MISSION WOODS CHURCH
Sunday, September 27, 2026
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  • A Shield About Me
  • He Leadeth Me
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Shout To The Lord

      • John 14:1-4ESV

      • John 14:5-7ESV

      • John 14:8-9ESV

      • John 14:10-11ESV

      • John 14:12-14ESV

  • Ever been lost? As I get started this morning, I want you to take just a moment and think back to your childhood of a time you got lost.
    For me one of the times - Ha! One of the times (yes, I got lost more than once) - This particular time I had decided to go down to the beach to visit my grandma. I was probably 6 or 7 years old. As many of you know I grew up not too far north of here in West Seattle. Our family lived in the house my grandparents had built on top of the bluff overlooking Alki beach. My grandma lived right down across the street from the beach, for those of you familiar with the area she lived across the street from the boat house and the miniature replica of the statue of liberty.
    So, off I went. There was a wooded area to our house we referred to as “the gully”, and trails led to a sandbank that I slid down, crossed the road, hopped the guard rail and went down another steep dirt bank to another road, and then simply follow the road down until I got down to the water. Then it was a simple walk to grandmas. As I think about it I can still remember my sense of independence and pride of being so “grown up” as to be able to make this trip. Grandma was going to be so surprised!
    I got to the water and for the first time I was confused. Which way do I go? To the right? or to the left? I went right. I was still excited to see grandma and thought of how proud she would be of my independence. I walked, and I walked. The longer I walked the less familiar the area got. I passed all the apartment buildings, none of which were hers. The beach houses. Then I spotted the mecca of security, the place that would bring me shelter and help me find my way. It was a 7-11.
    I walked in an announced to the man behind the counter, “I think I’m lost.” He asked me if I wanted to call home and I said, I did. He asked me my phone number and I said, I didn’t know it. But I knew my grandma’s number! And for the record I still remember it. He dialed for me, I talked to my grandma, then the nice man behind the counter took the phone and told her where I was. She in turn called my parents and not too much later my dad walked in smiling. He thought it was funny. We hopped in his car and he took me home.
    How does this fit? So now you’re wondering, okay, so how does that fit with the Scripture we just read? So wait, you’re lost? Let me try and show you the way. (Pun totally intended).
    Dialogues compressed So as we’ve been on this journey through the Gospel of John I’ve shared with you before that when we see these long dialogues that it is likely compressed. What we’re reading her in chapter 14 is a conversation that is continuing from chapter 13 as 11 of the disciples are sitting around the table after the Passover meal. Judas Iscariot has left.
    Dialogue broken up by questions In this conversation Jesus has announced to his disciples that his time remaining with them was now limited and that he was leaving them. And the disciples are confused, they want to know where he’s going. The questions begin in chapter 13, with Peter asking, “Lord, why can’t I follow you?”
    That’s the first thing we see in our passage is Jesus assuring His disciples that He has an eternal plan for them, a plan for their well being, and encourages them to live in that hope.

    1. Peace in His Promise

    Questioning the validity of Christianity This past week I’ve had multiple conversations regarding Christian faith in general. Many have asked, “In these post-modern times can we still rely on the what we have called the Holy Bible or the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament?” First I would say rather than simply asking me to explore it for yourself. All the way back in the Old Testament we read from the prophet Jeremiah 29:13
    Jeremiah 29:13 ESV
    You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
    Jesus promises he is going to prepare a place for us, that He will come back and take us there. He ends with John 14:4
    John 14:4 ESV
    And you know the way to where I am going.”
    to which Thomas asks, John 14:5
    John 14:5 ESV
    Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
    Jesus gives us…

