Tag: John

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Walk, Don’t Run – John 20:1-18

This morning we gather at the tomb not as passive observers but active participants along with the disciples John, Peter and Mary. We are invited to linger in the story, to engage with the sorrow, the uncertainty and the joy.

This passage opens with a race between Peter and John, aka “The Disciple Jesus Loved” (which John wants you to be sure to know that he won). He does, though, wait for Peter to go in in deference to his elder. The two responses here illustrate different faithful responses to the risen Christ. John sees and believes, while Peter enters into the tomb to investigate and examine the evidence. John represents the eager willingness to believe, while Peter shows judicious, even forensic examination. They believed, but the scripture tells us that they did not yet fully understand before they left the scene.

The story of Peter and John, though, is bookended by the experience of Mary Magdalene, who has been a consistent presence through the Crucifixion and into all the stories of the empty tomb. She was there before the disciples had their race, and she stayed after they left. She sits in her sorrow and loss, remaining at the scene to grapple with her grief and uncertainty. Mary’s story goes beyond belief, whether eager and willing or careful and forensic. She does not merely believe, but she loves and lives in relationship with Jesus, and so feels the loss deeply. And it is in the midst of this lament that Jesus enters in.

And when he does, He engages on a heart level, speaking her name, Mariam, in Aramaic rather than the Greek that is used elsewhere in the story, in her “heart language.” And Mary responds in kind, crying out “Rabboni,” again in Aramaic and depicting a close relationship with a teacher and mentor.

And he tells her that everything has changed – in Luke, he asks, “why do you search for the living among the dead?” Don’t cling to the old life, but embrace the new. Don’t live in Friday, because Sunday has come

Easter is not an invitation to run faster, but to linger in our uncertainty and sorrow, to encounter the truth and love of a relationship with our glorious, risen savior. It is a chance to understand what dead things we are clinging to that fracture our relationships. It is an invitation not to examine faith but to embrace life.

And it is an invitation to tell others, just as Jesus instructs Mary to do. She takes the title of the first apostle, not because she was fast, not because she was authoritative, but because she missed Jesus and sat before the tomb and cried. Let us take her as our example of resurrection faith.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 5, 2026

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Paradigms – John 9

This story is a tale of paradigms – opposing and shifting understandings of how the world works.

It starts out immediately with the disciples assuming a paradigm and begging that question. “Who sinned?” The Old Testament tells us God punishes the wicked, which had turned into the idea that any negative situation was itself a punishment, maybe even for sins committed before birth!

But Jesus rejects that paradigm – no one sinned to make this man blind. Some English translations imply that God instead made the man blind in order to display the works of God, but the Greek does not necessarily suggest that level of cause and effect. The works of God, rather, are what Jesus is there to do regardless. Specifically, the bringing of light into darkness, both in the form of this man, and also in the broader spiritual sense.

Thus ends part one, but the story continues. The people around the blind man are confused, unclear even if it was the same person. In an effort to sort things out, they bring the man to the Pharisees, who have their own paradigm. It’s the Sabbath, and work, including healing, is forbidden on the Sabbath – therefore this healing is sinful and cannot be a miracle from God, which means it probably didn’t happen at all.

So the Pharisees push back and make the man tell his story again. He does, and every time he tells the story, his understanding of Jesus increases. He goes from being just a guy with some mud to being a prophet, which the Pharisees do not like.

So they bring in his parents, presumably with the goal of showing that he was never blind. But his parents are terrified of being ostracized from the community and so stay clammed up, pointing them back to their son.

So their son tells his story yet again, and zeros on on both what he knows and what he does not – “I was blind, but now I see.” This does not fit into the increasingly frustrated Pharisees paradigm, and so – after a bit of mutual rudeness – they toss him out.

Jesus then seeks him out, and the man’s understanding increases once again, accepting Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Jesus draws the line between the man’s former physical blindness and spiritual blindness, and the healing Jesus brought to both, and offers to the rest of the world. But on the flip side, he also points out that he will do the reverse, and those who think they see properly will be unable to see the work of God.

