The Church at Mesquite John

The Church at Mesquite Previous Considerations… If you are a Christian, Love has everything to do with it: You can love without being a Christian, but you can not be a Christian without loving. Love is the foundation of everything we do. We serve GOD because we Love HIM. We serve our brethren because we Love them. We serve our fellowman because we Love them.

The Church at Mesquite As we consider our individual Christianity and our congregation of Christians we do well to make sure that the effort we are giving in GOD’s name are sustained by Love.

The Church at Mesquite Love is: The foundation of every ministry we promote. The idea behind every dollar that we give. The spirit behind every song that we sing. The power behind every prayer that we pray. The essence of every meditation we experience. The gift of every Scripture we contemplate.

The Church at Mesquite Thus we have no choice but to conclude that as it relates to our Christianity: LOVE HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT.

The Church at Mesquite Considerations regarding John’s theology:  How he viewed GOD  How he viewed GOD’s relationship with man  How he viewed man’s necessary response to GOD

The Church at Mesquite John

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 1-2 JESUS went to the Mount of Olives

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 1-2 JESUS went to the Mount of Olives, HE was known to go to the Mount of Olives to pray (cf. Luke 22.39).

The Church at Mesquite John

The Church at Mesquite John

The Church at Mesquite 24- Pool of Bethesda The bridge-like structure on the right side of the photo is the dam that separated the south (left) side of the Pools of Bethesda from the north pool (to the right of the photo). The depth of the pool can be seen in this photo. When the Roman Empire became Christian (i.e., the Byzantine Empire of ), it built a church over these two pools. One of the many arches that supported the large Byzantine structure can be seen in the middle of this photo. This is a model of Jerusalem as it appeared in 70 AD. Notice the two pools that made up the Pools of Bethesda. The south and north pools can be seen, along with the five colo View of Herod's Temple Mount from the east. The three summits of the Mount of Olives can be seen. View of Temple from the east side. The three summits of the Mount of Olives can be seen.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 1-2 JESUS went to the Mount of Olives

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 1-2 JESUS went to the Mount of Olives JESUS left the mount and came to the temple

The Church at Mesquite 24- Pool of Bethesda The bridge-like structure on the right side of the photo is the dam that separated the south (left) side of the Pools of Bethesda from the north pool (to the right of the photo). The depth of the pool can be seen in this photo. When the Roman Empire became Christian (i.e., the Byzantine Empire of ), it built a church over these two pools. One of the many arches that supported the large Byzantine structure can be seen in the middle of this photo. This is a model of Jerusalem as it appeared in 70 AD. Notice the two pools that made up the Pools of Bethesda. The south and north pools can be seen, along with the five colo View of Herod's Temple Mount from the east. View of Temple from the east side.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 1-2 JESUS went to the Mount of Olives JESUS left the mount and came to the Temple, many things happened in the Temple (JESUS taught, rebuked the Pharisees, healed, and worshiped)

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 3-5

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 3-5 The scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to HIM

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 3-5 The scribes and Pharisees brought an adulterous woman to HIM; for the law of Moses to be followed the adultery has to be witnessed.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 6

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 6 They tempted HIM

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 6 They tempted HIM (The law of Moses called for her to be stoned but the Romans did not allow the death penalty to be carried out without their approval).

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 7-8

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 7-8 JESUS’ response…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 7-8 JESUS’ response…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. JESUS went back to writing on the ground.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 9

The Church at Mesquite John Vs. 9 Being convicted by their own conscious they dropped the case against the adulterous woman.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs

The Church at Mesquite John Vs After recognizing that the woman’s accusers had left JESUS also refused to condemn her.

The Church at Mesquite John Vs After recognizing that the woman’s accusers had left JESUS also refused to condemn her. HE did specifically called for her to cease sinning however, revealing that HE did not condone what she had done.

The Church at Mesquite Considerations regarding John’s theology:  How he viewed GOD  How he viewed GOD’s relationship with man  How he viewed man’s necessary response to GOD

The Church at Mesquite Considerations regarding John’s theology: How he viewed GOD? GOD is Love, and in HIS Love causes HIM to hate the sin but Love the sinner.

The Church at Mesquite Considerations regarding John’s theology: How he viewed GOD’s relationship with man? GOD is so concerned about saving humankind that although HE recognizes our guilt, HE continues to Love us even when we sin against HIM

The Church at Mesquite Considerations regarding John’s theology: How he viewed man’s necessary response to GOD? If GOD’s Love causes HIM to continue to Love us even when we sin against HIM we should Love in the same manner.

The Church at Mesquite Reasons why we fail to Love sinners:

The Church at Mesquite Reasons why we fail to Love sinners: We forget that we too sin

The Church at Mesquite Reasons why we fail to Love sinners: We forget that we too sin We are convinced that our sin is not as grave as the sin of others

The Church at Mesquite Reasons why we fail to Love sinners: We forget that we too sin We are convinced that our sin is not as grave as the sin of others We have been led to believe that we are “good enough” to sit in judgment

The Church at Mesquite The Fact of the Matter:

The Church at Mesquite The Fact of the Matter: All have sinned (Rom 3.23)

The Church at Mesquite The Fact of the Matter: All have sinned (Rom 3.23) All sin carries the same penalty…death (Rom 6.23)

The Church at Mesquite The Fact of the Matter: All have sinned (Rom 3.23) All sin carries the same penalty…death (Rom 6.23) Even though we may have been saved, our salvation is purely based upon grace (Eph 2.8)

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love:

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: If we plan to be what GOD called us to be, and if we plan to Love like GOD Loves us, we do well to make sure that we continue to Love the sinner who commits the sin.

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: When we begin to Love people in this manner it stands to reason that JESUS would be able to impact the lives of the very people that are overlooked by church traditionalism…

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: Understand that this is important not only because of our relationship with others, but also our relationship with self…if we can not love sinners then we can not love ourselves.

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: When we begin to Love people in this manner it stands to reason that JESUS would be able to impact the lives of the very people that have been judged by the world, and been made to believe that they are worthless and worthy of nothing but death.

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: Further, people who are impacted by the Love that we share will tell others about a group of people (Christians) who have chosen to Love them rather than judge them like everyone else.

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: When the church begins to do this, then we will be able to have the impact on society that JESUS called for us to have (cf. Matt ).

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: We are: Kingdom Builders Disciples of CHRIST Christians Believers People of “The Way” People of Faith Lovers of men

The Church at Mesquite Our necessary response to GOD’s Love: We are NOT: So traditional that we overlook the very people JESUS has called us to help…

The Church at Mesquite