THE STORY OF JESUS
Credible #3
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, September 29, 2024
“Nearly all the wisdom which we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” – John Calvin
(John 1:18, NIV) “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
(Colossians 1:15, NLT) “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”
(John 1:14, NIV) “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
1. GOD ALWAYS HAS TIME FOR ME.
(Luke 8:44, NLT) “Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.”
2. GOD IS NOT ASHAMED OF ME.
(John 8:10–11, NIV) “Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(Romans 8:1, NIV) “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
3. GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE ME.
(Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV) “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
(Hebrews 13:5–6, NIV) “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”
Emmanuel means “God with us!”
4. GOD IS MY FRIEND.
(John 15:15, NIV) “I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
5.GOD SAYS I AM INCREDIBLY VALUABLE TO HIM.
“The existentialist, … finds it extremely embarrassing that God does not exist, for there disappears with Him all possibility of finding values in an intelligible heaven. … Dostoevsky once wrote: “If God did not exist, everything would be permitted”… Everything is indeed permitted if God does not exist, and man is in consequence forlorn, for he cannot find anything to depend upon either within or outside himself.” – Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism
“We say that you are valuable if you are pretty. We say that you are valuable if you can produce. We say that you are valuable if you can slam-dunk a basketball or snag a pop fly. You are valuable if your name has a “Dr.” in front of it or Ph.D. on the end of it. You are valuable if you have a six-figure salary and drive a foreign car.
Value is now measured by two criteria, appearance and performance.
Pretty tough system, isn’t it? Where does that leave the retarded? Or the ugly or uneducated? Where does that place the aged or the handicapped? What hope does that offer the unborn child? Not much. Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists.” – Max Lucado, No Wonder they Call Him the Savior
(Luke 23:42–43, NLT) “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
GROWTHWORK
1. ACCEPT GOD’S GRACE.
(Romans 5:17, NCV) “Those people who accept God’s full grace and the great gift of being made right with him will surely have true life and rule through Jesus Christ.”
(Mark 10:15, Message) “Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”
2. LIVE FOR GOD’S GLORY.
(Romans 6:13, LB) “Give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes.”