John Chapter 2

We're rollin' through the book of John, dropping in on Chapter two this Saturday morning!

Jesus Changes Water to Wine-Chapter 2

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”4 “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.”5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

Jesus Clears the Temple

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house into a market!”17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”18 Then the Jews demanded of him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty‑six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. [fn3] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25 He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.

John Chapter 1

Hey Sk8 4 God skaters,
We're reading through the book of John in our weekly 10 am bible study right now. Last week we got through half of Chapter 1. This Saturday we'll finish the chapter. Get stoked on God's word and join us at the skatepark!

John Chapter 1

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

John the Baptist Denies Being the Christ

19 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ. ”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”

24 Now some Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Jesus the Lamb of God

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

Jesus' First Disciples

35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”

39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour.

40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter ).

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

The battle of spirituality is hardcore!

Looking into history we hear of great stories of bravery and courage. We hear of people dying for what they believe in. Now living in the 21st century life is quite different. How can we relate to the courage and bravery that our ancestors had? Well the bible tells us how to defeat the dark rulers spiritually (Ephesians chapter 6). The bible also gives us hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
Historically there was a tribe of Greeks from Sparta who were called the Spartans. They were known as the fiercest warriors. From the age of 7 young boys in Sparta were taken away from their mothers and trained to fight. They were educated to become soldiers.
During the time of 480 BC, Xerxes the ruler of the Persian Empire came to conquer the Greeks. In defense the Greeks gathered up their tribes to make a stand at the battle of Thermopylae. There was about 300 Spartans and 7,000 Greeks. The Spartans fought together as a unit. They would interlock their shields together to form a wall. Every man would work together as a team. The Spartans held leadership in this battle. They were trained not to live in fear. They faced a quarter million men. They were able to hold them off long enough to give time for Greece to form a naval army to defeat Xerxes.
Now how can we use this lesson in history to encourage us in our faith in God? Well to start, here in Santa Cruz it is almost like we are a tribe of Spartans considering all of the spiritual warfare that goes on around here. You see the bible doesn’t teach us how to fight hand to hand combat like the Spartans. It teaches us how to fight spiritually. The bible warns us about the attacks from the devil. The bible tells us how to overcome evil. How to defeat it! Be encouraged you are with brothers and sisters of the Lord. You can defeat Satan and his attacks. Think of yourself as a Spartan against the whole entire Persian Empire. Now think about your fellow Christian brothers as Spartans to fight with you against Lucifer and his demons. Together you can defeat evil, defeat the spiritual host who try to consume you.Read Ephesians 6:14 through 18 (Armor of God).
Think of yourself as a light. Have you ever noticed that during the day if you where to turn your light on it does not make a difference? Now what if you are in a dark room? As soon as the light comes on darkness flees.

Here is a scripture for encouragement and hope:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Peace,Caleb

Garbage In = Garbage Out

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8, NIV

Check it: what we put into our heads totally impacts what how we think, how we act, how we treat others, and how we speak. God tells us in the bible verse above to control what we put into our heads. Do you have problems with having bad thoughts? Problems with your language? We all can. We need to take a hard look at what we’re feeding our minds with movies, video games, magazines, music, etc. There is a lot of way violent games, way obscene movies, and other things that we can easily get hooked on. Make an effort to avoid these things, and to put good things in your head. You’ll become a better person.

The world tempts us with all sorts of garbage to put into our minds but God doesn’t want us to fall into its trap.

“Don’t copy the behavior of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” Romans 12:2, NLT

You might think its tough to control what we put in our heads, what we think, and what we do. Well you’re right, its tough to the extreme! And without God it would be impossible. If we accept Jesus as our savior the Holy Spirit will come into our life and give us the power we need:

“Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6, NLT

Sk8 4 God’s three core values: Courage, Wisdom, and Honor!

This week’s lesson is about courage. It can take courage to live for God . But get stoked on Jesus, fill your head with God’s word, and God will encourage you.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13, NLT

-RC

Gnarly influences

Ok, we are going to hit this one hard. So when you look through sk8 magazines sometimes you hit gnarly photos and adds exploiting things that are of this world. You may even come across an ad or artwork that shows gnarly skulls, pentagrams, upside down crosses, and even the number of the beast: 666. Now being a believer this is something that may make you sad. You may think “How can they show such a gnarly thing? Don’t they realize that they have a father in heaven who loves them? Who has created them and died for them?” That is when we need to realize that it is not the people who made the ad. It is the one who is in control of their lives.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]."