The Pharisees, correctly, guess he’s talking about them, and object. In their paradigm, they are chosen by God, so how can they possiblybe blind? But Jesus points out that their very paradigm condemns them, because their behavior does not match their teaching.

That’s where this story wraps up. What can we learn from it? We here have (or seek to have) a Christian paradigm, centered on the work of Christ. And like the formerly blind man, we will run into people who do not share our paradigm and who reject it outright. Like the blind man, we should stick to our story. This is uncomfortable in our post-postmodern environment, which dislikes the idea that spiritual things can be objectively true. But like the blind man, we should center our story on what Jesus has done for us. We know from our own various experiences that Jesus is loving and compassionate. This starts with His sacrifice on the cross and extends into our daily lives following him.

Jesus’ final words to his disciples on earth echo this – go and make disciples. Tell your story, just as the blind man did.

When do this, we can count on Jesus to encourage us and comfort us as we do this, and to use even the small things that we do in service of the Great Commission to further the work He is doing in people’s hearts over time.

— Sermon Notes, Robin Swearinga, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 15, 2026

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Love Meets Us in the Wilderness – John 3:1-17

This story comes in the early part of Jesus’ ministry as chronicled by John. He has turned water into wine, called disciples, cleared the temple courts and just started building a name for himself. That name was enough to connect him with Nicodemus, a leader among the Pharisees, who primarily interacted as Jesus’ antagonists.

Unlike most, though, Nicodemus came at night – this may be partly because he didn’t want his interest getting around, but it also creates a strong contrast with the other Pharisees who came during the day with the goal to draw a crowd and debunk or humiliate Jesus.

So you have this very learned, powerful person submitting himself to learn from this itinerant, newly arrived, lower class rabbi. But Nicodemus didn’t just take what he was told, and pushes back on the notion of rebirth. Possibly drawing from Jewish arguments against Grecian cults of rebirth, he tries to dismantle this metaphor of being “born again” – but Jesus pushes forward, because it’s not just a metaphor but a spiritual reality centered on his very person.

Nicodemus is a spiritual leader of Israel, but he is not equipped to grapple with spiritual realities – he’s trained on rules and sub-rules and interpretations of rules, but this is heaven breaking in on the earth, this man in front of him a rent in the fabric of reality, ushering in a new way of relating to the creator, one that extends to the entire world, not just the people of Israel.

And this is not just a far off moment, “somewhere in outer space” but rather a reality we have access to right now. The salvation that Jesus brings is a real, immediate thing, and he offers it to us freely. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

This salvation is there for us to ask for, and Jesus longs to hear you ask for it. The Father sent him to save us and open us to the work of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Trinity welcomes us into that eternal relationship. We are ourselves invited to serve as that rent in reality, points in space and time where heaven bleeds through in the form of love and truth and grace.

We never get a clear answer on what happens to Nicodemus in the wake of this conversation, but later in John we see Nicodemus defending Jesus from his fellow Pharisees, and then after the Crucifixion bringing spices to honor and embalm this man who one night opened the mysteries of heaven to him, who spoke to him of the undefeatable love of God.

Let us live out that love ourselves, accepting the love and grace Christ offers, and then living out that love and grace we have received.

— Sermon Notes, Nancy de Jong, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, March 1, 2026

Image: Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, 1899, Henry Ossawa Tanner

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The Bread of Life – John 6:28-35

We eat for many reasons – sustenance, comfort, taste, specific health purposes, business meetings, social connection, family connection and much more. In scripture, food is extremely important because in life it is important. Food is discussed throughout the Bible, and food as a component hospitality in particular. There are also many food-based spiritual metaphors, because the nourishment – and more – that food provides is also needed spiritually. We come together for the Lord’s Supper today, and look forward to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb in the future, and in between coming together for meals and fellowship together.

What shape do you think the Table of the Kingdom of God is? Likely not a hierarchical rectangle, but a round table of equality – or perhaps even a shifting, amorphous shape that modifies itself based on the needs of those coming to eat.

