By Betty Hertz
St. John Lay Leader
With Lent beginning, I asked myself, “How will I grow in my faith journey this Lenten Season?” First, I looked at the St. John Discipleship Map for ideas and saw the words: Serve, Study, Sabbath. Study became a flashing sign. Then, browsing in the St. John library, the book “The God We Can Know Exploring the ‘I AM’ sayings of Jesus” caught my attention. Yes, I do believe God had a plan for me.
The “I AM” statements from the Gospel of John have circled in my brain for several months. I took the God Moment in the library to decide to move them from my brain to my heart.
Do these words sound familiar?
I AM:
the Bread of life (John 6:35)
the Light of the world (John 8:12)
the Gate (John 10:7-8)
the Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25)
the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6)
the True Vine (John 15:1-2)
Each statement paints a picture of who Jesus is. If I reflect on each one, I know my faith will deepen. So, I plan to focus on one statement a week.
I shared my planned study with the Wednesday Night Bible Study, and the group decided to spend our Wednesday night meetings during Lent studying the statements. I look forward to hearing others’ thoughts as we share our faith.
If you want to learn more about who Jesus says he is, I invite you to join us in person (Room 160) or via Zoom (950 9695 0777) starting March 1 at 6:30. All are welcome.
Gracious God,
Guide us in our study of Jesus’ words.
Help us write I AM in our hearts.
Show us ways to share Jesus with others.
In your Beloved Son’s name. Amen.