What “For God So Loved the World” Really Means Part 2 (John 3:1-21)

Pastor David continues to speak from the book of John and the story behind arguably the most famous verse in the Bible.

What Does “Love” Mean in This Case?

We continue with Jesus’ famous conversation with Nicodemus.

Many people assign a rosy meaning to Jesus’ use of the word Love in John 3:16 – arguably the most famous verse in the Bible. However, we see that “Love” in this case was a single act – God sending his Son to die for the sins of the world. After that, the rest is up to us and we stand condemned based on our choice. In John 3:18, Jesus says, “…whoever does not believe [in God’s Son] stands condemned…”

While we see God was extremely loving – and still is, God’s love puts us in a position where we must accept or reject Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus did not come to condemn (John 3:18), but we can condemn ourselves by rejecting Jesus.

What Will You Do with Jesus’ Sacrifice?

Last week we described the process of getting right with God. This week, we can examine some of the ways people react to Jesus’ sacrifice:

1. Ignorance: If someone in the world knows nothing of Jesus or his sacrifice, they are judged based on how they lived their life. If you are reading this – this is not you.
2. Rejection: You can reject Jesus’ sacrifice by commission and telling the world you reject it. However, many people – even those that think they are Christian – may reject his sacrifice by not having a relationship with Jesus. Without a relationship with Jesus, we naturally practice sin.
3. Acceptance: Some people get it right. They get right with God and live right for him by having a relationship with Jesus.
4. Acceptance Followed by Rejection: You accept Jesus’ sacrifice and begin a relationship with Him. Later, you reject Jesus. How? Hebrews chapter 10 says it is when we “deliberately continue to sin.” You will never stop sinning, but you will stop repenting. People who stop repenting become prideful, stop going to church,  lose friendships with fellow Christians, and ultimately – they walk away from their relationship with Jesus willingly. Their lack of repentance from sin prevents them from being having a relationship with Jesus.

To Do This Week:

1. Determine to see God as He is not, not as the mushy, gushy God the world wants.
2. Knowing that we tend toward darkness, commit to chase after the light.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.

What “For God So Loved the World” Really Means (John 3:1-21)

Pastor David teaches from the book of John and the story behind arguably the most famous verse in the Bible.

Exploring the Term “Born Again”

Nicodemus – one of the Jewish religious rulers – comes to Jesus at night. Traditionally, students came to teachers at night to ask questions and learn. Nicodemus speaks somewhat condescendingly to Jesus, while giving tacit approval of Jesus’ ministry.

Jesus ignores Nicodemus’ approval, telling Nicodemus that he is not right with God – that he needs to be “born again.” The conversation turned to getting right with God through the Messiah – Jesus.

God loved the world so much he gave us the opportunity to get right with him through Jesus – this requires, thought, effort, and involvement in a relationship with God.

How Can You Get Your 2^nd Birth Certificate and Start a Relationship with God?

God describes several steps in the process of being “born again.” TCC calls this process “getting right with God,” and it is also called getting “saved” by some Christians.

Here are steps in the process:

1. Believe in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-10) – Put your faith in Him
2. Repent of Your Sins (Acts 17: 30,31) – Turn around and move away from what God describes as sin.
3. Confess Jesus as Your Lord and Savior (Matthew 10: 32, Romans 10: 9, 10) – God says that the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart (Matthew 12: 34), so verbalizing your commitment is important.
4. Get Baptized (Acts 2:38,39) – Baptism comes from a Greek word that literally means submersion in water. Belief in baptism always go together after Jesus dies in the New Testament.
5. Live Right for God – After initially getting right with Him, God expects that you commit your life to maintaining a relationship with Him. This involves several things, including going to Church, communicating with God by reading the Bible and praying, and repenting of sin in your life.

To Do This Week:

1. That “love of God” requires our acceptance – start by getting that 2^nd birth certificate by getting right with God.
2. God’s truth is not unattainable – make the effort so you’ll understand His plan for life.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.

How to Deal with a Difficult Situation (John 2:13-25)

Pastor David teaches from the book of John and the story of Jesus clearing the temple.

Problems in the Temple

Jesus comes to the Temple at Passover and finds money changers and other vendors. These vendors were not conducting normal business – they cheated people unlawfully. Passover required animal sacrifices from visiting pilgrims, and the animals had to meet certain “quality” standards. The priests lied, telling pilgrims their animals were imperfect – forcing pilgrims to buy new, expensive animals. Money changers forced pilgrims to exchange their currency to Jewish currency at artificially high prices.

Jesus expelled thieves and liars from the Temple.

Difficult Situations in Your Life

You will have difficult situations in your life. Chances are, some of you reading this currently find yourself dealing with problems or issues. Relationships, family, work, marriage, housing, health, or any number of things – we all deal with bad situations.

Here are some tips from Jesus’ actions at the Temple:

• Focus on God’s  Concerns – When Jesus came to the temple – he cared about what God thought first: removing the money changers that created a barrier between people and God. What should your priorities be in relationships, at work, or anything else? What God cares about.
• Let the Response Fit the Problem – Jesus used an appropriate amount of action for the situation at the Temple. If your situation requires strong action – take it. You may need to call the police or use other authority structures. If your situation involves your opinion, you will be tempted to overreact.
• Hope in and Depend on God – This marked the beginning of the plot to kill Jesus. Put God first in your situation. Tell the truth, come clean, work hard, and otherwise do the right thing.