The food metaphor here is one of the most important. It is the first of seven “I AM” statements in the Gospel of John, as Jesus connects himself to the YHWH of the Old Testament while also describing who He is in more detail. The Bread of Life, the Light of the World, the Door of the Sheep, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way the Truth and the Life, the True Vine.

Jesus used these statements to point people to himself from the things they were familiar with. It does often confuse them, as it does here. In part this is because Jesus has just come from feeding the 5,000, with 12 baskets of food left over. That miracle of compassion and abundance is the backdrop of his discussion of Himself as the Bread of Life.

The crowd has followed him from one side of the lake to the other, asking what they should do, perhaps in order to keep the gravy train coming. They even reference the manna given by Moses in the wilderness, more physical sustenance provided miraculously.

But Jesus corrects them on multiple points. First, it wasn’t Moses who gave the manna, but God. And second, the physical sustenance, while important, is secondary to the Person of the God who gave that Manna – He Himself is the Bread of Life, who comes down and gives Himself for the world. The work of God, he explains, is simply to know and be in relationship with Him.

Jesus’ I Am statements are more than just theological statements of his identity, but they are invitations into relationship with Him as a natural and inescapable outgrowth of His divine identity.

Even so, we see the confusion of the crowds here, which may give us some comfort in our own confusion. Jesus, in the midst of our confusion, misunderstanding and tendency to go our own way, stands before us and says “I Am.” We can be still and know the He Is.

At the great feast of the Kingdom of God, it will be full of every kind of food, all the wide diversity of sustenance, connection and joy that food brings. We are called to serve and to invite others to this feast, tearing down every door and barrier that could keep people from this feast. The Great Feast of the King is abundant and generous – it is an open invitation to all – it is as diverse as humanity itself – and it is live giving in a supernatural way.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, September 9, 2025

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On a Mission to Bless – John 17:13-26

No matter what is happening, in your life, in the country, don’t go to the left or the right – but go vertical. God promises that all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purpose.

This passage is the longest prayer of Jesus recorded. It’s a glimpse into His heart, and we can see ourselves within this. Jesus explicitly prayed for us, those who would come after. He knew what we would go through and asked that we would receive the fullness of joy.

We are called, also, to be on a mission. That joy and that mission are deeply connected. We are called to stop living for ourselves and start living for other selves. What was the last time you were made uncomfortable by what God has called you to do. God has not called us to be comfortable, but joyful. Pressing beyond our fears, when wrapped up in the passions God has given you, that brings joy.

Jesus saved us for a mission – He saved us from something for something. We’ll make plenty of mistakes, but God has grace and will even make use of them.

God called Abraham away from everyone and everything he knew, in order to bless him and make him a blessing to the world. Just like this, God blesses us in order to bless others – even when it is challenging or uncomfortable. We should be making room for others in our lives rather than expecting them to adapt or make room for us.

Jesus emptied Himself so that He could be glorified in the way that had been prepared for Him. Likewise we have a mission and a path prepared for us. Jesus has already prayed for us that the glory will rest on us. We don’t need to be afraid of the world – the world should be afraid of us. We can stand in love, loving others into the kingdom of God. Love covers everything.

God is already at work in the world around us, even in the chaos. In fact, the world itself was created out of chaos. We should guard our hearts and not let that chaos scare us off of our mission. We have been given authority as heirs with Christ, and we can walk through that chaos with confidence.

When on a mission, we everything begins with prayer. Prayer is the key that unlocks the door to the work of God. When was the last time you prayed for your coworkers, your neighbors or others beyond yourself?

When you’re on a mission to bless, you need to adapt. God sets divine appointments for us to touch the world. Be sensitive to those around you – talk less, listen more. Listen with care. Get over yourself.

We are blessed so we can bless. We are even hurt so we can bless, because our healing can bring healing to others.

As we consider the facets of mission together, individually and collectively let us discern what we have been called to do. In whatever form, we’ve been called to bring the hope of the gospel.

