God So Loved El Paso
Thesis You live in El Paso because Jesus so loves El Paso that he sent you there — not to condemn El Paso, but in order that El Paso might be saved.
The shape of the argument
10 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.
- To be a Christian is by definition to be a person who exists to create more Christians. unit #6
- You are the very means through which Jesus has planned to continue his redemptive work in El Paso. unit #9
Full transcript
0 · The preacher establishes rapport with the congregation by extending greetings from sister churches in the Sovereign Grace network, commending the church's influence and service to the broader family of churches, and expressing personal affection and gratitude for their partnership in gospel ministry
Man, he's my frailest friend, Ricky. Oh, greetings from— can I just extend greetings from all your sister churches throughout the Western US? There's 8 and growing. They're full of congregations just like you, full of people just like you. Maybe they're not all— you're the only Texan church in the Western region.
That's right. I learned that you're in Texas at the last service. I'm going to watch my words carefully. And I'm so encouraged every time I'm here. This time again, And again, just thrilling to watch God at work in here.
But if you're unaware, it might not be so obvious, you might not be aware how much your church is affecting other churches, your sister churches. You're a life-giving presence in our little family of churches in Sovereign Grace Church and particularly in the West. Ricky's writing, he's my most creative friend. He's serving all our churches in church planting. I can go down the list.
Todd traveling the world. Especially India. Don't want to go there again with Todd. Todd will go for us. Uh, John and his music, Alec holding down the fort.
Uh, and, and listen, and Chuck and Joe, and I don't— I see Chuck, I lost Joe. Um, your pastors, just so you connect the dots, uh, there is a church in, in Orange, California, which is in Orange County. I know it's confusing, one block off of Orange Street. It's really confusing. Um, But there's a church in Orange, and there's a church now in Santa Ana, California, 3 miles away from there.
And there's about— that, Lord willing, there's about to be a church as close as we can get to Disneyland up in Anaheim. So take that one and enjoy it. Visit them when they, when they open up. But there are churches spreading in, in California. And, and I would say, you, you probably already assume it, there aren't many gospel-proclaiming faithful churches in my cities and the cities around us.
And, and you played a You play a big part. You played a big part. Humanly speaking, we wouldn't be there if you weren't here and you weren't doing what you're doing. And especially think about guys like Pastor Chuck and Pastor Joe, who for decades believed that we would be better together.
In some ways, we're in Orange as a result of that conviction. And I do think we're better together. And so I'm so grateful for you guys. Please feel our affection. And you're also the coolest church, even though I think you guys say you're a little bit gritty, but you're the coolest church.
I was sent from Orange Orange, which our team loves you guys and loves your team. I was sent from Orange to steal as much swag and stuff as I can find, taking signs off the wall. I'm just cramming it in. I'm going to check 2 bags at the gate. Uh, we just, we just love you guys.
So thank you, personal thank you.
1 · The preacher frames the sermon's central question — why do you live where you live? — acknowledging the congregation's potentially complicated relationship with El Paso while promising that the biblical text will provide a definitive answer to the question of location and purpose that applies to all Christians throughout history
Um, if you would turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 20, the Gospel of John chapter 20, going to read from the English Standard Version. If you're new around here, it's the version, the translation they read from. John chapter 20, and I'm going to answer a question. Here it is right up front while you're finding your text, I want to answer, why do you live in El Paso?
Why do you live in El Paso and not in Las Cruces? Some of you do live in Las Cruces. There you go.
Why don't you live across the border? Why don't you live over in Dallas? Why don't you live in my fair country, the communist nation of California? Why do you live here? Why do you live here and not there?
Wherever that there is for you. You may be a long way from home.
El Paso might not have been on your bucket list, your wish list, might not have been in your top 3 choices.
I think it's fair to assume in a room this size, some of you, whether out loud, everyone aware, or secretly, you're just counting down the days. I'm hoping to go somewhere else. Wherever that wherever else is for you. And there is a church gonna start in Disney, near Disneyland.
We all have really complicated stories. Grass is always greener on the other side. And you might not even feel like you had a choice. You're just here. You're just here.
But listen, this is what we're gonna get to this morning. That's not true. That's not true. None of us are ever just here, wherever our here is. And I want to take you to the place where the most important man who has ever lived in the history of the world gathered with the 10 men who knew him best and answered the why here question.
Once for all, for everyone who would follow Jesus ever since.
2 · The preacher sets the historical and theological context for the passage, identifying it as the moment when Jesus commissioned the church 24 hours after the resurrection, establishing the mandate that would define Christian mission from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, then reads the primary text aloud
It's a private moment before we read. It's a private moment. All the 12 disciples there except for Judas and Thomas. And Christianity, you could say, kind of could describe it as Christianity is just like 24 hours old.
