Pastor’s Page | April 9th, 2026
Sermon Prep (Read John 14:1-6)
You have heard me talk a great deal about one of my mentors, Lt. Wil Wineman. He was a chaplain aboard the USS Boxer and as the chaplain it was his job to lead bible studies aboard the ship. Onboard the ship, there was no designated place specifically for a “chapel” and so we held the bible studies in the mess hall. This meant that people were constantly coming in and out, walking through, and eavesdropping on our conversations. Our chaplain was doing a study on the book of John (one of the reasons I love the book of John, it was my first in-depth bible study) and we were on the John 14 and Lt. Wineman read out loud verse 6 “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” After he said this, one of the men walking through the mess hall stopped and said, “That is the most arrogant and narrow-minded thing to say.” I was shocked because first, he was not part of our bible study; second, because he was an enlisted man telling the chaplain who is an officer that he said something wrong (yikes!), and third, who was he to question my chaplain. I almost felt like I should punch the guy, but that is normally frowned upon in bible studies. What my Chaplain said next shocked me. He said, “What did I say?” The man repeated it and my Chaplain said, “Oh, I didn’t say that.” The man said, “Yes, you did. I just heard you.” Then Lt. Wineman said, “No. I didn’t say it. Jesus said it. I was just quoting Him. If you have an issue with it, take it up with Him.” The man left, we continued the bible study, but what he said stuck with me. I had never thought of the phrase “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” as being arrogant and narrow minded, but these are the words of Jesus.
As I thought more about this, I had to dive deeper into why no one can come to the Father except through Him. What are the implications of this? Does this mean that if some poor soul deep in the jungles of New Guinea who has never heard the Gospel dies without receiving Christ, that they are immediately rejected by God? As I studied this more, I had to think more about who Jesus truly is and what it is that separates us from the Father. If it is our sin that separates us from God, then that means the only way to be reconciled to Him is to deal with the issue of sin. The more I delved into this, the more I realized that this is not a negative thing, nor is it arrogant and narrow-minded. Instead, this is good news. News that I should rejoice in because it means that God has made a way for me through Jesus Christ.
This Sunday we will be looking at the “I AM” statement of Jesus Christ and looking at what it means, what the implications are to us, and what makes Christianity unique among the world religions. As you study this week, think about what it means for Jesus to be the “Way”, the “Truth”, and the “Life”. Also, try to think about the phrase “No one comes to the Father through Me.” How do the claims of who Jesus is, and what He is about to do in John’s Gospel (head to the cross) play into this statement? Why is no other way to the Father sufficient?
Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8–9, Titus 3:5, Isaiah 64:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 7:25, Philippians 2:9–11, 1 John 2:12
March Sermon Series
“The Great I AM”
04/12 - The Way, the Truth, and the Life - John 14:1-6
04/19 - I AM thus You are - John 15:10-17
04/25 - I AM thus I AM with You and in You - John 16:5-16
Updates, Thoughts and More
This week, we are back on our normal schedule. If you have not had a chance to come to our Table Talk series on difficult questions, I highly recommend it. We have covered some very difficult and interesting questions. If you have any questions or topics you would like to have addressed, please email me to let me know at barry@actonmethodist.com.
The Upward games will begin on April 11 th and we are still needing some volunteers to help. If you would like to help on Saturday mornings with greeting, helping to watch the kids, setting up, or cleaning up afterwards please contact Izzy at Izzy@actonmethodist.com or just simply show up on Saturday April 11 th anywhere from 8:30 am to 3 pm and we will find a place for you to serve.
What’s Going On This Week
Saturday (06/11)
Upward Basketball Games — 9am-3pm
Sunday (04/12)
Worship — 9am & 10:30am
Monday (04/13)
Stitching Angels — 1:30pm
Upward Practice — 4:00-7:00pm
Tuesday (04/14)
Men’s Prayer Breakfast — 7:30am
Upward Practice — 4:00-8:00pm
Wednesday (04/15)
Prayer Warriors — 9:00am
Sip And Share — 10:00am
Table Talk — 5:00pm
Youth & Kids — 5:00pm
Choir — 7:00pm
Thursday (04/016)
Psalms Bible Study — 9:30am
Upward Practice — 5:00pm-7:00pm
Saturday (04/18)
Upward Basketball Games — 9am-3pm
Joke of the Week
A visitor who only attends church on holidays is leaving church after Easter service. The preacher is standing at the door to shake hands. He grabs the man by the hand and pulls him aside.
“You need to join the Army of the Lord!” the pastor tells the man.
The man replies, “I’m already in the Army of the Lord, pastor.”
The pastor questions, “Then how come I don’t see you in church except at Christmas and Easter?”
He quietly whispers, “That’s because I’m in the secret service.”
Memory Verse of the Week
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.””
~John 14:6 (NIV84)
Quote of the Week
“The idea that God is lenient and that there is another way besides Christ is a delusion… Jesus Christ is the only way to God, and He died to make that way possible.”
~A.W. Tozier
