John 17:11 Holy Father, keep them in Your name.

"What's in a name?" This question was made famous by William Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet. Juliet wistfully wonders, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." It doesn't matter that Romeo is from the rival family named Montague. What's in a name? For Juliet - absolutely nothing.

Jesus disagrees. He asks His Father to keep the Church "in Your name." Yahweh is God's name in the Old Testament - though it appears as "Lord" in Engl;ish Bibles. God tells us what His name means. "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6).

Recall what the Israelites had just done - worshiped a golden ca;f. How does God respond to Israel's idolatry? our idolatry? our worship of money, possessions, jobs, youth - you name it. Does God scold us? shame us? reject us? condemn us? No! He reveals His name. It's a Gospel name! Mercy, grace, and faithfulness!

Jesus demonstrates this love by dying on the cross for you. Palm Sunday announces it. Maundy Thursday delivers it through Christ's true body and blood. Good Friday shows it. Easter Sunday celebrates it! Jesus saves from darkness and dread, from the devil, and from our last enemy - death. What's in a name? If we're talking about Yahweh, then that's easy. What's in the name of Yahweh? Absolutely everything!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

John 17:3  This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

Imagine taking a tribesman from Kenya and putting him in downtown Chicago without any lessons in English, American history, or the legacy of the Chicago Cubs. The poor man from Kenya would be lost in the dark. Everything would be strange, crazy, and insane!

Apart from knowing God, we are lost in the dark. Everything is strange, crazy, and insane! Disregard knowing God, and we sentence ourselves to stumbling through life blindfolded - with no sense of direction and no understanding of who we are or what anything is all about. If we don't know God, we waste our lives and lose our souls forever.

What does it mean, then, to know God? Is knowing God a quiver in my liver or an ocean of emotion? Is knowing God a dreamy, off-the-ground, floating feeling? Does knowing God take a special sort of intellect? Do I hear a voice? Do I see a vision?

None of the above. To know God is to know Jesus. Jesus shows us that, in spite of our selfishness, narcissism, and sin, God never gives up on us. When soldiers spat in His face, Jesus didn't give up. When a whip ripped open His back, Jesus didn't give up. When nails crushed His nerves, Jesus didn't give up. Come what may, come what may, God doesn't give up. God will never give up on you. To know that is to truly know God.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 16:33  In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

We call the first professional football games preseason games. These games are played in August when they don't count in the standings. Coaches use these games to evaluate newly signed players. Veteran players hardly play at all.

We call the first Major League Baseball games spring training games. These games are played in late February and March in Florida and Arizona. They don't count in the standings either. Coaches use these games to evaluate newly signed players, while veterans don't play that much.

In preseason and spring training games, even when you win, you really don't win. When you beat your opponent, you really don't beat your opponent. When you gain the victory, you really don't gain the victory. None of these games count.

Have you ever felt as though your life is like a preseason football game or a spring training baseball? that what you're doing really doesn't count? that even when you win, it really doesn't doesn't matter? that even when you work hard, at the end of the day, it all feels pointless? Are you looking for a victory that lasts, that has substance? Are you looking for real victory?

Then I have good news for you - really good news! Although we make evil decisions, say evil words, and think some really evil thoughts, Christ has won the great battle through His shed blood and empty tomb. The victory is ours. This is a settled fact, never to be altered.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

John 16:30  We believe that You came from God.

Imagine you're hiking and you come to a narrow, rickety-looking footbridge - one hundred feet above a river. The only way to get to the other side is that bridge, but you're not sure it will hold. You slowly begin to make your way across, testing each step before moving on. You've got to believe in that bridge to get you to the other side. But it's not your belief in the bridge that keeps you from falling - it's the bridge.

I can have just a little belief in a good bridge and slowly creep to the other side. Or I can have a lot of belief in a bad bridge, only to have it give way under my feet.

Belief is only as good as the object of our belief. Jesus is the object of our belief. That's what the disciple say in John 16:30. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God the Son. Jesus is God's promised Messiah, the Root and Offspring of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and the Bright Morning Star. Our belief is not in belief. Our belief is in Jesus.

At Jesus' Baptism, the Father declared Him the Son of God. At Jesus' crucifixion, a Roman soldier declared Him the Son of God. Paul says in Romans 1:4 that, at Jesus' resurrection, He is declared the Son of God. Baptized. Crucified. Risen from the dead. Jesus, the Son of God! We believe!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

John 15:11  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

He loves milk. In fact, he's a milkaholic. Every week he attends MA meetings. MA? Milkaholics Anonymous! He quickly tastes the difference between whole milk, 2 percent, and skim milk. And he knows when milk turns sour - he's got that figured out in days, hours, minutes - even seconds. If you're a milkaholic like him, your greatest fear is that your milk will turn sour.

Milk isn't the only thing that turns sour. People sour. We sour on jobs. We sour on the future. We sour on our children. We sour on spouses. We sour on school. We sour on life. Why do we sour so quickly?

Sin turns us sour. Selfishness turns us sour. Satan turns us sour. Who wants to stay sour? Not Jesus! Our Savior speaks joy into our lives - joy that is complete. That's the real Gospel.

Fake gospels don't give joy. Fake gospels load on guilt and shame. Then they blame. Fake gospels ask, "Is that the best you can do?" Fake gospels say, "It's time for you to do a lot more!"

The real Gospel announces that - in the death of Jesus, in the resurrection of Jesus - sin is forgiven, death is defeated, and life is restored forevermore. The real Gospel announces that salvation is a gift - a total and complete gift. The real Gospel turns darkness into light, sorrow into gladness, and sadness into everlasting joy!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 15:1  I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

The Great Vine in the Hampton Court Palace Garden outside of London is the oldest and largest grapevine in the world. More than 250 years old, it measures 12 feet around its base, and its longest branch is 120 feet long. Every year, the Great Vine produces about 600 pounds of grapes. Christ is the true vine.

How do we - the branches- connect to Christ our Vine? I mean, a branch doesn't just walk up to a vine, strike up a conversation, and ask, "Do you mind if I connect to you?" Of course, that doesn't happen. That's the whole point of these words: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide" (John 15:16). When you were baptized, Christ chose you. You are now connected to the Vine.

Connected to the Vine, we abide in the Vine. "Abide" appears often in this section of John 15:1-16. Do you think Jesus is trying to make a point? How do we abide in Christ? "If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples" (John 8:31). Christ's Word shows us that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). How Word all the more shows that through His suffering and death He does everything for us and for our salvation.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.

We can easily be overwhelmed with fear. We think about work and we're afraid either we won't get the job we want or we will lose the job we have. We think about marriage, and we're afraid either we won't find the right person or the whole thing will go up in flames. We think about retirement, and we're afraid either we won't have enough money or we'll grow feeble - or both will happen at the same time!

The media doesn't help. "Coming up, after this commercial break, the frightening truth about sitting in traffic." "Up next, what you may not know about the water that you drink." Do you know why they say that? Fear sells. A sociologist named Frank Furedi counted the number of times the phrase "at risk" appeared on the air. In 1994, "at risk" appeared just over two thousand times. By 2019, "at risk" appeared more than eighteen thousand time. Everything from dreaming to going to Dairy Queen now puts you at "at risk." TV news should begin with these words: "This news report is best viewed from an underground bunker in rural New Zealand."

Christ's perfect peace takes away fear. His perfect peace forgives your past. No need to fear that. His perfect peace directs us today. No need to fear that. His perfect peace has secured your future. No need to fear death. The Savior's shed blood and Easter victory have secured eternal peace - for you!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,