To Do This Week:

1. With courage, apply God’s principles to your difficult situation keeping your balance.
2. Practice trusting those who are trustworthy while “entrusting yourself” only to God.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.

Question and Answer Weekend

Pastor David hosted another Question and Answer last weekend. If you could not make it, Q&A features unique services where Pastor David answers live questions anonymously submitted by the audience.

Here are some of the questions David answered live at 2nd service on Sunday:

-Do you believe in aliens and UFOs?
-What does it mean to work out our salvation with “fear and wonder?”
-Where does your soul go when you die?

Why It Is So Important That We Build Our Part of the Wall (Book of Nehemiah)

It is Easter weekend! Pastor David shares the story of Nehemiah and how their building of walls around Jerusalem relate to our life.

Nehemiah’s Wall

Nehemiah asks the king of the Persian Empire to leave and rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This began Nehemiah’s lifelong task of building walls around Jerusalem. The wall provided protection and ensured the future of Jerusalem.

The Wall in Your Life

God’s truth in the Bible functions as the material to build the wall in our lives and in our society. The way we apply God’s truth to our life reflects how strong the wall is.

Throughout your life, you will deal with various situations involving God’s truth – the wall:

• Demoralized wall workers – many Christians will lose heart. You can encourage them to keep working on the wall.
• Count on the wall for protection – make sure you go to church, read the Bible, and spend time with other Christians. You will need God’s truth in your life, and you need to keep that truth in your life. At work, in your marriage, with your children, or in defending God’s truth – you build up the wall by choosing to follow God in that area.
• Train future workers – Just like in ancient Jerusalem, the wall requires constant work and protection. It can stay or fall in as little as one generation.

To Do This Week:

1. Look around your life for any loose bricks – then strengthen your wall.
2. Determine to stand before God as someone who passed off the baton well.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.

How to Figure Out the Plotline to Your Life (Luke 2:41-52)

Pastor David moves into the New Testament to discuss the life of Jesus and how we can have meaning and purpose in our lives.

Jesus’ Parents Forget About Him

When Jesus was 12, he went to the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem for the first time. His parents leave without bringing him, and Jesus stays in Jerusalem. When Mary and Joseph realize their mistake, they eventually find Jesus in the temple teaching rabbi.

Your Plotline

When we get right with God through Jesus, our purpose in life revolves around living our life for God and impacting others eternally.

Jesus’ choice to stay in Jerusalem reflects his commitment to his purpose in life – to act eventually as the sacrificial Passover lamb for the entire world. Jesus placed priority on going to the temple. Even though his family did not understand, he stuck with his decision. However, Jesus still obeyed his parents and did the right thing.

Jesus’ choices in this story bring up several questions up in our lives:

• What is Your Purpose? – Eventually, everyone dies. Only eternal things matter. Is your life centered on changing other’s eternal lives?
• Are you Focused? ­– Jesus focused on his purpose. Are you planning your life so that you read your Bible, pray, and invite people to church?
• Who is in the Way? ­– Are other people in the way of focusing on your purpose in your life? It is best to let those people leave your life.
• Are You Maintaining? – Jesus did not let his passion for his purpose cause him to sin. Be careful in your passion for your purpose you do not become an overly-religious, hypercritical Pharisee – the risk we all face when we live our lives for God.

To Do This Week:

1. God designed you to live based on His purpose in your life – go for it.
2. The crowd will always have an opinion – focus on what God thinks instead.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.

How to Clean Up a Mess (2 Samuel 19 & 20)

Pastor David continues in the book of 2 Samuel, following the actions of King David in the aftermath of Absalom’s rebellion.

Aftermath of a Civil War

King David began to weep over the loss of Absalom which had an extremely negative effect on his army. David’s actions were strange given the long and horrible trail of destruction Absalom left before he finally died.

David needed to act like a king, despite Absalom’s blood ties. After receiving counsel from Joab, David gets his act together and begins to clean his mess.

Cleaning Up Messes in Your Life

Bad things happen to good people, and when bad things happen, it can make a mess in our lives. We also sin and create our own messes.

In your mess, you will want to keep certain things in mind:

• What is Fixable? – Parts of a mess may be unfixable. Accept that things have changed.
• What is Your Timeline? – Some things may be fixable, but only a long time from now. Maintain a long point of view.
• Who is Accountable? – If someone hurt you – especially if they broke the law – then hold them accountable. Use authority like your boss, the police, or another lawful course of action.
• How Long Will Cleanup Take? – Take a long view of your situation and accept that it will take time and work to finish cleaning up.

Messes happen. Whether it is your family, your work, your marriage, a relationship, or something else, expect cleaning up to take work.

To Do This Week:

1. Realize that a mess rarely cleans itself up so have the courage to start cleaning.
2. Sin made the world a mess, so cleaning up is part of life – learn to do it well.

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The Cool Church is a local non-denominational church in Tucson with three locations serving unchurched, unchallenged and unconvinced people in Tucson. This is the official blog of The Cool Church. For more content or learn how to visit the church, visit htttp://www.thecoolchurch.com.