John 9:1-3,10-31

What's it like to be on the inside, not being able to look out? This is the story of the blind man in John 9.

"Dear Friend, I want you to notice the different ways people in this story viewed the "man born blind" that you find in your Bibles (John 9:1-41):My....."

"The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see [after being healed by Jesus], so they called in his parents...."

"Then [the people questioning the man who had been healed of his blindness took him] to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had..."

Our approach to people must focus on helping them believe God values them and that Jesus came to serve, love, and help them find life in him Phil Ware shares a study of John 9 and reminds us how Jesus viewed people so he could share the life and light of God with them and save them.

We can view people in ways that demean their value to God instead of viewing people as Jesus does! Phil Ware reminds us of the four ways we often view people that are very crass and treats them as less than human, then he compares that to how Jesus views people.

How we view people impacts our lifestyle Phil Ware finishes his series on "The Andrew Effect" about connecting people with Jesus by reminding us how Jesus viewed people.

"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because..."

"Dear Seeker of Truth, I was frustrated with the religious leaders who added their own regulations to the commandments of the law and made those..."

When you see this man, who do you see? Max Lucado writes about the man born blind in John 9 and reminds us that even though no one else notices us as a person, Jesus does.

Jesus challenges us to examine the everyday processes that we use to strip away the humanity of those around us and dismiss their value to us. Phil Ware reminds us how Jesus viewed people and challenged us by his example to view each person as someone in whom the works of God need to be done.

"Then [the Jewish leaders cursed the man who had been healed of his blindness] and said, "You are [Jesus'] disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We...."

"So for the second time [the Jewish leaders] called in the man who had been blind [and was healed by Jesus] and told him, "God should get the glory for..."

""But what did [Jesus] do?" [the Jewish leaders] asked [the man who had been blind]. "How did he heal you?" "Look!" the man exclaimed. "I told you...."

"His neighbors and others who knew [the man whose sight was restored by Jesus] as a blind beggar asked each other, "Isn't this the man who used to sit...."

Will we choose to see people as Jesus does? Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus called UNPREDICTABLE and focuses on seeing people as Jesus sees them.

Does no one see you, either? From Max Lucado's "Next Door Savior" comes a story about Jesus touching our face and shoulder and our falling down to worship him.

""Why, that's very strange!" the man replied [to the Jewish authorities. "Jesus] healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from? We know..."

""Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.""

Inspirational illustration of John 9:3 -- "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Have you offered sight to the blind? Cathy Messecar draws us into the story of the man born blind that was healed by Jesus in John 9 and reminds us that we are here to continue Jesus' ministry of healing and mercy.

Are we ministering beyond the curse? Patrick Odum writes about the devastation in Haiti and our response to it as a people of God who want to do the work of the Kingdom.

Whose sin was being punished? Even when disaster strikes, our God is in control.

Have you touched someone in the name of Jesus, lately? Phil Ware talks about making God touchable and how we share the touch of Jesus with others.