John 12:23-28

"[After saying his time had come, Jesus continued,] "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone....."

"Dear Child of God, What drew you to follow Me? What called your heart to open up to Me? What convinced you that We — Father, Son, and Spirit..."

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."

"Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."

"[About his upcoming crucifixion, Jesus continued,] "Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save me from this hour'? But this is the....."

Inspirational illustration of John 12:26 -- Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Inspirational illustration of John 12:24 -- I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Jesus had many opportunities to walk away from the shame and pain of the cross, but he chose the Father's will and our need over his comfort. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the dark night that began the long, painful, and lonely journey of Jesus through his Passion to bring us to God.

Go ahead, plant a seed. See it disappear into the dirt. But, don't forget! Phil Ware continues his four week series on seed, towel, promise, and torchlight focusing on the power of the Seed to overcome dirt, darkness, and death.

Yes, the seed is still enough of a mystery to keep me interested while I wait for the full blessing of its secrets to reach full bloom. Phil Ware begins a four week series on seed, towel, promise, and torchlight as he looks at Jesus' last hours on earth and what they mean for us.

Jesus had many opportunities to walk away from the shame and pain of the cross, but he chose the Father's will and our need over his comfort. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the dark night that began the long, painful, and lonely journey of Jesus through his Passion to bring us to God and helped define the way of Jesus through the cross to the empty tomb.

"Some Greeks who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration paid a visit to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee. They said, "Sir, we want..."

Are we willing to take the risk and reach outside our comfort zones to connect people with Jesus? Phil Ware continues his series on 'The Andrew Effect' and connecting people with Jesus, this time focusing on including people of other cultures, races, and languages.

How have you been conditioned? So many of us have been conditioned to not see the call of the cross in our lives!

God drew near to us in Jesus, so why would we not come to him with our challenges, troubles, and trials? Max Lucado reminds us that Jesus longs for us to draw near to him in our times of troubles, problems, challenges, pain, and trials.