Come and See

WELCOME to our brand-new series: Come and See.

The Talk series centers on the Gospel according to John. Some talks will be done via expository preaching–which means going verse-by-verse. In Tagalog, himay. John wants to point out that Jesus is real and He wants you to see Him in your life, hear His voice in your heart, and experience His Presence every day

So, the key message of this new series is: Come and see Jesus, come and hear Jesus, come and experience Jesus,

One Big Message:
The best wine is here—His name is Jesus. The best happiness, the best hope, the best healing, the best blessing is Jesus.
—
Many people might be surprised to find out that the very first place where Jesus performed a miracle was at a wedding to help fix an embarrassing situation. You would think that maybe Jesus’ first miracle would be feeding the 5,000 or raising someone from the dead.

But instead, He enters into the lives of a married couple who didn’t prepare enough wine for their guests.

Jesus performed amazing miracles: multiplying bread and fish to feed a multitude; raising people from the dead; walking on water. But His very first miracle was the Wedding at Cana we read in the Gospel according to John.

That’s because the Gospel is loaded with meaning about Jesus– such as we learn in our ongoing Feast Talk Series, Come and See.

Talk 1 presents the key message of this new series: Come and see Jesus, come and hear Jesus, come and experience Jesus.

Talk 2, which is about wine running out during the Wedding at Cana, centers on the message: The best wine is here—His name is Jesus. The best happiness, the best hope, the best healing, the best blessing is Jesus.

Talk 3 shows an entirely different Jesus: an angry Lord passionate against corruption and oppression of the poor.

The key message is: Jesus burns with love for you.

Jesus performed amazing miracles: multiplying bread and fish to feed a multitude; raising people from the dead; walking on water. But His very first miracle was the Wedding at Cana we read in the Gospel according to John.
That’s because the Gospel is loaded with meaning about Jesus– such as we learn in our ongoing Feast Talk Series, Come and See.

Talk 1 presents the key message of this new series: Come and see Jesus, come and hear Jesus, come and experience Jesus.

Talk 2, which is about wine running out during the Wedding at Cana, centers on the message: The best wine is here—His name is Jesus.
The best happiness, the best hope, the best healing, the best blessing is Jesus.

Talk 3 shows an entirely different Jesus: an angry Lord passionate against corruption and oppression of the poor.
The key message is: Jesus burns with love for you.

Talk 4 presents two stories in John about two different people side-by-side: Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Samaritan Woman.
The difference between these two was night and day.

Yet we see that behind the external appearance, they were the same: They both needed Jesus.

The key message: Jesus meets you where you are.

Jesus performed amazing miracles: multiplying bread and fish to feed a multitude; raising people from the dead; walking on water. But His very first miracle was the Wedding at Cana we read in the Gospel according to John.

That’s because the Gospel is loaded with meaning about Jesus– such as we learn in our ongoing Feast Talk Series, Come and See.
Talk 1 presents the key message of this new series: Come and see Jesus, come and hear Jesus, come and experience Jesus.

Talk 2, which is about wine running out during the Wedding at Cana, centers on the message: The best wine is here—His name is Jesus. The best happiness, the best hope, the best healing, the best blessing is Jesus.

Talk 3 shows an entirely different Jesus: an angry Lord passionate against corruption and oppression of the poor.
The key message is: Jesus burns with love for you.

Talk 4 presents two stories in John about two different people side-by-side: Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Samaritan Woman.
The key message: Jesus meets you where you are.

Talk 5 we’re unpacking two amazing stories in John 5 and 6: (1) Healing the invalid in the Waters of Bethesda and (2) the Feeding of the multitudes.
The key message: Seek your Life-Giver. Don’t just seek life. Seek the Life-Giver—His name is Jesus. 

As mentioned in previous talks, there are seven miracles in John– but he doesn’t use the word miracle. He uses the word sign. Because each miracle in John is just a signboard pointing to something more important than the miracle itself:

Sign 1: Turning water into wine at Cana (2:1-12)
Sign 2: Healing of the official’s son in Cana (4:46-54)
Sign 3: Healing the paralyzed man in Bethesda (5:1-9)
Sign 4: Feeding the 5000 in Galilee (6:1-15)
Talk 6 is about Sign 5: Healing of the blind man (9:17) — one of the most fascinating stories in the Gospel of John. This fifth sign is about seeing Jesus. The One Big Message: See Jesus—He is healing you!

In our Feast series, Come and See, about the Gospel of John, we went through the six signs of Jesus.The first six signs are:
Sign 1: Turning water into wine at Cana (2:1-12)
Sign 2: Healing of the official’s son in Cana (4:46- 54)
Sign 3: Healing the paralyzed man in Bethesda(5:1-9)
Sign 4: Feeding the 5000 in Galilee (6:1-15)
Sign 5: Healing of the blind man (9:1-7)
Sign 6: Raising of Lazarus in Bethany (11:1-44)
All six signs are pointing to the seventh sign—the greatest miracle:
The Resurrection of Jesus.
Talk 7 recounts the death of Lazarus, Jesus weeping over losing this friend whom He loved, even as He knew Lazarus would live again because the Lord Himself would raise Lazarus from death.

Jesus Himself dies on the Cross but He lives again– forever.
When we die, we too will live again. Jesus knows this– but just as He wept for Lazarus, He grieves as He feels the pain of our death– and actually, our other sufferings in our earthly life.
The One big message of Talk 7: Jesus is your Resurrection.

Talk 8 of our COME and SEE Feast Series on the Gospel of John presents a macro view of John 13 to 17, where three events happen: (1) Foot-washing; (2) Betrayal; and (3) Last Speech. And all three events happen in one place—the Upper Room.

In the three events, Jesus talks about the hour to come. (John 13:1a NABre) This hour is what the seven miracles of Jesus, called the signs, are pointing to.

Jesus is about to do His greatest act, His ultimate expression of love, His total self-giving.

Jesus will do everything to love you. And He did.

He poured His 100%. Nothing was left. He gave His all to you

The key message is: Jesus loves you to the very end.

Talk 9 of our COME and SEE Feast Talk Series is about the climactic moment in the Gospel of John where Jesus is going to be proclaimed King.

But what a crazy way to be enthroned as King. Jesus is the only King in the universe who used a criminal’s cross for His royal throne. For most of us, we’re now jaded by the Crucifixion story.

Talk 9, however, brings us into the mystery of the Crucifixion.

There are four main movements in the Passion
story: (1) the Arrest; (2) the Trial; (3) the Crucifixion; and (4) the Burial.

The key message: Together, we stand at the foot of the Cross.

We are down to the second to the last Talk of our Feast Series, COME and SEE, about the Gospel of John.

When people encounter Jesus, their lives change forever.

And the entire Gospel of John is all about theseturning-point encounters.

At the start of each other: Nicodemus the Pharisee and the Samaritan Woman with five failed marriages and shacking-up with a sixth guy. One was an upright religious leader. The other was a scandalous sinner.

But when Jesus met them, their lives were never the same again. Everything in your life will never satisfy you.

Because everything and everyone in your life is imperfect. Jesus is the only one who can complete you.

Fast forward after the Resurrection, Jesus also met face-to-face with two characters: Mary Magdalene and Thomas.
Mary Magdalene, just like the Samaritan Woman, believed. Thomas, perhaps just like Nicodemus, went through a process.

Yet isn’t it comforting how God embraces everyone?  God will meet you where you are.

God tailor-fits your encounter with Him according to your specific need, according to your specific situation. Because your encounter with Him is very personal

The key message of Talk 10: Jesus knows your name