Number 1
Scripture reading
John 8:48-59
Suggested hymns
Jesus is all the world to me Hymn No. 185
O, how I love Jesus Hymn No. 248
Thought for the day
Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of Cod with the permanent presence of Jesus.
"To us He says: 'I AM the Good Shepherd.' 'I AM the living Bread/ 'I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.' 'All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth.' John 10:11; 6:51; 14:6; Matt. 28:18. I AM the assurance of every promise. I AM; be not afraid. 'God with us' is the surety of our deliverance from sin, the assurance of our power to obey the law of heaven." The Desire of Ages, p. 24-25.
Offering prelude
"That which has been set apart according to the Scriptures as belonging to the Lord constitutes the revenue of the gospel and is no longer ours. It is no better than sacrilege for a man to take from God's treasury in order to serve himself or to serve others in their secular business. Some have been at fault in diverting from the altar of God that which has been especially dedicated to Him. All should regard this matter in the right light. Let no one, when brought into a strait place, take money consecrated to religious purposes and use it for his advantage, soothing his conscience by saying that he will repay it at some future time. Far better cut down the expenses to correspond with the income, to restrict the wants, and live within the means than to use the Lord's money for secular purposes." Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 246-247
Children's story
Objects: Some pictures of Jesus, or parents teaching children, and/or little foxes in a vineyard.
Lesson: To be obedient to what Jesus and our parents have taught us.
Just when the vines were putting out their tender blossoms, the little foxes of the Holy Land were waiting! These tender blossoms were a great delicacy for them. Vineyard owners, of course, were on the alert at this time of the year to catch the little foxes, for if they ate all the blossoms off the vine there would be no luscious grapes to harvest.
In our early years we can be compared to a vineyard. As we learn about the love of Jesus and what He has done and can do for us, we begin to bear blossoms that in later years will develop into fruit for the Master's vineyard. Satan does not like to see us learning of Christ, putting forth tender blossoms of Christianity. His aim is to destroy all the things we learn while we are young then he will not have to worry about the future years.
In our early years we can be compared to a vineyard. As we learn about the love of Jesus and what He has done and can do for us, we begin to bear blossoms that in later years will develop into fruit for the Master's vineyard. Satan does not like to see us learning of Christ, putting forth tender blossoms of Christianity. His aim is to destroy all the things we learn while we are young then he will not have to worry about the future years.
Let us make it our prayer today, that nothing shall spoil the lessons of life we are given, that we will not let wrong influences take from us the good instruction that comes to us.
Suggestion: The book of Proverbs contains a lot of advice about keeping the tender blossoms of instruction. Read Proverbs 3:1-4.
Text: John 8:58
A. Introduction
1 .Once a preacher gave a sermon entitled "Jesus Was the Greatest" to his secretary for typing. She responded, "Preacher, I think you have the wrong verb tense in the title." He looked at it again and said, "Mrs. Givan, that is grammatically correct." "It's not the grammar but the doctrine," she said. Looking at the title again, he reworded it to read, "Jesus Is the Greatest." Thank God for wise secretaries!
2. Getting the verb tenses correct about Jesus is a difficult task,
a. You can say, "He was," for He lived in history,
b. You can say, "He is," for He lives today,
c. You can also say, "He will be," for He will always exist.
3. Jesus is the eternal contemporary.
Think of the bewilderment of the Jews when Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." There is a striking contrast in verb tense was and am. This "I am" saying gives us insight into Christ and time.
B. Jesus is before time
The Jews looked to the greatness of Abraham.
1. They boasted of their kinship with Abraham. But Jesus claimed to be superior to Abraham. Over against Abraham's fleeting span of life, Jesus placed His timelessness.
2 Jesus lived before Abraham and before creation. John 1:1-2.
3 Jesus enjoyed fellowship with the Father before the sand went through the hourglass.
4. Because Jesus existed before time, this means that He is from everlasting to everlasting.
5. Jesus is God in human flesh. Phil. 2:6. Jesus is before time. He is God Himself.
C. Jesus is in time
The Jews would not grasp the fact that God entered into time and space.
1. They could not accept that a baby born in Bethlehem and reared by Jewish peasants could be the promised Messiah.
2. When Jesus entered into time, He did not cease to be God. He did not divest Himself of divinity. He entered into a new mode of being.
3. The eternal God entered into our sphere of existence. "God was in Christ," Paul said.
- When Jesus entered into time, He identified with our plight.
- He subjected Himself to life's trials and temptations. Heb. 4:15.
D. Jesus is supreme over time
Jesus' words, "Before Abraham was, I am," describe Jesus' lordship over time.
1. Oscar Cullman in the book "Christus und die Zeit" (Christ and Time) builds the idea that time finds its central thrust in Jesus Christ.
2. Jesus started the phenomenon of time. Because He created it and ordained it as a part of life, He is Lord over it.
3. Jesus will stop time.
4. When Jesus appears for His final return, He will usher in the glorified kingdom. It will be timeless.
E. Conclusion
The greatest person is Jesus.
1. He was before time.
2. He was in time.
3. He will be after time ceases.
4. He is!
Margarida F. Sarli, editorial coordinator for this section.
