1. Bearing fruit is what branches do. They do not bear fruit by themselves, but they do bear fruit.
  2. He knows the plight we find ourselves in and that there is no one who is righteous and no one else who is coming to save. Jesus says, “I know My own,” and He truly does love us.
  3. He lives. He eats. Maybe our new formal greeting on Easter should be: “Alleluia, Christ is eating! He is eating indeed, Alleluia!”
  4. John wrote so people would have faith in Jesus, so you would believe in Jesus, and that by believing, you would have life in His name.
  5. Attending to the organization and development of a sermon’s content into a message which is experienced in real time honors the nature of our God-given humanity.
  6. God has made us as embodied creatures with eyes, ears, reason, and all our senses and emotions. We preach Christ to whole people, real people, in real time.
  7. Easter is the most important Sunday because Christ is risen, death is defeated, and all of God’s promises find their fulfillment in Jesus.
  8. On every page, in every theme, in every major character and every major plot twist, we are invited to see God’s unfolding work to make all things new and whole in Jesus.
  9. Jesus died for the people who put Him to death. Jesus rose for the people whose minds rejected the idea of a resurrection.