“In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”  Acts 2:17

Is there any reason at all for people to step inside a church? Does the church have any vision that would make the overwhelming majority who don’t attend feel that it might be a place they would want to go?

In the Bible, having a sense of …

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you.’ John 14:25

Professor Sean Freyne, the New Testament lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin used to divide the Gospel of John into two books: the book of Works (Chapters 1-11) and the book of Words (Chapter 12-21).

The miracles that John recounts in Chapter 1-11, are seen from John’s perspective not just as incidents in a story, but as deliberate signs pointing to the glory of Jesus. After the turning of the water into wine in John Chapter …

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

Four verbs used by Jesus in the Gospel reading can help thinking about the sheep and the shepherd.

“Belong” from Saint John Chapter 10 Verse 26; “hear” and “follow” from Verse 27; and “never perish” from Verse 28. Belong, hear, follow, never perish: four steps in faith.

Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem and he is surrounded his opponents. They are in a confrontational mood, Verse 24 …