It ran from 1957-1966 and my parents loved watching it. So as a boy I watched Perry Mason with them too. I still like the dramatic theme song. Check out this brief snippet. My older friends will remember it (or those who watch it on MeTV:).
Whether it's a courtroom TV program or movie, often there is a scene where there are witnesses called in to testify on behalf of the accused. What's that got to do with our passage today in John 5:31-47? A lot!
Last time we read in 5:16-30 that Jesus "testified" before those seeking the death penalty that he was not blaspheming, but was indeed the Son of God (God the Son). Today, let the record show that Jesus uses the word testify or testimony nine times in the NIV. Please underline those words as you read through this case. You will also note that Jesus honored the court's rules regarding personal testimony. Under Jewish law, a man's sole testimony was not accepted. Though Jesus' testimony about himself was certainly true (8:14), he did not rest his case on that alone. He proved his case by calling various witnesses to the stand. For according to biblical jurisprudence, it is by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter would be established (Mt.18:16).
1.- So as a legal eagle, study this legal brief before you in John 5:31-47 and list the witnesses that Jesus calls upon to testify. Put those also on your MP3 card as a reminder.
(2.- You'll find the instructions for #2. at the end of the announcements below. I didn't want you to miss seeing it all the way at the end.)
Hint: One of the character witnesses is the work his Father gave him to do (5:36). What's he talking about? He is referring back to 5:16-17. So name that character witness in your own words.
Yesterday, you underlined the word sent. Do that again today in this passage.
Note the incredibly high regard Jesus has and people need to have for the Scriptures, v.38-39, 45-47.
Note also the great theme of Scripture in v.39b.
Note also the great tragedy found in v.40.
Though the Jews were accusing Jesus of blasphemy (v.18) which was worthy of death, Jesus turned the case around on them, charging them as the ones to be accused. See v.45. Lest we forget, Jesus is still so evangelistic, even toward his accusers. See 5:33-34.
Announcements
Great scoring men! The majority of you scored 25 or more points and all fire teams were close to that target or above it. Once again, kudos to Squad 5 and also fire team 1 within Squad 5 for highest scoring.
I just read a piece about Navy SEAL training and it talked about how they set daily goals to accomplish their training. Follow their lead. Set a goal each day to blog and to score 5 or more points daily. Then post your scores after you comment on the blog. That is how the men who are kickin' it are doin' it. Here's a simple suggestion. Look at your totals below and see where you are weak at. Then work on improving in that area. Is it Encouraging more of your teammates? Then Encourage a few of them on the blog daily and send your wingmen and others texts or calls. How about Attacking in prayer daily? Join me as I daily pray for you and that God would give you power HOUSE men to recruit (Hungry, Obedient, Unstoppable, Strong in the Lord, Encouraging). And pray with me that we would WAR well (Walking Worthy, Activating sidelined saints to join, Releasing the locked up lost as we share the good news).
(Speaking of prayer, I was ready to send out an email to our prayer warriors, but I noticed a number of you have yet to include their email addresses on our Contacts tab. Please do that this week. We will score you and your team on how many have done this by next Monday. Thank you.)
2.- So what is one or more of the areas below for our GREAT God and our GREAT growth and impact that you will seek to improve in?
See a special note at the bottom.
| G | R | E | A | T | Totals | ||||
| Squad 1 | 26.85 | ||||||||
| Eddie Morales | U | R5 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 32 | |
| Fire Team 1 | 29.75 | ||||||||
| William Dyckman | U | R1 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 33 | |
| Phil Raymond | U | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 25 | ||
| Ismael Andrade | U | R2 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 25 | |
| James Schmidt | U | 6 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Fire Team 2 | 23 | ||||||||
| Gary Remson | U | R1 | 10 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 31 | |
| Luis Ortiz | U | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 | ||
| Alex Dyckman | U | 8 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| Fire Team 2 | 27.66 | ||||||||
| Sam Vargas | U | R3 | 20 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 62 | |
| Fire Team 1 | 37 | ||||||||
| Oscar Nunez | U | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 44 | ||
| Lou Ojeda | U | 4 | 1 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 30 | ||
| Fire Team 2 | 23 | ||||||||
| Israel Fuentes | U | R1 | 12 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 29 | |
| Flo Juarez | U | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 13 | ||
| Dave DeBoer | U | 20 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 36 | ||
| Tim Dearborn | 7 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 14 | |||
| Squad 3 | 27.8 | ||||||||
| Robert Roman | U | R1 | 10 | 2 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 53 | |
| Fire Team 1 | 22 | ||||||||
| Vince Diaz | U | R1 | 5 | 2 | 36 | 2 | 1 | 46 | |
| Nic Palhegyi | U | R1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 12 | |
| Rich Petre | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | |||
| Fire Team 2 | 36.5 | ||||||||
| Osiris Alday | U | 10 | 4 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 50 | ||
| Ed Lake | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 23 | |||
| Squad 4 | 28.83 | ||||||||
| George Rabiela | U | R1 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 64 | |
| Fire Team 1 | 23.66 | ||||||||
| Dave Heidekruger | U | R2 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 31 | |
| Michael Gonzalez | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 17 | |||
| Chuy Cervantes | U | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 23 | ||
| Fire Team 2 | 34 | ||||||||
| Rich Guardiola | U | R1 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 47 | |
| Mark Estrada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Horacio De La Torre | U | 9 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 12 | 55 | ||
| Squad 5 | 42.16 | ||||||||
| Jack Rogers | U | R4 | 40 | 4 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 89 | |
| Fire Team 1 | 58.66 | ||||||||
| Roger Vinlasaca | U | R1 | 45 | 0 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 70 | |
| Hernandez | U | 43 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 60 | ||
| Jose Billegas | U | 8 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 46 | ||
| Fire Team 2 | 25.66 | ||||||||
| George Doherty | U | R1 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 32 | |
| Andre Vargas | U | 8 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 27 | ||
| Lemmy Lukudu | 5 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 18 | |||
| Squad 6 | |||||||||
| Mike Berry | New |
There was one miracle that Jesus performed that was so powerful that all four gospels record it. What was it? We'll bite into it tomorrow.
PS- Thank you Eddie and all you who volunteered and performed Acts of Kindness at Saturday's Convoy of Hope. I enjoyed some significant conversations, including witnessing to a young man named Alex. (You betcha I also gave him a greatestminimovies card :)
PS- Thank you Eddie and all you who volunteered and performed Acts of Kindness at Saturday's Convoy of Hope. I enjoyed some significant conversations, including witnessing to a young man named Alex. (You betcha I also gave him a greatestminimovies card :)
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