Living a Welcome Home Life

John 17:1-5, 20-26 August 24, 2025 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis The heart of Christ revealed in John 17—that we would know God, be united as his people, and live on mission—should become the heart that shapes our daily and weekly patterns, writing a eulogy that reflects his priorities rather than our own.

Series

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Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticprophetic

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalapplicatory

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

25 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #21

"Three concrete tips for implementing daily time with God: (1) something is better than nothing—start small; (2) plan time, place, and content the day before; (3) use audio or movement if sitting and reading is difficult. Practical troubleshooting for common obstacles."

Doctrinal loci· 7 surfaced

Ecclesiology · 7 Soteriology · 7 Sanctification · 6 Bibliology · 4 Christology · 4 Theology Proper · 4 Pneumatology · 1

Bible citations· 21

Illustrations· 3

personal story · unit #4 — Pastor shares his personal interest in productivity tools and how most productivity advice becomes repetitive and predictable over time. Sets up contrast with what follows.
cultural reference · unit #5 — Explains the eulogy-writing productivity exercise in detail: writing what would be said about your life now versus what you hope would be said, then evaluating whether current patterns align with desired legacy. This becomes the controlling metaphor for the entire sermon.
personal story · unit #20 — Extended personal story about college internship with John, a pastor who modeled aggressive daily commitment to time with the Lord. Illustrates both the difficulty of daily devotions and the necessity of fighting for them. Establishes culture of honest struggle combined with dogged commitment.

Theological claims· 5

In John 17, Jesus is praying his eulogy—articulating the purposes for which he is about to go to the cross, and we get to overhear what he wants his life to accomplish. unit #6
The heart of Christ should be the heart of his people—our priorities and passions should align with what was on Christ's heart as he went to the cross. unit #7
Patterns form the path of life—our weekly rhythms will determine who we become, just as God intentionally shaped Israel's patterns to form them into his people. unit #14
Practices are not principles, but biblical principles must find expression in concrete practices or they will remain ephemeral and unapplied. unit #15
Just as bricks must be tightly joined to form a waterproof, structurally sound house, Christians are meant to have deep, lasting, close relationships with one another—supporting and being supported. unit #24

Read it

Full transcript

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0 · Pastor invites the congregation to turn to John 17 and provides housekeeping details about Bible availability and translation being used

I want to invite you to open your Bibles to John, chapter 17. John, chapter 17. If you're going to be maybe you don't have a Bible, We've got some available in the $0 bookstore. We'd love to give you one as our gift to you. And if you're looking at your phone or an app, we're going to be using the ESV version version of the Bible.

1 · Frames the passage as Jesus' prayer immediately before his betrayal and crucifixion, establishing the holy and intimate nature of what follows

And John 17 is a particularly, I would say, particularly precious text. It is Jesus prayer. If you look at chapter 17, it's his prayer right before chapter 18, his betrayal, arrest and crucifixion. And so we get the privilege of listening in to hear the heart of Christ right before he goes to the cross. And so the goal today is that we would hear the heart of Christ and then imitate the heart of Christ.

2 · Public reading of John 17:1-5, 20-26

John 17 beginning in verse one. As we read, let's remember this is God's word. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them, and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and love them even as you loved me. Me. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Oh righteous Father, even though the world does not know you. I know you. And these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.

3 · Pastor prays for God's blessing on the preaching and hearing of the word just read, asking for effectiveness in the congregation's lives and hearts

This is God's word. And, Lord, we pray for the preaching and the hearing of your word, that you would bless it and that you would make it effective in our lives and hearts. In Jesus name, Amen.

4 · Pastor shares his personal interest in productivity tools and how most productivity advice becomes repetitive and predictable over time

Well, I love. I have a confession. I love planners. I love productivity tips. I'm probably on too many productivity tip emails, if you get those. I follow too many productivity and planning people online. And so one of the challenges, though, about productivity tips or planning tips is after a while, they all are a little bit recycled. You know, it's like, you know, things like, hey, just remember that physical fitness is a part of your, you know, your mental health. You're like, cool, cool. And you read another one. It's like, remember that strong in body helps be strong. And you're like, okay, I get. I get it. We're. We're doing that again. And so I'm used to them, and I kind of filter through them.

5 · Explains the eulogy-writing productivity exercise in detail: writing what would be said about your life now versus what you hope would be said, then evaluating whether current patterns align with desired legacy

Until this year, I ran across a particular productivity tip that I had never seen, never considered, never thought about, and it was this. Before you plan your year, before you plan your week, write your own eulogy. Eulogy. Like, yeah, you're thinking the thing that you read at your funeral, the thing that people say, Ricky Alcantad was born in El PASO, Texas, In 1986, a small child born on Groundhog Day. And he, you know, like that eulogy. Yes, that's the eulogy. And the exercise is this. You write what you think would probably stand out about your life at the end, right? Not this week, not this month, but. But over the course of your life, what would be said of you if you had to write this next week? And then the exercise is, write the eulogy that you would hope to write in the future that you would hope to have written about you. So. So in other words, if there's things you're like, man, I would love to change this part of my eulogy to this. The exercise is helping you see that and then asking you to say, hey, are the things you're doing this year, this month, this week, are they getting at what you want written about you in the end?

