Welcome to May and Mother’s Day weekend! At LifeWay Church this coming Mother’s Day Sunday, our service will feature some ways for us to recognize this wonderful day, and to enjoy the blooming of spring as well. The flowers are definitely coming out; the weather is certainly cooperating. The only drawback is the “social distancing” that we are still having to live under. So we are online again.
On Sunday, I am beginning a short series of sermons out of one chapter— John 17. We just completed four weekends reflecting on and studying through one chapter in the Bible (Romans 8). We are going to take some time to focus again on just one chapter.
Why one chapter only, for three or four weekends?
We at LifeWay truly believe that all of the Bible is God’s written word for us. The frustration is that there are 66 books (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament), 1189 chapters, and 31,102 verses in the Bible. Every word, every verse, every chapter, every book is God’s word, and valuable. As a Bible teacher, my goal in my short life is to help open up the Bible for each of us. If I had to choose 20 or so chapters of the Bible that help describe God’s great story, and use it as a gateway for you to become a lifelong student of God’s word, I want to make sure that we at least concentrate on a few of these shining moments of scripture. John 17 is definitely one of these chapters.
Why are we studying John 17 beginning on Mother’s Day?
Because in this chapter is a prayer from Jesus for those in his care. I am calling this series of messages, “Duty of Care.” Here’s a simple definition of this phrase:
Duty of care A requirement that a person act toward someone else with watchfulness, attention, caution, and prudence.
This completely reflects how Jesus prayed his prayer in John 17. It is certainly a good way to describe a mom for Mother’s Day. But more importantly, this is the best description of the attitude of followers of Jesus—disciples of our Lord—as we strive to live out our duty of care when he is Lord of our lives.
As you prepare for this coming Sunday, please read ahead. Read John 17 a few times. Take personal notes. Then let’s begin our journey in this study for the next few weekends.
See you Sunday (online, of course)!
