Repentance is an attitude of your heart that desires for godliness and holiness more than the sinful pleasures of this world.

Being repentant doesn’t mean that you no longer sin. Being repentant means you love Christ more than your sin.

Despite the appearance of weakness, Jesus is in complete and total control during his arrest. He chose the location where they would find him. They came with torches and swords, but he knocked them over simply with the power of his word.

It wasn’t that they were arresting Jesus, it was that Jesus was giving himself up.

There is something particularly special about these last seven verses of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, because in these last seven verses Jesus prays for believers like you and me. Isn’t that amazing?

As he prepares to go to the cross, Jesus not only thinks about his disciples, but he’s thinking about us.

When was the last time you found yourself on your knees begging for the Lord’s intervention for your closest family and friends?

That’s precisely what’s going on in this particular passage. Jesus is pouring his heart out before the Lord on behalf of the men that are his closest friends.

Jesus prays several things for his disciples: First, he prays for their salvation in verses 6-10. Second, he prays for their unity in verse 11. Third, he prays for their protection in verses 12-16. And lastly, he prays for their sanctification in verses 17-19.

In John chapter 17, Jesus is on the cusp of offering himself on the cross. In fact, the cross is only hours away, which is of course, why Jesus lifts up his eyes and says that “the hour has come.” The cross was imminent and so he prayed.

God states that he is worthy of all glory, therefore, you and I should believe that he is worthy of all glory.

Why does God need to be glorified? Why should we glorify him? And lastly, is it even possible to glorify him?

Our world really feels hopeless doesn’t it? Which is of course why Jesus’s words are so powerful, “...take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus has overcome the world. What does that mean for all of us today?

Our pastor, Rev. Jake Hooker, was interviewed about his church planting experience and how the Lord has blessed Providence over the past two years. Here's a link to the article on the Gospel Reformation Network.

The resurrection joy of Jesus will always be stronger, more powerful, and preeminent over the pain, sorrow, and suffering of this world.

Joy that is found in the things of this world can be taken from you at a moment’s notice, but joy rooted in resurrection hope can never be snatched away from you.

By preserving the truth, the Holy Spirit has protected the church.

There’s a war raging right now over the truth. The world and Satan himself wants you to reject it. But Jesus wants you to know it. He tells you the truth right now. “All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

Jesus tells us to anticipate the hatred of the world and persecution. It’s not a matter of if, but when.

But God, in his sovereign mercy, has equipped believers to overcome the hatred of the world. If you’re a Christian you will be hated, but the grace of the Holy Spirit will sustain you.

Jesus doesn’t define love according to acceptance or an emotional response. Rather, he defines love by sacrifice.

This Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. Doug Hart preach from John 15:1-11.

One of the main roles of the Holy Spirit is the preservation of the Word of God.

The Lord keeps, maintains, and preserves his Word to comfort you in the midst of trials. The Word of God will comfort your soul.

Your love for Christ is the engine that will drive you to keep his commandments.

One of the primary things that Jesus is doing in the upper room is providing comfort to his disciples, which helps us understand why he said things like, “I go to prepare a room for you,” or even what we looked at last week where Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” There’s comfort in the clarity of Jesus’ words! There’s no ambiguity or second guessing what must be done in order for you and I to get to heaven. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

But Jesus not only comforts them by reminding them of who he is, he comforts them by reminding them what he’s doing.

And that’s what we see in this passage as well. Despite the nearly certain disappointment of Jesus’ in Philip, he still comforts his disciples by telling them that he’s going to work through them.

He tells them that they will do “even greater works.” But in order to do so, they must believe, rely, and trust in Jesus.

We live in an incredibly pluralistic, relative, and skeptical society. The lines between pluralism, relativism, and skepticism are often blurred or merged together, giving rise to the fundamental belief that either objective truth does not exist or if it does, we cannot know it with any degree of confidence.

Which is why what Jesus says here is so incredibly controversial in our day. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” According to Jesus, there is only one true religion and he is the only way to heaven.

Whenever we talk about comfort, we must ask ourselves: What’s the source of our comfort? Is it our health, the number in our bank account, our family?

Every now and again, we'll even settle for cheap comfort counterfeits like vague platitudes or perhaps a pat on the back, a smile, or a little nod.

All of those things might provide us with temporary comfort but none of it lasts. It’s all fleeting. We’re reminded in Sunday morning’s sermon passage that true comfort is only found in Jesus.

“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:1-5

We have so much to be thankful for in the life of Providence Presbyterian Church.

In the past 8 months since my last update, we’ve received our first members, led men’s and women’s Bible studies, organized several fellowship events, and celebrated one year since launching our first worship service.

The love you give is a reflection of the love you’ve received. The love that flows out of you reveals the sort of love that has flowed into you.

The Christian should strive to demonstrate love that goes far beyond their own personal experience. The love that the Christian displays should be a small taste of the love that he or she has received from Christ.