6 · Connects the eulogy exercise to John 17, arguing that Jesus is essentially praying his own eulogy—articulating the purposes for which he is going to the cross

And it's such a helpful exercise. I confess, I did it. It was real weird trying to guess at what would be in my eulogy, but it was helpful because there were some Things I realized I wanted written in my final eulogy, that I don't know if they'd be written right now. And it helped me to go back to my week, to my month, to my year and say, are these priorities reflected in that long term hope? Now, why do I bring this up? Well, in John 17, the way I would say it is, Jesus is praying his eulogy. He is praying about the purposes for which he is about to go to the cross. Remember, this is a holy moment for Jesus. He is sweating drops of blood. He is in the garden of Gethsemane. He is trembling as he is about to face the wrath of God that he will bear for his people. And he is praying his heart. We get to overhear this holy moment, which I think is just extraordinary. We overhear the heart of Christ and what he wants his life to accomplish.

7 · Establishes the theological logic for the sermon: since we are Christ-followers, our hearts and priorities should align with Christ's heart and priorities

And why do we look at this? Well, we look at this because the heart of Christ should be the heart of his people. The things on his heart should be the things on our heart. And there should be. Although none of us will do what Jesus has done, there should be common threads in all of our lives and our eulogies that match up with Jesus eulogy. Right? In other words, if Jesus lives a life and we're Christians, meaning Christ followers, and we look at our lives and they're totally different than Jesus life, then we've gone wrong somewhere, right? So this text helps us sync up our heartbeats. If I could say it that way. Here's the heart of Christ beating. Here's. Here's our heart. We want to align them today.

8 · Exposition of John 17:3, explaining the dual meaning of 'know'—both salvific knowledge and relational knowledge

Now I'm going to give you the overview. First he prays that we would be welcomed into relationship with God. Now you see this throughout, but especially verse 3. This is eternal life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Now that word knows is it is A has two shades of meaning to it. It first of all, of course means that they would know him as Savior, meaning that they would know who he is, put their trust in him and be become one of his people, that he might save them. There's that sense, but there's also another sense in which the purpose of salvation is not simply hear me when I say this. Not simply that he would die for our sins. No, the purpose of salvation is that by dying for our sins we might know him again. In other words, Jesus is aimed at paying for our sins not as an end in itself, but so that relationship with God might be restored to us. That's why he's going to the cross. That we would be welcomed back into relationship with God.

9 · Exposition identifying the repeated 'that they may be one' theme in John 17

Second, that we would be welcomed back into relationship with God's people. I hope you picked up as we read John 17, all of the references that. That they may be one. That they may be one. That they may be one. Jesus is not going to the cross with a bunch of disconnected individuals on his heart and mind. Like, okay, I'm going for Bob, I'm going for Cindy, I'm going for Jorge, I'm going for Lucinda. You know, I just got to keep them all straight. No, it's not all these disconnected individuals. What does he say? He's going to the cross to purchase and save and redeem a people. A people that he desires to be one, to be united, to be together. That is one of the purposes for which Christ died. That we would be welcomed back into relationship with his people and be his people again.

10 · Exposition of John 17:18, 20, identifying the missionary purpose of the church

Third, last thing on his heart is that we would then invite others to be welcomed home. You see that in. In verse 18, he says, as you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. Well, why are they sent into the world? So that the. Look at verse 20, I do not ask for these only meaning his existing people, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. Meaning God's people are to be out there inviting others. They are sent out to invite others to Jesus.

11 · Synthesizes the three purposes Jesus prayed for into a memorable summary, then connects to last week's sermon on Bunyan's phrase 'come and welcome to Jesus Christ,' showing how that phrase encapsulates all three purposes

Here's the summary. Then. What does Jesus want his eulogy to say? What is the purpose for which he is about to go to the cross? It is, number one, that we would know God, Number two, that we would become his people and be one. And number three, that we'd be sent out to invite others. That is his heartbeat. And we get to hear his heart poured out before the Father as he about. He's about to be betrayed. Now, last week, I want to tie this in. Last week we talked about Bunyan's wonderful phrase, come and welcome to Jesus Christ and how that phrase really, it encapsulates all three of these aspects. Come. It's an invitation and welcome, meaning the Lord's disposition is joyful as you come. Come and welcome to what? To Jesus as Savior and to the Christ as your King. The heartbeat of Christ is that others might come, might be invited and might be welcomed. Well, to relationship with him, to relationship with one another, and to a mission and purpose in the world around them.

