Tag: MS

John: The Shepherd and His Sheep | 8-16-26

Posted in SermonsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Updated: 8/16/2026

Sermon Prep

This was a tough month for me. Work ever since being diagnosed with MS in May hasn’t quite felt the same because I don’t feel the same. Feel the need to take a nap like nothing else and lack a lot of the drive that has gotten me this point in my life. More mentally foggy than ever and on top of that my work quota became even tougher to achieve. Very stressful season and yet still had to preach this Sunday sermon.

In fact, this year so far has felt a bit foggy and it’s harder for me to remember it because its flown by so fast. Feel like I blinked and months just disappeared from my memory. Then again, it could be that since my health scare in late February and the other medical problems my family has had this year it hasn’t necessarily felt like a smell the roses sort of year and more of a remembering that there’s roses to smell once you slow down a bit.

But God knows I need to slow down, so in his perfect timing he assigned me to teach this section of scripture in mid-August when there’s plenty of other things I’d rather get done. Do even more at my high velocity job that’s just getting busier, finish my long-gestating book, manage my home, stay connected to community and family, along with numerous other things I cared about more than God. Just being honest here and that blur of unmet expectations just weighs on me like a gargantuan boulder of responsibilities most days. Life’s busy and I allowed it to get that way.

Then again, at the beginning of the month it was slow and good. My Glory and I celebrated our golden anniversary in southern Colorado which was a much needed break from it all. Those two days really helped me catch my breath for a bit and be in the right place spiritually to share this message like I did last week. I didn’t dedicate as much time as I’d prefer, but at this point I’ve taught almost a hundred sermons and the workflow is so much easier to enter and exit in a timely fashion when focused on the task at hand. Certain rabbit holes just aren’t worth the extra research required.

In any event, the prep was not so much rushed as it was delayed largely on my recent and uncharacteristic lack of time management lately. Usually, I have these built out and nearly complete with a week to spare. This one was in that shape by late Friday night, so that I could properly enjoy Sabbath with my family. Not my greatest prep but efficient enough to get the job done, while spinning the rest of my life’s plates. With that, here’s the YouTube recording of this message and the notes below:

Sermon Notes

Intro

  • Story of Mr. Garcia whistling so loud his son Sam heard him almost a mile away.

Main Point

  • The sheep know their shepherd because they hear the Word and listen to him.

The Shepherd and His Sheep | John 10 (NRSVue)

“[1] “Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. [2] The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. [4] When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. [5] They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. [7] So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. [8] All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [11] “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, [15] just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. [17] For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.” [19] Again the Jews were divided because of these words. [20] Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is out of his mind. Why listen to him?” [21] Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

  • The shepherd symbolized the OT ANE concept of “a royal caretaker of God’s people.” – NIV Study Bible (2011)
    • God is the Shepherd of Israel, while Israel’s leaders were false shepherds.
      • Pastor = shepherd in Latin, so Israel’s leaders were false pastors.
  • 2 of 7 “I am” statements: the sheepgate (John 10:1-10) and shepherd (John 10:11-18).
  • The sheepfold Jesus mentions would’ve been a courtyard in front of a house (John 10:1).
    • Different flocks were separated in sheepfold; gatekeeper is here for story sake.
    • The “other sheep” that join the flock are Gentile/non-Jewish Christians.
  • Throughout this text, Jesus alludes to his atonement for our sin (John 10:11, 17-18).
    • Jesus is our substitute, inviting us to participate in his victory over death and sin.
  • The hired hand had every reason to go, yet the shepherd had to stay (John 10:12-13).
  • The Jews reference the man born blind who was healed right before this (John 10:21).

“[22] At that time the Festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. [24] So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” [25] Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me, [26] but you do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. [27] My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. [29] My Father, in regard to what he has given me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of the Father’s hand. [30] The Father and I are one.” [31] The Jews took up stones again to stone him. [32] Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” [33] The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human, are making yourself God.” [34] Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? [35] If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— [36] can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? [37] If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. [38] But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” [39] Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.”

  • Festival of Dedication = Hanukkah (winter); warmer in the portico (John 10:22-23).
    • Pastors (i.e. Israel’s leaders) were honored during this Festival of Lights.
  • God’s people are the sheep, whether Gentile or Jewish which he saves (John 10:25-29).
  • Clear Messianic claim given God is not human and he’s one being (John 10:30-33).
    • Under the Mosaic Law, claiming to be God was blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16).
    • Jews began preparing the judgment for blasphemy, which was the death penalty.
  • Jesus appeals to Psalm 82:6 doubling down on his fully divine nature (John 10:34-38).
    • He claimed that he’s Lord of the divine council and greater than the sons of God.
  • Jesus escaped easily because he didn’t stand out looking unremarkable (John 10:39).
  • Many believed what Jesus did and said because of John the Baptist (John 10:40-42).

Why It Matters

  • We sheep know the shepherd because we hear the Word himself and listen to him.
    • As you walk the Way, God’s voice will be easier to discern over your own.

Power Text

“[3] For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. [4] In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. [5] The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. [6] O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! [7] For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice!” – Psalm 95:3-7 (NRSVue)

Outro

  • Do you hear the Word? Do you “believe the works” and listen to the shepherd?

Final Thoughts

Like I usually tell the fellow teachers at church, my method and style of sermons leaves a lot of unknowns baked into the final product. I don’t quite know what I’m going to say or what the Holy Spirit himself will guide me to emphasize until the sermon has been shared. Will I go off on tangents or stick to the broad bullet points? To be honest, I’m never quite too sure until I’m there in the moment. I try to let the Lord lead and just see what happens with the congregation.

