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Sermon Notes

He Will Judge the Living and the Dead

John 5:22-30 (ESV)

“From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.” The first line of the creed that leans forward. The word that carries it all is not judge. It is come.

He Is Coming, Visibly, and As Our Hope

Acts 1:11 • Matthew 24:30 • 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16
The seated Christ does not stay hidden. He returns bodily, this same Jesus.
His return is seen by all.
Public, glorious, unmistakable.
For those who are His, it is not dread but hope. The living and the dead.
Two comings, not the same:
First coming: in humility, for salvation.
Second coming: in glory, for judgment.
And God's judgment is good news. The world set right.

All Judgment Given to the Son

John 5:22-23, 30 • Philippians 2:9-11
The Father judges no one; He has given all judgment to the Son.
The reason: so that all may honor the Son. Judgment glorifies Jesus.
Yet the Son judges only the Father's will (v.30).
Not two minds, one will.
The day of judgment is the day the Son is finally, publicly honored.

The Voice That Raises the Dead

John 5:24-25 • Romans 8:1 • (John 6:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4)
To the one in Christ, assurance:
you have passed from death to life. No condemnation, now.
To the one not yet in Christ, You are invited:
the hour is coming, and is now here. He is calling today.
The question is never “do I measure up?” but “whose voice have I answered?”

All Who Are in the Tombs Will Hear His Voice

John 5:27-29 • Daniel 12:2
The same voice that gives life now will one day raise everyone.
Two resurrections, one Judge.
The dead come out, bodily. The Judge is one of us, the Son of Man.
Where are they now?
At death the believer is with Christ, truly, but still waiting:
Body and spirit are separated at death.
Never God's design.
At his coming the body is raised, transformed, and rejoined.
Whole, forever.
The hope is not going to heaven when you die. It is the redemption of the body.

Reflection/Application Questions

Do you actually expect Jesus to return?

What would honestly change about an ordinary week if you lived as though Jesus really is coming back?

God's judgment is good news, not just something to survive. What would it mean to see it as the world finally being set right?

Who, or what situation, makes you long for a day when every wrong is answered?

Why does it matter, practically, that the Son's verdict is the Father's own heart?
Jesus says the believer has already passed from death to life and does not come into judgment.

Is there a mistake or a season you are treating as if you are still under judgement?
What does Romans 8:1 say to that?

“An hour is coming, and is now here.” Who in your life needs to hear that the door to true life is open now, not just someday when Jesus returns?

• 6. What makes us hesitant to speak of the return and the judgment with people we love? What might make it easier?

Time of Response

Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?

Give Here

QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE

What does this reveal about God?

What does this reveal about you in relation to God?

What do you need to do about it?

The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)

I am no longer my own,

but Yours.

Put me to what you will,

rank me with whom you will.

Put me to doing,

put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,

exalted for You or brought low for You.

Let me be full,

let me be empty.

Let me have all things,

let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things

to Your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You are mine,

and I am Yours.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

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How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?

One Method To Use When Reading Scripture:

The S.O.A.P.S. Method

S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.

O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.

A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?

P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.

S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.

Inductive Bible Study:
Observation (what does the passage say?)

What is happening in the passage?
Who is involved in the passage?
What happened before and after the passage.
Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.

Interpretation (what does it mean?)

What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?

Application (how does it apply to my life?)

What does the passage say about God?
What does the passage say about me and to me?
What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?

How do I talk with God?

WAYS TO PRAY

One Way to talk with God is to:

Pause.

Rejoice.

Ask.

Yield.

ANOTHER OPTION

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication: Requests

Worship Experience