You see Satan has his tricks. But nothing can compare to the Truth from God. He is more powerful and He is Righteous in all His ways. You see Satan thinks he has a grasp on what is going on in skateboarder’s lives. But actually he doesn’t. There have been so many Christian skate companies blowing up. And skateboarders have been turning into evangelists. Christian Hosio, Jay Alabama, Luke Braddock and many other pros.

You see Satan is trying as hard as he can to bring skateboarders down. But guess what. He doesn’t have a chance. Christian skateboarders have been blowing up huge within the last three years. Be encouraged I really believe that this is all for God’s Glory. You see the funny thing is that some of the gnarly stuff that they use can be turned around for good. The upside down cross is actually St. Peters cross. One of Jesus’ disciples, St. Peter asked to be crucified upside down because he was not worthy to be crucified they same way Jesus was. About the number 666, most people think it means Satan (the Devil). But it actually is a warning. It is a number of a man. If that of interest to you? I suggest reading Revelations.

Revelation 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six.”

We need courage to be Christian skateboarders. We need faith in God. We need to be strong with the Lord. He is more powerful than the enemy. And He is on our side. Think of yourself as a warrior of righteousness standing up for what you believe. Holding your sword (The Bible) in you right hand, and with all of your armor on. Be ready to go out and fight evil.

God bless,
Caleb

God did a lot for me. So what does He want in return?

Check it, we’ve got to be totally stoked when we realize what God has done for us! For the skaters whose parents haven’t been dragging them to Sunday school since they could crawl, here is a quick refresher on what I’m talking about:

All of us do bad things sometimes, we’re sinners. These actions, sins, separate us from God. But Jesus came to bring God and us sinners together. When Jesus died on the cross, our sins were placed upon him, and the penalty for those sins was paid in full. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead, proving he was the true Son of God, the only one who could pay for our sins. To those who in their heart believe in Jesus and call him Lord God gives eternal life.

That’s the short You Tube video version of the full length movie about God, mankind, and Jesus bringing God and mankind together. The book that contains the full length story is the bible. Here are some key verses from the bible:

"There is no one righteous, not even one." Romans 3:10

"But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." Romans 5:8

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

That’s a lot that God did for us, you think? So, does God want us to do anything in return for his incredible sacrifice for us? Yes he does. He wants us to love Him. Jesus said:

"You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:37-38

Jesus died on the cross to make it possible for us to have a relationship with God. God loves us no matter what we’ve done, and he wants us to love him back! Its not hard to love God when you focus on what he’s done. The problem can sometimes be that we let other things get in the way. Like wanting more stuff. Or trying to be the coolest. Or even skateboarding! So we end up loving God with a part of our heart, a part of our soul, and a part of our mind. God wants us to seek him first, and to not obsess over these other things. He will provide all of your needs:

"and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern." Matthew 6:33

Sk8 4 God has three core values: Courage, Wisdom, and Honor!

Gods wants us to honor what him by loving him with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind.

What does it look like to love God with all of your heart?

What does it look like to love God with all of your mind?

What does it look like to love God with all of your soul?

-RC

God is stoked when you repent...

Do you ever end up in a situation where you know that you are doing something wrong and you feel bad about it? You want to do something to fix the gnarly feeling so you decide to repent. Change your ways. Do what is right. All of a sudden you realize that you were in a room that was completely dark. And now you can see the light.
Sometimes we fall into sin and blind ourselves from the Lord and his commandments. It’s like we are walking around in circles lost. Trying to satisfy ourselves with worldly things or just doing stuff that is not Godly.

In this parable Jesus speaks of how stoked God is when you repent:

Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him (Jesus) to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying: "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!'. Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:1-10

Sk8 4 God has three core values : Courage, Wisdom and Honor!

This week’s value is Courage: It takes Courage to repent.

-Caleb