SunWest Church Weekly Sermon Podcast · SunWest Church

Miracles - Part 7: Four Days Late, Pastor Matt Dyck

·36 min·2 clips

Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, so he stayed where he was two more days.

The sermon stays in John's gospel and starts by saying John calls Jesus' miracles signs because they point past the event itself to who Jesus is. That is the frame. The preacher contrasts John with Matthew, Mark, and Luke, then reminds listeners that John shapes the first half of his book around seven signs, each one revealing something more than the miracle on its own. He lingers there. A simple driving example helps make the point: a sign tells you where to go, not just what to notice. Then the passage narrows. Jesus speaks about walking in the light, and the sermon connects that to John 1, where light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. The point is plain. If Jesus is the light, then following him is the only way to see clearly. The story then turns to Lazarus. When the disciples hear that Lazarus has fallen asleep, they misunderstand, and Jesus finally says clearly that Lazarus is dead. They are still not getting it. The message is that the disciples keep reaching for reasons not to move, even when the evidence in front of them calls for a response. That turns the focus inward. The sermon asks whether listeners do the same thing, gathering excuses to stay where they are instead of following Jesus. The application stays direct. Grief, fear, and hesitation are named openly, and the call is for courage rather than spiritual stalling. The sermon keeps coming back to the same invitation so the point does not drift. The tone stays pastoral. It sounds like someone in the room, speaking to people who may be distracted, sad, or stuck. The sermon does not treat the signs as trivia. It treats them as a summons. John's way of telling the story becomes a lesson in perception. If the light is there, the issue is not whether God has spoken, but whether people will move toward what has been shown. Lazarus becomes more than a miracle story. He becomes the place where delay, confusion, and fear are exposed. The disciples' misunderstanding is not just comic. It becomes a mirror. The sermon suggests that people often choose excuses that protect comfort over obedience that asks for movement. That is why the call keeps returning to courage. The final stretch widens from the text to daily life. The invitation is to live differently because Jesus is alive and light is available. The service closes with prayer. People are invited to come forward for ministry, and the church is encouraged to support and pray for the Mexico mission trip.

As heard by us

A plainspoken John sermon about signs, light, and the excuses that keep people still.

The sermon stays in John and treats Jesus' miracles as signs, not spectacles. It keeps the aim clear: to show who Jesus is, and to let the Lazarus story press toward following the light instead of settling into familiar excuses.

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Why you'd press play

When staying put feels safer than following Jesus into the dark.

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