It's brand new. And this is the mandate. This is the mandate that would set the compass, the coordinates for every person who would ever follow Jesus ever since. It's the commissioning. It's a commissioning of the church, which spread then from Jerusalem to Judea to the ends of the earth, even all the way to El Paso, even if you could imagine to California.
If you'd look with me, John chapter 20, beginning with verse 19. I'll read, then pray. Follow along. Verse 19. John writes, "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side.
Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." Verse 21, "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so, I am sending you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them.
If you withhold forgiveness from any, it's withheld.
Very words of God.
3 · The preacher prays for God to nourish the congregation through his Word, illuminate their understanding of purpose and place, grant peace to the restless, and breathe spiritual life into them
Would you pray with me? Father, Father, thank you for your book. Feed us this morning. Nourish our souls.
Quench our thirst for meaning and purpose. Would you anchor it in this like a lamp? Illuminate our paths. Make sense of our place on planet Earth. Grant peace for those who are restless.
Breathe life into our hearts as we live for you now. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
4 · The preacher states his thesis in a single sentence adapted from John 3:16, framing the entire sermon's argument: Christians live in El Paso because Jesus loves El Paso and has sent them there for its salvation, not its condemnation
Okay, my whole entire sermon in a sentence. I'm trying to be creative like your Pastor Ricky.
One sentence, here it is, the whole thing up front. You're going to wonder why it takes me so long to explain it, uh, and it's going to sound familiar because I'm stealing it from another verse. I'm just twisting it a little bit, but here it is. Why The answer to the question, why do you live here? Why do you live here?
Especially as it relates, if I could just say, to evangelism, mission, as a local church, familiar Bible verse, gonna twist it a little, here it is. Why? For Jesus so loves El Paso that he sent his one and only cross of grace to El Paso.
Not to condemn El Paso, but in order that El Paso might be saved. Let me say that again. For Jesus so loves El Paso that he sent his one and only cross of grace to El Paso, not to condemn El Paso, but in order that El Paso might be saved.
5 · The preacher establishes the scene in John 20 as one of only ten post-resurrection appearances, emphasizing the striking irony that this early snapshot of the church shows ten grown men locked in a room, cowering in fear of the world
Listen, before us is an eyewitness account of one of only 10 appearances by the risen Lord, this is just one of 10. Everything we read occurring in a private room, the doors are locked and inside are 10 grown men.
Get this, 10 grown men cowering in fear. They're afraid. That's how it's described. These are 10 fearful men in hiding, which is so curious. If you just stop right there and say one of the earliest snapshots of the church right at the beginning is of the church being fearful of the world.
They're afraid of the world.
Recent preaching context
The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.
Discuss · apply · pray
6 questions for your group this week
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In John 20:19-23, what does Jesus actually do and say when he appears to the disciples, and what seems to be his primary concern for them in that moment?John 20:19-23→ Why do you think Jesus emphasizes peace twice (verses 19 and 21) before sending them out?
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Jesus tells the disciples, 'As the Father has sent me, I am sending you' (John 20:21). What does this comparison reveal about the purpose and character of their mission—and ours?John 3:16-17→ How does understanding Jesus's mission as described in John 3:16-17 shape what it means for us to have been sent to El Paso?
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The sermon claims that 'to be a Christian is by definition to be a person who exists to create more Christians.' How does John 20:21-23 support or challenge that statement?→ What would it look like for that claim to actually be true in your own life this week?
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What is the specific content of the authority Jesus gives the disciples in verses 22-23—and what does it tell us about the nature of Christian witness?John 20:22-23→ How is the power to 'forgive sins' or 'not forgive sins' connected to proclaiming the gospel rather than to some other kind of spiritual authority?
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The sermon suggests that many of us experience our location—living in El Paso—as accident or circumstance rather than as divine appointment. What would change in how you approach your neighborhood, workplace, or family if you genuinely believed Jesus had sent you there for a redemptive purpose?→ What specific barrier—fear, doubt, lack of clarity about the gospel, something else—keeps you from embracing that reality in practice?
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Jesus sends the disciples out with the Holy Spirit's empowerment (verse 22) to announce that sins can be forgiven through Christ. How does the availability of that same Spirit change what we're actually capable of in witness—and what are we tempted to rely on instead?John 20:22→ Who in your life needs to hear that sins can be forgiven, and what would it mean to depend on the Spirit rather than your own persuasiveness in that conversation?
5-day reading plan
This week we explore how Jesus's post-resurrection commission in John 20 defines our identity and purpose in El Paso: sent by Christ to participate in his redemptive mission through the gospel of forgiveness.