    2. Pathway to Purpose

    He says in verse 6, perhaps one of the central statements of Christianity and perhaps one of the more controversial ones even not just then, but even now:
    John 14:6 ESV
    Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
    The way fulfills the OT symbol and teaching that show the exclusiveness of God’s claim.
    The way If we go back and look at the curtain in the tabernacle it barred access to God’s presence from all except the Levitical high priest. Throughout the Bible we read man’s attempts to get to God - the tower of Babel, trying to be good enough, etc. Jesus here proclaims he alone gives us access to God.
    The truth This fulfills the teaching of the Old Testament as John said in the opening of his Gospel in John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Jesus as the truth fulfills the teaching of the OT and reveals the true God.
    The life Jesus alone is the life who fulfill s the OT promise of “life” given by God, having life in himself and he is thus able to confer eternal life to all who beleive in Him. This is another “I AM” statement that makes a claim to deity.
    Way, Truth, Life Jesus as the Way, Truth, and Life prevents us from being lost. Jesus provides the Way - follow me. The Truth - I’m the real way. the Life - eternal life has been a theme throughout the Gospel of John.
    In Jesus God’s presence is revealed:

    3. Presence Revealed

    Continuing through our passage, in John 14:7
    John 14:7 ESV
    If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
    One of the hallmarks of the Old Testament is that God cannot be seen face to face. God told Moses, “you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live.”
    Philip asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” to which Jesus said to him, John 14:9
    John 14:9 ESV
    Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
    Ah ha! Here is the face of God!
    Jesus is the image of God There are scholars who believe everytime you see God in the Old Testament that it is actually Jesus who is there.
    Appears in OT Think about how Jacob wrestled with God or Mishach, Shadrach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace of King Nebuchadnezzar, when they look in they don’t see three men, but four.
    We profess in our creeds that Jesus is full man and fullly God.
    To know Jesus is to know God.
    The disciples’ struggle to comprehend this unity mirrors our own journeys.
    The next section really emphasizes the unity of Jesus and God.

    4. Powerful Works

    Thoroughout the Gospel of John, we have seen Jesus doing incredibly powerful works. Jesus changes water to wine, He heals, He feeds, He raises the dead, ...
    He challenges the scribes and Pharisees because they continually get upset with Jesus over doing things they could not and “working on the Sabbath.” He constantly is stretching their understanding of not just Messiah, but of God.
    Jesus challenges us to look at His works and see how they demonstrate God’s power. They call us to remember past experiences where God has been faithful.
    Perhaps one of the more challenging statements in this passage is at the end. John 14:12-14
    John 14:12–14 ESV
    “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
    Think about that.

    5. Promise of Greater Works

    John uses that emphatic writing tool to draw our attention, “Truly, truly, I say to you.” making sure we’re paying attention.” Read this closely: John 14:12
    John 14:12 ESV
    “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
    Think of all that we’ve seen Jesus do. And we’re told as believers in Him we will do the works that He does; and greater works because He is going to the Father.
    Throughout John He has said again and again thatHe does not do these things on His own power or strength, but on that of the Father. He said only what he heard the Father telling him, He did the work as led by the Father. It was all for the purpose of glorifying the Father.
    And the works come from our joining Him in seeking to glorify the Father. John 14:13 “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
    We are told that our faith will bear fruit in meaningful ways. You may have doubts of your purpose and your impact in this world. Jesus assures us here that our lives, anchored in faith are impactful making a difference.
    The Anchor The passage this evening opens with John 14:1
    John 14:1 ESV
    “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
    Later in the chapter we read of the promise of the Holy Spirit and then the closing of our section with again, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
    Being lost We began with the idea of being lost. I asked you to consider if you’d ever been lost. What troubles you about being lost? Where do you feel lost today?
    In the midst of this Jesus cries out, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Jesus assures us, He is “the way, the truth and the life.”
    In my own story I shared with you how I found help. Even though I didn’t know where I was, I found someone who knew where they were, that I might know where I was. Through him, I found my way home. The same is true with Jesus, through Him we find our way home.
    Through Him we do good works.
    Through Him we do greater works than He did on the earth.
    Through Him we bring glory to the Father which is in reality our ultimate goal. AMEN.

      • Jeremiah 29:13ESV

      • John 14:4ESV

      • John 14:5ESV

      • John 14:6ESV

      • John 14:7ESV

      • John 14:9ESV

      • John 14:12–14ESV

      • John 14:12ESV

      • John 14:1ESV

  • In His Time
  • Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing
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MISSION WOODS CHURCH
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http://www.missionwoodschurch.org
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