John 8:48–59 Before Abraham Was, I Am

John 9:1-7 - We Are All Born Blind

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/fan_mail/new] You can be given a clear direction and still feel lost when there’s no visible destination. That’s the pressure point we sit in as we open John chapter 9 with Pastor Harry Behrens: Jesus leaves the temple after rejection, “passes by,” and sees a man born blind. The religious leaders who claim to see are ready to stone Him, while the man who cannot see becomes the place where mercy and power break through. We slow down on the question the disciples ask and we still ask today when we meet sickness, disability, and hardship: who sinned? Jesus refuses to assign blame and instead gives a reframe that changes everything, “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” From there, we trace how the Gospel of John defines the work of God, why our hearts keep trying to add a contribution, and how passages like John 6:29, Ephesians 2:10, and Philippians 2:13 insist that grace is not a shared project. We do not add, we are the evidence that God is at work. Then we watch the sign itself: mud, dust, touch, and a command to wash at Siloam, “sent.” The scene echoes Genesis creation, and the blind man walks like Abraham walked, going without knowing where he is going. The going becomes the believing. If you feel stuck demanding clarity before obedience, this message brings one searching question to the front: will you go when you are sent? Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage for the next step, and leave a review to help more people find The Takeaway. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/support] Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net [https://www.chosenbydesign.net] for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

You Cannot Climb To A Holy God

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/fan_mail/new] Holiness can sound like a church word until you feel what Scripture is actually asking: how can unclean people live near a God who is entirely other. That question sits underneath Leviticus, and Pastor Harry Behrens shows why it is also the weight-bearing beam that holds up John 7, John 8, and the road into John 9. We walk through the lived world of Leviticus: separation that marks God’s people, uncleanness that pushes someone outside the camp, restricted access behind the veil, and the Day of Atonement that returns every year because the blood can cover but cannot finish. Then the thread snaps into focus when John the Baptist points to Jesus and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The sacrifices were never the destination. They were signposts. From there, we get painfully practical. If you have been treating God’s law like a ladder, you already know the fatigue of trying harder and still falling short. This teaching reframes the law as a mirror that reveals the gap and a guardian that walks us to Christ. Jesus does not wait for the clean to come near. He goes outside the camp, makes the unclean clean, and invites us to stop climbing and come close through him. If you want a clearer way to read the Gospel of John, a deeper understanding of atonement, and a more honest path toward knowing God, press play. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the series. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/support] Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net [https://www.chosenbydesign.net] for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

John 8:48–59 Before Abraham Was, I Am

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/fan_mail/new] Stones in their hands. A single sentence on Jesus’ lips. And a question none of us can dodge: what do we do when the truth goes far enough that it demands surrender? We walk through John 8:48–59 where the conversation reaches its breaking point, not because the evidence is missing, but because the heart resists what it doesn’t want to lose.  We dig into a word Christians often use casually but rarely define: glory. In Scripture, the glory of God is His revealed reality, made visible and known. Pastor Harry shows how God’s glory moves outward in love and giving, while our default instinct is the opposite: self-glory, self-protection, self-definition. That inward pull explains why the crowd stops reasoning and starts labeling Jesus as a Samaritan with a demon. When truth hits a nerve, it’s easier to attack the messenger than to face the message.  From there, everything escalates. Jesus refuses to seek His own glory, points to the Father as the one who glorifies, and then ties the whole moment to Abraham’s faith. Finally He speaks the line that ignites the outrage: “Before Abraham was, I am.” We explore why that statement is the centerpiece of the Gospel of John, why the leaders reach for stones, and how this passage exposes the difference between performance and praise. We also get practical about prayer and suffering, asking whether we’re really seeking God’s will or just trying to get our old life back.  If this helped you, subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next, share it with a friend who needs clarity, and leave a review to help others find the show. What part of this passage challenges you most right now? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/support] Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net [https://www.chosenbydesign.net] for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

John 8:31–47 The Truth That Sets You Free

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/fan_mail/new] “The truth will set you free” might be the most quoted line in John 8, but Jesus doesn’t leave freedom up to our imagination. I’m Pastor Harry Barons, and we slow down in John 8:31–47 to watch Jesus do something surprising: He turns to people who’ve just said they believe and immediately examines what that belief really is. Not to crush them, but to rescue them from a kind of faith that looks right for a moment and then dies off when it gets costly. We dig into Jesus’ condition for true discipleship: “If you abide in my word.” Abiding means remaining, staying, continuing. It’s not a new self-improvement plan or a religious performance schedule. It’s the posture of a branch living off the vine, receiving life instead of trying to manufacture it. From there, we tackle the promise that follows: knowing the truth and being set free, not by trying harder, but by staying connected to Christ as the source of freedom by grace through faith. Then the passage gets even sharper. When the crowd claims they’ve never been enslaved, Jesus names the slavery they won’t: everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin, and a slave cannot free themselves. We connect that diagnosis to Israel’s exodus and wilderness, where God’s provision exposes our obsession with independence. We also face the danger of leaning on heritage, religion, and credentials while resisting the living Word in front of us, and why hearing God is ultimately a work of grace that reorients the heart. If this challenged you, share it with a friend, subscribe for what’s next in John 8, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one area where you’ve wanted Jesus to stabilize your plan instead of lead you into freedom? Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/support] Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net [https://www.chosenbydesign.net] for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."

John 8:21-30 The Belief That Doesn't Save

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/fan_mail/new] You can spend a lifetime around Jesus and still keep Him at arm’s length. That’s the unsettling tension in John 8:21-30, where Jesus moves from “I am the light of the world” to a warning with real finality: “You will seek me and die in your sins.” If you’ve ever wondered why some forms of “belief” feel sincere but never reshape a life, this teaching is for you. I walk through how the Gospel of John itself defines belief, not as a one-time agreement, but as new birth, dependence, and movement toward Christ. John’s repeated images are stubbornly active: drinking living water, eating the bread of life, coming to Jesus when you’re thirsty, and following the Light out of darkness. That framework changes how we hear Jesus’ words “unless you believe that I am He,” because the issue isn’t a lack of information. The Pharisees have the data, the tradition, and the reputation, yet they still want the miracle without the Master and the gift without the Giver. We also trace Jesus’ promise that the truth will become unmistakable when the Son of Man is “lifted up” on the cross, echoing the wilderness story in Numbers 21. The cross exposes our sin, displays God’s justice, and proves God’s love, all at once. The episode ends with a simple question that won’t let us hide behind religious language: are we seeking Jesus on our own terms, or are we following Him in surrendered faith and real discipleship? If this stirred questions or conviction, listen through to the prayer, then share this with a friend and leave a review so more people can find it. Subscribe for the next part of John 8, and reach out at thetaway.faith with your questions or comments. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2368275/support] Please visit www.chosenbydesign.net [https://www.chosenbydesign.net] for more information on Pastor Harry’s new book, "Chosen By Design - God’s Purpose for Your Life."