This weekend, we begin to walk down the path of what we are calling “the REACH 2 Journey.” The theme is Knowing Jesus So That We Can Make Him Known. The most important thing we have to offer our world is the message, love, peace, and living hope of the crucified and risen Jesus. Two parts of this are absolutely essential: First, we need to continue to get to know Jesus ourselves. This is what should happen when we participate in the life of the church. I have called this “breathing in.” But, second, according to the whole of Scripture, what we breathe in must be breathed out to the world. We are to make known to others what God has used others to make known to us.

So, I’ve been asking myself, “How might I help us know Jesus better?” As I was thinking about that question one day, I had the TV playing in the background and noticed that a talk show was on. When I looked at the TV listings, I noticed that at least four other talk shows were on other stations at the same time. All of them had a host sitting on a chair talking to a celebrity sitting on a cozy couch and…just chatting. I thought, “With all the advances in technology and communications systems, why are these talk shows still so popular?” I think the reason is the never-ending desire that we have to know certain people more intimately. And, the best way is usually not simply to read what they have written or see what they have accomplished but to sit down and talk.

So, I asked myself again, “Is there anything like a chat with Jesus in the Bible?” And…well, it’s not quite the same…but it’s close: The discussions with Jesus found in the Gospel of John are a lot like an intimate chat with Jesus. In them, we learn wonderful things about Jesus’ deepest values. Therefore, we will be looking at these conversations with Jesus throughout the fall in a series simply entitled “Introducing Jesus.”

We begin with an encounter found in John 3 between Jesus and a “member of the Jewish ruling council” named “Nicodemus.” In this conversation, Jesus makes the startling claim that he is the one and only Son of God, rescuer of the world’s people, and giver of new life. Let’s listen in carefully.

To His Glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor