Easter 2021 Notes

Notes:

intro:

coming to church to feel judged.

maybe you don’t come to church much, maybe you’ve never been to church.

Maybe that is because you feel judged. listen to this:

Jesus came not to judge but to save.

George Floyd Trial

people are going to be pissed either way

has this been ‘rage week’ for you?

Notes from Preaching Meeting

Call to a Faith Response

highlight next steps form: “I would like to learn more about Jesus”

go to Onehope.info — “take my next step”

church center app

In person:

If you want to make this decision “everybody stand”

It’s completely normal for people to move

Go back and talk with an elder

If this is working on your heart go back and talk to a leader.

Pray with me at the end of the sermon.

don’t leave today without saying yes Jesus.

Have people stand at the end of the sermon

elders to go to their places

Acknowledging two-four distinct responses:

make the decision today, you believe God has spoken to you.

today is the day to do that.

maybe you need more time, if so, come and tell us

Maybe this is your first step

Rededicate your life to Jesus

nominal / habitual church goers

Get involved at One Hope Church

Language:

Taking your Next Step

Take a turn step

Take your 1st Step

Multilingual John 3:16

This is the message for the world — global

‘whoever’ believes — they shall not perish — this is you

‘saved’ — gets lumped in with nutty christian people

paint a picture of the need for salvation

in the world and in the individual

look at 2020 — how did this affect us?

where do we need to be saved?

How saved? saved from what?

from ourselves — don’t we need rescue

Three circles — gospel message

Idea:

quick connect to Easter “declared to be the son of God by the resurrection” Romans 1:3-4 (ESV)

Post Sermon Song:

“The resurrecting King is resurrecting me”

Saved to eternal life

Additional Call

Rededicate your life to Jesus also

Words:

For — for this reason

God — the creator

Loved — agape

the world — as opposed to the people of God

in this manner — this is how he demonstrated it.

He gave — self giving love

his son — Jesus, one and only

so that — for this reason for this purpose

anyone who believes in him — Faith, belief is the key

will not perish — be destroyed because of sin, judgment of guilt

but will have eternal life — everlasting life, spiritual birth, salvation.

Parallels:

Condemn (3:17) = perish (3:16)

save (3:17) = have eternal life (3:16) = have eternal life (3:15)

The New birth

So there is no spiritual life—no eternal life—apart from connec- tion with Jesus and belief in Jesus. We will have lots more to say about the relationship between the new birth and faith in Jesus. But we can put it this way for now: In the new birth, the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ in a living union. Christ is life. Christ is the vine where life flows. We are the branches (John 15:1–17). What happens in the new birth is the supernatural creation of new spiritual life, and it is created through union with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit brings us into vital connection with Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life. That is the objective reality of what happens in the new birth. — John Piper, Finally Alive

Commentary

John 1–11 (2) A Discourse on Salvation (3:11–21)

John’s Gospel does not offer the world a superficial idea of the love of God in salvation. The verbs for “loved” (ēgapēsen) and “gave” (edōken) here express the genuine self-giving nature of God in having sent (apesteilen) his “only Son” (monogenous huiou) on an unrepeatable mission into the world (3:16; cf. 1:14, 18).

John 1–11 (2) A Discourse on Salvation (3:11–21)

God’s purpose in sending (apesteilen; 3:17) his only Son (monogenē; 3:16) was not to destroy the world or humanity. God is not angry and self-centered as Marcion and the Gnostics interpreted the God of the Old Testament.103 God is a caring God. Loving-kindness (ḥesed) is a principal characteristic of the God of the covenant. In the New Testament God’s purpose in sending Jesus was not to condemn (krinē) but to build the bridge in reconciling sacrifice (hilasmon; cf. 1 John 4:10) for human beings. God’s goal always has been the salvation or wholeness of the world (John 3:17). The Bible will not allow the reader to blame God for the desperate plight of humanity. The sin problem is a human one that since the beginning of time has been repeated continuously (cf. Rom 5:12, 18).

Undoubtedly God’s desire is that all might be saved (e.g., Acts 17:30–31; 22:15–16; 1 Tim 2:6), but because of human freedom or choice (“whosoever,” 3:16), all of humanity does not respond in believing acceptance of the Son (e.g., John 1:11–13; Rom 1:5; 10:16; 1 Tim 4:10).

John makes it absolutely clear that condemnation has “already” (ēdē) taken place for the unbelievers. The idea here then is not one of a possible projected condemnation for the unbeliever but the necessity of escaping an already existing condemnation.

The only way to overcome that condemnation is to believe in God’s Son and thereby experience the present reality of the kingdom of God (3:3, 5), that reality called eternal life (3:16).