The House You're Building

        Orient  John 18:1-27 In the next two chapters, we will read of the arrest, trial, death, and burial of Jesus.  Today’s reading contains unique content only found in John and will cover the arrest and interview before Annas and Caiaphas. Peter’s famous denial of Christ is also described.       Introduction Anyone else getting a constant stream of meal prep advertisements?  I get the appeal; your meals are planned for you and ingredients delivered to your door.  Plus, you get to keep the recipes to make again once you stop the service.  I have never used one because I love to cook at have too many recipes in the que to try as well as getting back to old favorites.  No matter what I make, I always need to have olive oil on hand; it is a staple in all my dishes.  The process of making oil involves many ways of destroying the olive, grinding, processing, and pressing to ...

        Orient  John 17:1-26 This section of text is one of the most well known in Scripture.  The bible records an extended prayer by Jesus called the High Priestly Prayer.  Its content can be divided into 3 broad sections: v 1-6 Jesus prays for Himself, v 7-19 He prays for His disciples, and in v 20-26 He prays for future believers.  These recorded words are even more precious as after His prayer, He and His diciples cross the Kidron and Jesus is arrested.     Introduction Praying for another believer is a privilege and a challenge.  It is a privilege in the sense that we get to talk with God about our mutual friends.  We get to participate in divine communication.  We get to pour our heart out to One that has power.  We experience answered prayers and feel that in some small way we are doing something for a loved one.  Praying for others is also a challenge. ...