior.

Luke 19:10 ESV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

​ We know Jesus came for us because if we look back at John 3:16 this lays the foundation for God’s plan for our salvation.

Listen to

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

So we have discovered this morning that Jesus came to be our Savior, from the angel’s conversation with Joseph, the angels in the field with the shepherds, to Jesus own words, you can not miss he came to die for us. He did it all just for you.

HOWEVER, JESUS DID NOT JUST COME INTO OUR WORLD FOR YOU, HE ALSO PERFORMED MIRACLES FOR YOU.

SECOND, JESUS DID MIRACLES FOR YOU.

John 20:30 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

You may be asking, “How did Jesus do miracles for me?” John tells that Jesus did many signs or miracles. He did so many that they did not write all of them down. But, the ones they did write down where done so you might believe in Jesus. Believe he was the long awaited Christ or Messiah. Also, that you might have eternal life in his name.

All of Jesus’ miracles were so that we would believe.

Look at his first miracle, when he turned water into wine.

John 2:11 ESV

This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

Notice following the miracle Jesus disciples believed in him

When in his last miracle which was the biggest and greatest one of all, was when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. And even that miracle was followed by belief the Centurion who had mocked Jesus and had crucified Him, after his death said,

Matthew 27:54 “Truly this was the Son of God!”

We see here Jesus was helping people to believe through his miracles, from him turning water into wine, all the way to his death on the cross, and his resurrection, his miracles are followed by people believing in him.

All his miracles were done so you and I might believe in him. And by believing in him we have eternal life.

WE HAVE SEEN THIS MORNING THAT JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD JUST FOR YOU.

AND, JESUS DID HIS MIRACLES JUST FOR YOU.

HOWEVER, GOD WAS NOT DONE,

God Created the Bible Just for You.

John 20:31 ESV

but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John tells us that the Bible was written so we might believe.

Without the Bible, we would not know about God’s love, his care, his creation, or His plan.

Without the Bible, we would not know who Jesus is, or about the cross, or the empty grave, or the Holy Spirit that he sent.

Without the Bible, we could never come to faith.

Paul tells us in

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Paul also instruct us in

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Without the Bible, we would be lost travelers without a map or compass.

But God loved us to much to leave us stranded in life.

He gave us his word.

Through all of this, Christ sacrifice, the only requirement from God is that we believe.

Are You willing to Believe AND TRUST Him.

Jesus said in

John 5:24 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

You might say I don’t trust others, but you do.

God has done it all for you.

God sent his son.

His son proved himself through his miracles.

God made sure it was all written down in his Word.

And he did it all for you.

Will you believe in him.

Amen.

Benediction:

Go forth in the assurance that Christ has done all he can to help you believe. So my challenge to you is, BELIEVE.

Now ,

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Romans 15:13