John 16

"Dear Faithful Follower, I spoke the words you will read in the verses below before I went to the cross. I planted them like seeds into the hearts of...."

"[Jesus continued,] "In a little while you won't see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again." Some of the disciples asked..."

"Dear Beloved, My ascension back to the Father was a wonderful blessing. I know that you would love to have My physical presence with you — to....."

"[Jesus continued, "When you rejoice after your sorrow,] you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly,..."

Anchored in the context of the Last Supper, Jesus promises greater things! Phil Ware reminds us that Jesus made great promises in the context of his Last Supper and one of them promised that we would do greater things than he did.

"[Jesus continued,] "And when [the Advocate] comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The....."

"[Jesus continued,] "I have told you these things so that you won't abandon your faith. For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is....."

"[Jesus continued,] "There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all..."

"[Jesus continued,] "But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what..."

"[Jesus said,] "I still have many things to tell you, but you can't handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the...."

"[Jesus continued,] "Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father." Then his disciples said,..."

"Jesus asked [his disciples], "Do you finally believe? But the time is coming — indeed it's here now — when you will be scattered, each one going his....."

This is no throw away or empty phrase, but a reminder of the One in charge! Max Lucado reminds us of the great power of praying in Jesus' name.

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be..."

"[To his disciples, Jesus continued,] "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows....."

"[Jesus said,] "So let me say it again, this truth: It's better for you that I leave. If I don't leave, the Friend won't come. But if I go, I'll send him to..."

"[Jesus said,] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

"[Jesus said,] "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell...."

"Few had fellowship with the sorrows of Gethsemane. The majority of the disciples were not sufficiently advanced in grace to be admitted to behold the...."

"Art thou asking the reason of this, believer? Look upward to thy heavenly Father, and behold him pure and holy. Dost thou know that thou art one day....."

"There are times when all the promises and doctrines of the Bible are of no avail, unless a gracious hand shall apply them to us. We are thirsty, but....."

"[Jesus said,] "All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, 'The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.'""

Inspirational illustration of John 16:33 -- I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Inspirational illustration of John 16:33 tniv -- I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.

"Dear Believer, Have you ever asked yourself questions like the following:Why is the Bible important?Is it really necessary?Do I have to read it?Do I...."

How can we move from contingent joy through courageous joy to contagious joy? Max Lucado reminds us that contagious joy is rooted in courageous joy and not contingent joy, and our courageous joy is rooted in Jesus and faith in what God did through Jesus.

Do you feel too far from the shore, too long in the struggle, and too small against the waves, with Jesus is nowhere to be seen. Max Lucado reminds us that we are not alone in our storms, but Jesus comes to us in the storms before he stills the storms.

Was 2016 a hard year? So how are you going to face 2017? Byron Ware reminds us that even after a very hard year in 2016, we have good news to carry with us in 2017!

Can we really find a way of escape? Sin, a form of spiritual cancer, can be defeated like physical cancer and this victory leaves us feeling excited and on top of the world, but we must work hard for the victory and God will help us.

Have you found purpose, meaning, and peace in the life you are living? Phil Ware continues his lifewords series on the post resurrection sayings of Jesus and considers Jesus' blessing, "Peace be with you!"

Can you resist the urge to be in motion all the time? So often, we try to face every challenge rather than to rest in the peace of the Lord's victory and just be.

Can you see beyond the storm clouds in your life Tom Norvell talks about taking off in the pea soup of bad rainy weather and lifting up through the clouds and finding the sun and tying this all to our need to look beyond the clouds.

It was in the middle of one of these nitty-gritty down-to-earth conversations between Jesus and His disciples that He fleshed out the secret. Melissa Troyer reminds us of Jesus' strange promise of going away being better for His disciples than staying with them.

Will they ever cease? Will we ever have relief? A trip around the Mall in Washington, D.C., leads Tom to reflect on how much he hates war and how he longs for the peace of Christ.

Where can we find peace with what we are facing right now? There is trouble in this world, it crashes in on us and we cannot ignore it, but we must remain focused on Jesus who has overcome the world.

What can you hang on to when your world is filled with troubles? We have all sorts of trouble, heartache, grief, disappointment, discouragement in this world, but Jesus has overcome the world and given us victory.

Where do you find peace in a world as troubled as ours? Tom Norvell shares with us the promise of Jesus to find peace even in the middle of a world full of trouble, because Jesus has overcome the world.

As Jesus journeyed into Jerusalem that last time, he had reached the point where he was going to gamble everything on the cross. Phil Ware continues his series of insights on living the CRUCIFORMED life Jesus calls all disciples to live on his way to the cross.

There have been many times in my life that I believed I would only find peace when... Tom Norvell reminds us this Lord’s Day that Jesus came to give us peace and that peace is meant to be a blessing in the middle of the chaos and uncertainty we face in our world.

What is this peace? What is this overcoming Jesus talks about? Phil Ware reminds us of the great truth of Jesus' steadfastness and faithfulness, he won't let us go.

"Dear Beloved, Your world can be a brutal place for good people. I never promised My disciples that life would be easy and without problems. People..."

"I remember when that knowledge really hit me for the first time... that to get the whole truth, you have to have the Holy Spirit.' Ron Rose reminds us that without the Holy Spirit alive in us, we have no guide to help us understand the Scriptures, much less God or Jesus or the holy plans and promises for us!

Have you ever felt like no one understood? So often, we don't feel like anyone understands us ... except Jesus.

How do you deal with such losses? The plane crash in Lexington, Kentucky brought out all sorts of emotions in the hearts of people and reminds us how death touches us all and our need for the promises of Jesus.

How often have you pictured Jesus laughing? Jesus laughed, and God laughed, and God commanded laughing, and worthy women laugh, and joy is to be a part of our life as followers of Jesus.

When is a disclaimer good news? God's disclaimers are much better than those on medicine bottles!

What would you do in your last moments with those you love? Phil Ware continues his series on the unpredictable Savior and reminds us of the upper room discourses where Jesus demonstrates and teaches what is most important to him to those who are most important to him, his disciples, his friends, those he loves.

Will he be there when I most need him? Phil Ware continues his series on the 7 sayings of Jesus on the cross, this one focuses on Jesus' cry of feeling that he had been forsaken by God.

How do we ever understand what the cross cost God? Phil Ware continues his series on Mary and her being a window to the heart of God.

How do you survive when life takes a bite out of you? Life is hard, and the terrible things in this world sometimes happen when we least expect. How do we cope?

Christians sometimes practice false advertising. You cannot be healthy without effort. It is the same with Christianity.

It actually bounced me off my seat.. So what did I learn about life from an earthquake? My earthquake happened without warning and it helped me see what was important to remember about the earthquakes of life.

Can you tell us apart? Despite apparent differences, we Christians are the same in the things that matter.

Have you found the source of peace for every season? Tom Norvell describes Jesus as the only source of peace in any season.

What does a Christian believe in the face of one tragedy after another? There will be another tragedy somewhere today. Christians overcome our tragedies because of what we believe about this world.

Every day the news is filled with tragedy. How are we supposed to survive? Jesus has overcome the world. He is the way through disaster, death, pain, and evil.

Why would God lead us into temptation? Doesn't God want us victorious over temptation? Phil Ware and Andy Johnson help us look at our prayer for deliverance from temptation and the evil one.

Would you take God to court? A man sues God because he thinks he didn't get from God what he felt he deserved.

What do you do when you hit a bump in the road? God’s plan for us is not to eliminate suffering in our lives, but to teach us to look past it.