Pastor Tim Patoka
May 7, 2023 Believe in Jesus John 14:1-11 1) He is the Way and the Truth and the Life 2) He Shows You the Father
Sam, Jake, Mason, for the past approximately 14 years you have been preparing for this special day. You’ve gone from being held in other’s arms to soon being as tall as the people who once held you. You’ve built on the saving faith you received at Baptism with the Bible’s details in Sunday School, Catechism Class, and instruction at home. You’ve written an essay to profess your faith as we believe and teach here at Grace and gotten all dressed up. And now you’re here, to hear God’s encouragement from me and to celebrate your special day with friends and family and Grace’s members and guests. Despite all your preparation, is your heart troubled by what will come? You’re probably nervous to stand in front of everyone. That’s okay. In fact, it’s normal before big events like this. Maybe you’re hesitant about what the next stage of your walk with Christ. Not only will you be a communicant member, you’ll be part of our Lifeliners high school youth group which is quite different than Children’s Bible Hour. Are you apprehensive about the vows you’ll soon take, specifically about remaining faithful to your Lord Jesus all the days of your life? You have a lot of life ahead of you and who knows what will happen! If your heart is troubled in any way, I encourage you to listen to what Jesus says to his disciples in John chapter 14. The disciples’ heart was troubled by Jesus’ earlier warnings of Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial. They were all concerned about what was going to happen and where Jesus was going. So Jesus calms their troubled heart in the best possible way: by telling them to believe in him. They were to believe in Jesus as God himself for he is the Way and the Truth and the Life. By believing in him, Jesus would show them God the Father and how wondrous he is. Through this belief, their troubled heart would be calm throughout all that would later come. 1) He is the Way and the Truth and the Life Jesus identifies himself as the Way and the Truth and the Life when answering Thomas’ question about the correct way to heaven. As the Way, Jesus says there’s only one path to the Father and his home of heaven: through faith in him as your Savior. If you try to go a different way, it’ll either be a dead end or lead you 1