Before Abraham Was, I Am

In one paragraph

This message came from John 8, and the pastor walked through Jesus teaching openly in the temple, pressing his claims about who he is while the religious leaders pushed back harder at every turn. The sermon opened by revisiting the woman caught in adultery as a demonstration of what Jesus had been saying all along in chapters seven and eight, that there is no condemnation for those in Christ, only...

Read together

1. John 7:37-38 Jesus standing up on the last great day of the feast, crying out for anyone thirsty to come to him and receive rivers of living water
2. John 8:1-11 the woman caught in adultery, Jesus writing on the ground and refusing to condemn her
3. John 8:12 Jesus declaring I am the light of the world, the one who follows will not walk in darkness
4. Exodus 31 God giving Moses the two tablets written by the finger of God, linked to Jesus writing with his finger
5. Romans 15:13 Advent reading: may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him
6. Genesis 15:6 Abram believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
7. Romans 3:23 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
8. Romans 4 Paul repeating that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
9. Matthew 18 every matter established by the testimony of two or three witnesses
10. 2 Corinthians 13:1 Paul saying this is the third time coming to you, every matter established by two or three witnesses
11. 1 Timothy 5:19 do not entertain an accusation against an elder except on the testimony of two or three witnesses
12. John 1:1 before Genesis 1:1 there was John 1:1, in the beginning God, Jesus was there with him
13. John 8:31-32 if you continue in my word you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free
14. John 8:44 you are of your father the devil, he was a murderer from the beginning, the father of lies
15. John 8:58 before Abraham was born, I am
16. Jeremiah 31 God has loved us with an everlasting love, cited in the closing benediction

Talk about it

1. The pastor pointed to the woman caught in adultery as a dividing line, and said that after the first service people came forward identifying themselves either as the woman or as the ones holding the stones. Which of those two positions do you find yourself in more often, and what does that reveal about where you are with God right now?
2. The pastor drew a distinction between condemnation and conviction, saying that if a believer reads the Bible and feels damned rather than challenged and transformed, that is the devil at work. How do you personally tell the difference between the Holy Spirit convicting you and the enemy condemning you?
3. The Boy Scout who did not grow up in church heard the gospel and simply said, 'You said Jesus paid, right? I'll go with that,' while the one who had attended church his whole life listed ten things he felt he had to do. What does that contrast say to you about how religious familiarity can actually get in the way of simple faith?
4. Jesus said to the Pharisees, 'You study them, you go after them, you have them memorized, but you do not hear them.' What is the difference between studying Scripture and truly hearing it, and where do you think that line falls in your own life?
5. The pastor closed by saying he was challenged by the fact that Jesus never grandstanded, and that Christians who feel righteous right is on their side can end up pounding the pulpit rather than simply making the point. Where have you seen that tendency show up, either in yourself or in the broader church, and what would it look like to correct it?