It starts with yourself – forgiving yourself, then forgiving others, living in love for those around us, on a mission to bless.

— Sermon Notes, Ieisha Hawley, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, May 4, 2025

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Questions at the Tomb – John 20:1-29

Things have been changing in ways that are hard. For many of us it is harder and harder to be optimistic about the future.

This is what Mary Magdalene was facing at the beginning of this chapter. Jesus has died, life as she knew it is over. She comes to anoint the body, having been delayed by the Sabbath already. Then she finds the empty tomb but does not immediately realize why. She tells the disciples who (after footrace) confirm that the body is gone, but they don’t understand either. And so Mary is standing outside the empty tomb, confused and sad.

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus’ disciples. Luke 8 puts her on an equivalent footing with the Twelve male disciples, with the caveat that she and other women supported the ministry of Jesus materially. Jesus cast seven demons out of her, healing her in a way that gained her undying loyalty, bringing her to this moment of grief and confusion.

Lingering at the tomb, Mary is asked three questions. The other disciples have gone away but she stays there with her own questions, sitting in her grief and weeping. First, the angel asks “Why are you crying?” Then Jesus asks again “Really, why are you crying?”

As ever, Jesus pushes deeper – what is the state of your heart? Mary is desperate – she asks him, thinking he is the gardener, where they took the body? She is about to go sling it over her back and carry him back to his rightful resting place.

Jesus also asks her “Who is it you’re looking for?” Where are you seeking your solace, where are you seeking your meaning? In the Old Testament, the people were looking for a king, seeking the strength and power they saw leading the peoples around them – something that feels all to familiar in this current era. But Jesus comes to tell us that this material, temporal power is unimportant. What we should be looking for is exactly what – and who – May is seeking. And like her, He stands right in front of us.

He cuts through the grief and confusion with a single word, the name he called out of oppression, the name he loves. In that instant she sees Him for Who He is and cries out in Aramaic, her heart language, “Rabboni!”

Jesus, especially in these last chapters, is deeply compassionate and vulnerable. As we look around the church today, that compassion is seen as weakness, that vulnerability is seen as a flaw.

But Jesus came to turn our understanding of these things upside down. Wealth impoverishes, the last are first, the poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven, we must die in order to live.

This is the world Mary thought was lost, but that Jesus resurrected with a word, with the love and compassion bound up in just the simple statement of her name.

Many of us may feel similar grief and confusion. We may have lost hope, lingering outside an empty tomb that seems like it still stinks of death. But standing before us is Jesus, asking “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

–Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 20, 2025

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Spam and the Finest Wine – John 12:1-8

The gospel of John is in part built around seven signs of Jesus’ divine identity, starting with water into wine and culminating with the resurrection of Lazarus. Each of these signs is followed by a reaction from the religious leaders.

  • Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
  • Healing a royal official’s son (John 4:46-54)7
  • Healing at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15)
  • Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-15)
  • Walking on water (John 6:16-21)
  • Healing a man born blind (John 9:1-12)
  • Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45)

The final sign is the story of Lazarus – Jesus goes to Bethany despite the threats to his life by the Pharisees, doubts from his followers and the stench of death, raises Lazarus from the dead.

In this story we have a counterpoint to that stench of death, with the fragrant nard that Mary anoints his feet with.

A variation of this story is told in each gospel, but the details of each are very different – different places, different people’s houses, different parts of Jesus anointed and different objections and objectors.

Zeroing in on this story, though, we have Mary, anointing Jesus’ feet in gratitude for raising her brother from the dead, while also, unknowingly, preparing Jesus for his own burial. It also calls ahead to Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, a story only in John. It may even be that Jesus was inspired by Mary in this action.

All of this demonstrates the humility Jesus modeled and calls us to – “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Mary’s act, in some ways a contrast, is extraordinarily lavish – the perfume she uses, we are told, is worth a year’s wages. It gives us an insight into the economics of the region and era, and also confirms that Judas’ objection is reasonable, as far as it goes.

