The Life-Giving Authority of Jesus

May 17, 2026 "The Life-Giving Authority of Jesus" - Pastor Micah Morgan What do you actually expect when you come to Jesus? Do you expect anger? Force? A God who is waiting to catch you doing something wrong? Or do you expect life? Because what you expect of Jesus shapes everything — how you feel, how you think, and how you love. In this message, Pastor Micah Morgan takes us into John chapter 5, where Jesus makes three of the most scandalous claims in all of Scripture — that he shares substance with God, that rejecting his authority is rejecting the Father's authority, and that his power is the very source of life itself. And in doing so, Jesus doesn't just tell us who he is. He tells us what kind of God we actually have. Not coercive. Not domineering. Not waiting to punish. But scandalously, relentlessly, kenot­ically love-motivated. In this message you'll learn: The 3 bold claims Jesus makes about his authority in John 5 — and why they were so scandalous to his Jewish audience What the word "kenosis" means — and why it might completely change how you imagine God Why the way we expect God to show up directly shapes our anxiety, our relationships, and our emotional health What a national study of 1,600 Americans revealed about the connection between our image of God and our psychological wellbeing Why Jesus promises that submitting to his authority should produce joy and flourishing — not just obligation Whether you grew up with an image of God as angry and punishing, or you've simply never thought carefully about what you expect of Jesus, this message is an invitation to let the character of Jesus reshape everything you believe about who God is and how God moves. 📖 Scripture: John 5:19-24, 37-40 | John 14:9-12 | Philippians 2 🏠 Visit us at sanctuarycolumbus.com 📍 4142 Westerville Road, Columbus, OH 43224 📲 Follow us https://www.facebook.com/sanctuarycolumbus https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarycbus/ https://www.youtube.com/@SanctuaryColumbusChurch