It is such a privilege to get to lead our study through the gospel of John – this firsthand account of the life and ministry and death and burial and resurrection and ascension of Jesus – given to us by what seems to have been Jesus’ closest earthly friend, the one who spoke of himself as “the One whom Jesus loved.” As I study and preach through this book, I am dependent upon the Holy Spirit to give help to understand His Word. As I study and pray and seek to understand the author’s original intent and as I seek the Lord as to what He would have us to learn and focus on in the text, I am helped often by the Holy Spirit’s work in others as they too have studied these passages. I don’t think it is always helpful to communication in the sermon to stop and mention every time I am paraphrasing or using an idea that has been birthed by the Lord’s work through someone else. Sometimes I do this in the sermon, but when I don’t I still desire to fairly and appropriately attribute to them. I will try and maintain a list of ongoing sources that as you listen to my preaching, from whom you are benefiting too. One preacher accurately said, “If it’s true it ain’t new and if it’s new, it probably ain’t true.” I’m definitely standing on the shoulder of God’s work in others. If you are helped, give God glory and give credit to others who I am learning from and know that I am thankful to get to be in God’s family and help serve the plates God has prepared. And pray that I will by God’s grace continue to be changed and impacted by His Word and by seeing the glory of God in His Son and fall more in love with His gospel in all the means God uses and that I might be able to pass on what I am learning to our church family and those He brings to worship with us. Pray that God’s Word might be received for what it really is – the very Word of God and that God’s Spirit might take His Word and let us “BEHOLD HIS GLORY!” more and more.

These resources include: The Gospel According to John commentary by Leon Morris; Expository Thoughts on John by J.C. Ryle; Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard B. Hays; The Gospel of John by R.C. Sproul; The Gospel of John by A.W. Pink; Preaching series through John by John Piper, Sermons on John by Ed Donnelly, Let’s Read John and sermons on John by Sinclair Ferguson ; Sermons on John by Martyn Lloyd Jones; Sermons on John by C.H. Spurgeon; Sermons on John by Tim Keller; New Pillar Commentary on John and sermons by D.A. Carson; The Gospel of John by Craig Keener; (other helps from language tools, general commentaries, treasury of Scripture knowledge, etc.)