Notice how the Son's mission flows directly from the Father's love and redemptive intent: 'God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son... For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.' This is the prototype for our sending. We are dispatched into El Paso not as judges but as ambassadors of forgiveness, carrying the same gospel impulse that animated Jesus himself.
Christ's parting commission is the defining mandate for every disciple: 'Go and make disciples of all nations.' This is not an optional specialty for the super-committed; it is the very heartbeat of Christian identity. Our presence in El Paso is inseparable from our calling to witness, baptize, and teach—we exist corporately to extend Christ's kingdom through the multiplication of believers.
After the Ascension, the disciples wait for the Holy Spirit's power before they move out into Jerusalem and beyond. Our sending, like theirs, is not a matter of human effort alone—we are equipped by God's Spirit to speak Christ's name with boldness and fruitfulness. The Spirit's indwelling presence transforms us from timid disciples into bold witnesses, capable of the very work Christ calls us to in our El Paso neighborhoods.
Luke's resurrection account emphasizes that 'repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in [Jesus's] name to all nations' (24:47). This is the heart of our commission: not moralism or social improvement, but the liberation that comes through knowing sins are forgiven in Christ. When we inhabit El Paso as Christ's sent ones, we carry the most liberating news possible—the power of genuine forgiveness through the gospel.
The risen Jesus declares, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation' (16:15)—and then he works alongside his witnesses, confirming the word with signs. Your life in El Paso is not incidental to God's plan; it is his chosen vehicle for reaching this city. Every conversation, every friendship, every act of mercy is part of how the resurrected Christ continues his saving work among us, and we are privileged to be his instruments.
Sent by Jesus to Save El Paso
Father, we stand amazed at your love for El Paso — a love so immense that you sent your Son not to condemn but to save, and now you have sent us, your church, into this city as bearers of that same redemptive purpose. We confess that we often treat our presence here as circumstance rather than calling, viewing El Paso as merely the place where we happen to live and work, rather than as the mission field where you have stationed us. We move through our neighborhoods and workplaces forgetful that we are there by divine appointment, ambassadors of reconciliation in a world fractured by sin.
Yet the gospel humbles and restores us: just as Jesus was sent by the Father to seek and to save the lost (John 3:16-17), so he has breathed upon us with the Holy Spirit and commissioned us to continue his work of forgiveness and redemption in the very streets and schools and homes of El Paso (John 20:21-23). We are not accident; we are assignment. We are the means through which Jesus has planned to extend his saving work in this city.
Grant us, we pray, the courage to embrace this sacred calling. Give us eyes to see our neighbors not as strangers but as the beloved of God, waiting for us to speak the word of forgiveness and new life. Empower us by your Spirit to witness with boldness yet tenderness, knowing that the authority Christ has given us is not to condemn but to offer reconciliation. Make us faithful ambassadors who understand that our work, our words, and our worship are all threads in your redemptive tapestry for El Paso.
To this end we commit ourselves — to live as those sent, to love as those sent, to speak as those sent. Glory be to Jesus, who sends us, and to you, Father, who loves El Paso with an everlasting love.
Why Did Jesus Send You Here?
This prompt invites your family to think concretely about their neighborhood or school as a place Jesus cares about and has sent them to. Listen for any sense of mission or calling in how they describe their daily life.
Pastor Eric said that Jesus sent us to El Paso the same way the Father sent Jesus into the world—not to judge people, but to help them know they can be forgiven. Think about the people you see every day at school, at work, in your neighborhood, or at the store. Why do you think Jesus might have sent you to be around those specific people?
Sent Together to El Paso
- What does it stir in your heart to hear that Jesus sent you to El Paso—not by accident, but as part of his redemptive mission? Where did you feel conviction or joy?
- How might our marriage look different this week if we truly believed that we're here together as God's means of continuing Christ's work in our city—in our neighborhood, our workplace, our friendships?
- Who is one person in El Paso that the Lord has placed in our path, and how can we pray together that Christ's love and forgiveness would reach them through us?
John 20:21
Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.'
Why this verse: This verse is the pivotal commission that establishes the sermon's central claim: your presence in El Paso is not circumstantial but divinely appointed, as Jesus sends you with the same redemptive purpose that the Father sent Him. It anchors the theological truth that Christians exist to extend Christ's mission of salvation to their specific communities.
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# Cross of Grace Church A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible. ## Sermons - [God So Loved El Paso (John 20:19-23, 2024-02-18)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2024/02/god-so-loved-el-paso) ## About - [About the church](/about) - [Plan a visit](/visit)
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