Sermon
Notes, April 8, 2018
Rev. Garry McGlinchy
Pastor Garry's sermon, the first in
the series Jesus Is Lord, was
titled "Can I Get a Witness?"
It was based on Matthew 16:13-20.
In today's scripture passage, Jesus
took a survey, an opinion poll: He asked His disciples "Who do
people say I am?"
We live in a time when people
question the answers of their culture.
In the past, we were a Christian nation, but things have changed; we now
live in a post-Christian culture. We
can't go back. We must go forward, using
the Bible.
Today people--our neighbors, friends
and family--have no idea of who Jesus is.
Think of your non-Christian friends.
What would they say in response to Jesus' age-old question? He was a great prophet of the past? A great guy, but no longer in the news? He wasn't telling them anything new--he was
just one among many? Or is He even on
their radar? Today many don't even know
who Jesus was.
The question for us is found in
verse 15: "Who do YOU say I am?"
Jesus doesn't watch opinion polls to see what people think. He's interested in what His disciples
say. He can trust them to bear
witness. Peter says, "You are the
Messiah, the Son of the Living God."
Peter's clear witness recognized the
divine nature of Jesus' ministry. It was
the insight of the Holy Spirit. What was
true for Peter is true for us. Only the
Holy Spirit can reveal it to us. Jesus
is Lord of all! In and out, up and down,
a lot or a little.
For 2000 years, Jesus has been
asking, "Can I get a witness?"
People discuss Him, but Jesus isn't threatened by those
discussions. What matters is how we,
His followers, think of Him. We are to
use our lives to show He is Lord, because we have a relationship with Him. We are to point others to Jesus.
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