Judas is tapping into a biblical truth about care for the poor. Think of all the meals and shelter that could be provided by a year’s wages. But of course, we know from the passage that Judas was really just a grifter – in reality, he just wanted access to the money for himself.

It is easy for us to use scripture to seek things that benefit ourselves – ironically, this very passage is used in exactly this way, with people pretending to biblical values but only for their own ends. “The poor you will always have with you” is not a license to ignore the hundreds of scriptures calling us to care for the poor. It is specifically in contrast to the unique opportunity Mary has to lavishly serve her messiah in the flesh. We know from Matthew 25 how we are to do the same thing today – “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The lavishness of Mary’s action also echoes the lavishness of Jesus’ own sacrifice. Mary gave something priceless for Jesus’ dirty feet – Jesus gave his own priceless life for our dirty souls. We are called to do the same for the weak and poor and oppressed all around us. And not the bare minimum, but the best – spam cooked in the finest wine.

This is the core of Jesus’ command – “love each other as I have loved you.” We can be soft hearted and compassionate, we can serve and give regardless of what is happening in the world – because Jesus went before us and built us a firm foundation with his example and his sacrifice.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 6, 2025

Images by midjourney

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Bethesda – John 5:1-9

Think of something that you have been struggling with for a long time – maybe a sin or temptation, a pattern of behavior, a bad habit or addiction, a hurt, a painful memory, resentment. Something you wish God would heal but over the years He has not.

We’ve all likely heard that there are three answers that God gives to prayer – yes, no and wait. But sometimes that knowledge does not help. It seems like we’ve been waiting for so long for something that would be objectively good. Why wouldn’t He do it?

There is no formula to getting our prayers answered – if there were, we’d all be following it. But God is a person, not a vending machine. He asks us to trust him – on good days, on bad days, in crises, in peace.

We have this example in the man in this story, paralyzed for 38 years, seeking healing from this supposedly magic pool. The specifics of the angel coming down are not in the earliest manuscripts, but were likely added to clarify what the man says later.

This is from the Book of John, the one gospel where the city is Jerusalem looms largest throughout the book, rather than only at the end. The indications of different Jewish festivals help the Jewish people across the world place the stories in time and cultural context. The book of John also focuses on Jesus’ interactions with other people, and this one is notable.

We don’t know how long this man has been waiting, but it seems to have been a long time. We can imagine him younger and more hopeful, pushing and jostling to get to the pool first, and failing time after time. Eventually he gives up, and while he stays in the area he has resigned himself to the fact that he will never be first. Proverbs says “a hope deferred makes the heart sick,” and we can see that this man’s heart is sick.

Jesus steps into this story of scarcity and offers abundance. God wants healing broadly not just to those who get somewhere first. But first he asks a piercing question: “do you want to be made well?”

The man does not say “yes”. Instead, he just shares why it’s impossible, why “it is what it is.”

But that’s not what Jesus asked. That’s not where Jesus wants him to direct his gaze. Not at the superstition of the pool, but the face of Jesus. And Jesus is validating the desire that this man has almost forgotten that he has. Our desires find their root in who God made us to be. They may be misplaced or diverted to incorrect or inappropriate things, but God wants to fulfill the core of our desires, just like in this case.

So where are the gathering pills beneath the colonnades in your life? Where are at sitting on our mat, waiting out the hours but having largely given up.

And maybe it’s not even in your life. We are surrounded by needs and unanswered prayers in our own community and in the global community ended moreso. Where do we step in and how do we make those decisions? We can’t have all the answers, but we can trust that God’s power is abundant, sufficient for both the great problems of the world and our small sins and hurts.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, August 18, 2024

Images created using Midjourney.

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Touched by the Resurrection – John 20:19-31

Children generally want to know they have a base of security and safety. They want to hide behind their parents’ legs until they have gained the confidence to go play – and they want that base to run back to.

As adults, we are often this way with God. When we hear from God and feel the touch of God it gives us the confidence to take the steps of faith He has called us to.