This style preference keeps my messages in particular somewhat unpredictable and improvisational without going off the rails entirely either. It’s not perfect and sometimes it sucks because the material deserved a different approach more suited to it. Regardless, I think in this case under these circumstances it was a fine message with lots of fun moments sprinkled throughout I never considered mentioning in the prep stage. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.


John: Weddings and Wells | 5-31-2026

Posted in SermonsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Updated: 6/6/2026

Sermon Prep

When I prepped this message, I was on medical leave from 4/13 through 5/25 and had a lot of prep time. The reason I was on leave was because I was being diagnosed for what would eventually be diagnosed as MS (i.e. Multiple Sclerosis) on 5/8 after weeks of various tests and meeting with specialists. With that, beyond appreciating extra family time and de-stressing I worked on this sermon throughout that leave. With that, I did a lot more research than I typically would for a sermon.

Given this is one of the most well known stories of Jesus by the general public, I focused on the wedding aspect of this message. This aspect of John 4 largely originates with Lyle Eslinger and Robert Alter who I relied on for this teaching, along with many others as well. I’ve also heard some say the betrothal-type scene is actually John 2-4, which I made sure to mention when I preached. On that note, here’s the notes below and the YouTube recording:

Sermon Notes

Intro

  • There’s nothing quite like wedding portraits (Slide 1). Then annual family pics (Slide 2).

Main Point

  • In this wedding portrait of Jesus, he gives living water to all who believe in him as Lord.

Jesus Gives Living Water | John 4 (NRSVue)

“[1] Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” [2] (although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized), [3] he left Judea and started back to Galilee. [4] But he had to go through Samaria. [5] So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. [6] Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. [7] A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” [8] (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) [9] The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) [10] Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” [11] The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? [12] Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” [13] Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” [15] The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” [17] The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ [18] for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” [19] The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. [20] Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” [21] Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. [22] You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. [24] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” [25] The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” [26] Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” 

  • Jesus had to go through Samaria out of divine necessity for greater mission (John 4:4).
    • Typically Jews went around Samaria believing that Samaritans were unclean.
  • Jacob’s Well isn’t in the Bible, but Sychar was gifted to Joseph which had it (John 4:5-6).
  • There is a double entendre (i.e. two meanings) at play for these 5 husbands (John 4:18).
    • Assyrians brought 5 Baals (husbands) into Samaria causing covenant infidelity.
  • Jesus sidesteps mountain debate declaring worship is where God dwells (John 4:20).

“[27] Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” [28] Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, [29] “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” [30] They left the city and were on their way to him. [31] Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” [32] But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” [33] So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” [34] Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. [35] Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. [36] The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. [37] For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ [38] I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” [39] Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” [40] So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. [41] And many more believed because of his word. [42] They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.””

  • Jesus paraphrases Amos 9:11-15 to disciples; Isaiah 55 prophecy fulfilled (John 4:27-38).
  • In spite of Jesus’ Jerusalem trips, the Samaritans know Jesus as Messiah (John 4:39-44).
    • Samaritans accepted the Torah, so Messiah is modeled after Moses not David.
      • Therefore, they received Jesus as Messiah (Read Deuteronomy 18:15-22).
  • Jesus goes to Galilee and is welcomed because of the first sign (John 2:23 → John 4:45).
  • In Cana, a royal official begs Jesus to heal his son who was going to die (John 4:46-47).

“[48] Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” [49] The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” [50] Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way.”

  • After inquiring about son; he “believed, along with his whole household.” (John 4:53).
    • Samaritans and the household believed based on Jesus’ own word over wonders.

Why It Matters

  • John 4 follows betrothal type-scene found in Genesis 24, 29, and Exodus 2 (meet cute).
    • Bridegroom travels to a foreign land encountering a woman at a well. Water is drawn and the woman runs home to tell family, ending with betrothal/marriage.
    • Genesis/Exodus: well meeting → journey → wedding feast. John 2-4 reverses it.
  • The bridegroom is Jesus (John 3:29); the bride is covenant people (Hosea 2 + Ezekiel 16).
  • Torah covenants → Jesus is now “the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 12:24).
    • This new covenant decontaminates and washes away sin giving us a fresh start.

Power Text

“[Acts 10:47] Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”… [1 Corinthians 12:13] For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

  • This living water is received by the Spirit dwelling in us, then followed by water baptism.
    • For baptized believers, the Spirit’s well of eternal life is a gift that can’t dry up.

Outro

  • Is Jesus the best man or the bridegroom? Just an honorable man or husband and Lord?

Final Thoughts

This message in spite of my thorugh prep, didn’t turn out the way I wanted. It was an okay message, but we had lots of sound issues which really bothered me in the moment. Because I was annoyed already, the message delivery wasn’t at my best because of the distraction.

In general, the first half was rough and got better as I went along during this sermon. The table talks were better than the message, which was good but I was still discouraged during that too. Mostly because the whole betrothal type-scene many disregarded altogether. I think the strong medication I had begun taking the Friday before this Sunday may have affected my preaching too. I just couldn’t think straight as I shared this sermon.

Even today as I write this blog I’m feeling a lot more fatigue throughout the day. It’s an unfortunate diagnosis and thing to deal with, but there’s no point in asking why me. The better question is what now? What does God have planned for me now that I have this MS diagnosis? I don’t know what’s next, but I know the God who does. With that, Godspeed and Jesus bless.