As for the sermon, we looked at the end of John 15 and the beginning of chapter 16 where Jesus was prepping the disciples for his departure.

We began with looking at Psalm 121 asking the question, “Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?”  This was the cry of a man who lost his home, his job, his church, and he could no longer care for his family.  Yet, in the midst of all of that, he cried, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

We meditated on that for a while to prepare us for our passage.  John was going to teach us how Jesus personally cares for us, personally offers us help.  So, with that, we tried to answer this Big Picture Question:  How does Jesus help you?

To answer that, we look at these 3 ways that Jesus helps us.  Jesus gives us…

Jesus gives us the gift of the Helper
The Spirit protects us from falling away
The Spirit gives us the memory of Jesus’ words

In the passage, Jesus is prepping His disciples for His death, and He knows that more than anything, what they need is His presence.  And in it, He gives it to them.  He gives them this promise with this purpose:

15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

The Helper teaches Christians about Jesus, and the Helper enables us to tell the world about Jesus.  It is a wonderful promise that we are never alone.  In fact, the Spirit’s presence is more personal that Jesus’ because the Spirit is always with us.  It is a constant and purposeful help from God Himself.

Additionally, Jesus goes on to tell the disciples how difficult it is going to be for them.  People are going to want to hate them.  In fact, people are going to want to kill them, and they will think that killing them will actually be an offering of worship to God.

Now, our times are not that bad, thankfully.  But we still go through tribulation.  What promise, what care did Jesus give to them and to us?  It is a comforting promise.  Jesus promises that we will never fall away.  We will be held by Jesus forever.  We will never tur4n away.  He says:  16:1“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.

And finally, Jesus cared for us by telling us that the Helper would remind us of His words.  Friends, our goals of studying scripture should include knowledge, but learning the Bible is also about being reassured of the sweet promises of Jesus.  The Spirit will care for you by bringing those words to mind.

We ended our times with these things.

Truth:  Jesus cares for us by giving us the Holy Spirit who will protect us from falling away, and who will remind us of the words of Jesus.

Application:  Live your life knowing that you’re never alone, that you are always protected, and that the words of Jesus are intended to be your comforting reminder of both. 

Action:  Boldly pray that God would make you content with the love of God, the care of Jesus, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.    

And finally, we spent a few minutes at the end discussing none other than Joshua.  In two weeks, we will launch our (eg)Groups for the Fall, and we will be studying the book of Joshua.

Joshua took over leading the people of God from Moses.  His job was to take them into the Promised Land.  Can you imagine how challenging of a task that might have been?  Moses is a giant of our faith.  But in the daunting task, what did God promises Joshua?  He didn’t promise him that everything was going to be fine.  He didn’t promise Him a life free from worry.  He promised His presence when God said,

“Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you…Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Friends, you are continually loved by God.  He is always with you.  thanks so much for Sunday.  If you would like to listen to the sermon, you can find it on our website.  And I look forward to interacting with you this week.