That’s where the disciples are in this story, and Thomas in particular. Thomas gets something of a bad rap as “doubting Thomas” but in fact Thomas is no different than the rest of us who doubt and yet are loved deeply by Jesus. He gives Thomas the gift he needs in that moment – he provides the leg for Thomas to wrap his arms around.

But of course we don’t see Jesus like Thomas did. We don’t see thousands fed by a few loaves and fishes, miraculous healing, storms calmed and dead raised. And yet, they doubted. That must mean it is ok if we do as well. We are real people like they were, with normal reactions, and like them the Holy Spirit can take us and redeem even that doubt and use us to do His work.

Back in the passage, in verse 19 it is still the same day that Mary discovered the empty tomb. The disciples are still hiding in fear behind closed doors, even though Peter and John saw the tomb empty as well. Why is this? This is a moment we can reflect ourselves. What are the closed doors we hide behind? What is it we fear? The disciples hid in fear of the authorities, both religious and secular, the very real fear of torture and execution. What are our fears? Where do we need Jesus to touch us?

In the passage, He appears among among them and says “peace be with you.” In fact, He says that three times in this passage. What did He mean by peace? The opposite is war, violence, anxiety, rage. Where do we need peace? On the road, at work, in our family?

Imagine Peter in that room, having denied Jesus three times, hearing “peace be with you” three times. We also can hear from Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, the word and believers around us.

On that note, Jesus here breathes on the disciples, breathing the Holy Spirit into them. It’s recalling the story of creation, when Adam is formed but does not live without the breath of love breathed into them; or in Ezekiel, when the army of bones is raised but does not truly live until the four winds breathe the breath of God into them.

Then Jesus empowers then further, passing along the same authority to forgive sins that He claimed for Himself. We as the church have that same authority.

Back to Thomas – he may have been an analytical person, naturally skeptical, or a visual or tactile person. And Jesus meets him where he is at, just as He meets us – “Do you believe because you see me? Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.”

It’s not like there are tiers of faith. In fact, we have a huge advantage – we have the Holy Spirit. However, we also find that the Holy Spirit is marginalized in today’s church, treated as a second-rate member of the Trinity. It may be because the work of the Spirit is by its nature egalitarian, empowering the young, women, the marginalized in ways that can be deeply threatening to entrenched power structures.

But the deeper power of the Spirit is available to us, even in our fear, even in our doubt. Thomas himself is the first person to declare the deity of Christ and ultimately becomes the Apostle who goes farthest, bringing the truth he encountered on that day as far as India. We never know what God will do or who He will do it with.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 23, 2023

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He Is Risen – John 20:11-18

Why is the symbol of Christianity the cross? In reality, it should be the empty tomb. Our hope is not founded on the death of Christ, but on His resurrection.

John’s account of the resurrection focuses on Mary Magdalene, one of the few who was at both the foot of the cross and at the empty tomb. She gets up early to take care of Christ’s body, but finds the tomb empty. She rushes back to the disciples and Peter and John have a footrace, which John makes sure you know he won.

When they arrive, they see the empty tomb and believe – but they do not fully understand. They take what they see at face value and go back to where they are staying.

But Mary does not. She already saw the empty tomb, but her questions remain. Her grief remains. Even when she sees angels and speaks to them her only thought is to finding Jesus body and taking care of it. She asks who she thinks is perhaps the gardener who took the body away what has happened.

Both the figures in white and the “gardener” ask the same question – “why are you crying?” Jesus cares for our tears and seeks to wipe them away.

The way he does this is relationally, engaging directly with her personally by the simple act of saying her name. This is the most important moment in human history as Christ begins raising everything from the dead. “I am making all things new.”

And our response to this is to be simple – “go and tell.” It’s the same pattern we see when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well – Christ engages with her relationally, and then she goes and tells others about the good news of this Man.

Faith is about being open-hearted. Are you able to be vulnerable before Christ? Are you able to hear Him speak your name?

Whatever your circumstance, Jesus is calling your name and asking why you are crying. He seeks to be known by you, for you to know His love and be transformed by it, to be resurrected in spirit as He was in body.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 9, 2023