12 · Applies the eulogy metaphor to the three purposes identified in John 17, arguing that effective patterns require breaking big goals down to weekly rhythms

Now there's a reason that the eulogy exercise is such an effective productivity tool. Because here's what you do. You go, okay, great. Here's the big stuff I want to see happen in my life at the end of my life. Here's what three things I hope people will say about me. One, that he walked with the Lord. Two, that he loved God's people and they loved him. And three, that he lived with a sense of purpose in life. I want those things to be true of me. I want them on my eulogy. Look, there's a bunch of stuff I hope is not on my eulogy, right? If they're like, man, he won best supporting actor in the fifth grade musical. That's like, oh, that's. We're really scraping the bottom of the barrel here, guys. You know, he had a large collection of vinyl soundtracks. Like, okay, you don't need to mention that. That's fine. Probably spent too much money on them anyway. But listen, I do pray that it'd be said of me that I walked with the Lord, that I loved God's people, and that I lived with a sense of mission and purpose. And we get the chance, friends, we're all still alive and breathing. We get the chance today to go, is the life I'm living right now writing the eulogy I want written in the end? And is the eulogy I'm writing anything like the eulogy of Jesus Christ? Is his heartbeat reflected in my life? And. And the reason it's such an effective productivity tool is it forces you to go, okay, what about this week? This week, not some grand plan for next year or 2030, but this week, am I helping write that eulogy?

13 · Signals genre shift from expositional sermon to practical application, using sports metaphor of halftime talk to set expectations for what follows

So today in this message, we're going to talk about the nuts and bolts of life at Cross of Grace and the nuts and bolts of Christian life. Now it's going to feel less like an expositional sermon, which is what we typically do. And we're going to return to that pattern just a couple weeks as we open up another book of the Bible. But today, it's going to feel a little bit more like a halftime talk, meaning we're going to have the X's and O's on the board. We're going to have lines going here, there, here, there. Here's what we're trying to do. Here's. Here's where we are at halftime. Let's make some adjustments and get out there. That's the feel of today.

14 · Establishes first hermeneutical principle: patterns form the path of life

So two principles that I wanna give you before we jump into the nuts and bolts, because we're gonna be so practical I really want you to understand two things. First, I'm gonna really emphasize patterns because patterns form the path of life. Your patterns will form the path of your life. If you showed me your weekly planner, I probably could tell you what is most important in your life. And I could probably tell you who you're gonna become in a year or two or five. Why? Because our patterns form the path of life. And you see, in the Old Testament, God is so intentional about shaping the patterns of his people. Here's a festival, here's a thing. Here's another thing. It's not as though God is up there just going, man, I guess I'm starting a religion, so I probably should come up with some festivals or sacrifices or something. I guess people do that. No, somebody's doing. He's saying, I have a particular goal, that this people become more and more imitators of me as their God, that this people looks like my people. So I'm going to give them patterns that help them begin to look more like me. And so we would be wise to see that example and go, okay, great. Do my life patterns align with the patterns that I want to be true of me in the end? And my eulogy. So patterns form the path of life. Going to get really daily, really specifically weekly. That's what we're going to do in just a second.

15 · Establishes second hermeneutical principle: distinguishing between biblical principles (binding commands) and practices (contextual applications)

Second. Remember this. The practices are not principles, but they do help us apply them. Meaning this. The principle is what's clear in the Bible that we all have to obey. The practice is how we try to apply it. Let me give an example. The Bible never says, thou shalt have a 15 minute quiet time at 6am every morning. Right? And so we got to be careful because as Christians, we never want to say, well, that's in the Bible. When it's not in the Bible, it's a practice, right? So if you, if you say, hey, oh, you got married, great. Well, you, you must take your wife on a date every week. You must do it. It's in the Bible. And we would gently say, I, I don't think that's in the Bible. Yes, it's in the Bible. And never Red Lobster and always taco tote because she likes that better. You know, like doesn't say that either. Those are practices. But, but here are the principles. The principle is spend time with the Lord. The principle is love your wife as Christ loved the church. And so we can't confuse the two. But the principles that we hold dear must find some kind of expression in the practices of, of Our life. Meaning this. If you are like, I do love my wife, like Christ loved the church, and you have not taken her out to any special meal in the last five years, you probably need to reevaluate, right? She would probably like to elbow you and say, I would also like to petition you to reevaluate. Principles and practices each have their place. But if principals never find a practice, well, they'll be ephemeral and never be applied.

16 · Signals transition from theoretical framework to specific applications, previewing the three-part structure that will follow

Okay, so those are the ground rules. Now we're going to dive into three particular principles at Cross of Grace and then three particular applications that I hope to make from this. Okay?

17 · Exposition of John 17:24 establishing the first principle: we were made and saved to know the Lord relationally

First, big scriptural truth. We are welcomed back into relationship with God. And here's the principle. We are to live to know the Lord and relate to Him. So notice this is throughout John 17, but verse 24 in particular was helpful for me. It says, father, I desire that they also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am. Do you see that Jesus is going to the cross, desiring that we, his people, would be close to him, that we would be restored to him, that we would be near to Him. That is one of the reasons for which he goes to the cross. He cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Being cast away from God so that he could bring us near to Him. So the principle is this. We were each made and saved to know the Lord. That's the principle. Now look, I hope that over the summer you picked this up as we read the Psalms. The Psalms are full of intimate and personal language between the singer and the Lord. And this was very different than most literature in the ancient Near Eastern world. In the ancient Near Eastern world, the gods were not close and you didn't talk to them and pour your heart out to them. They were up there somewhere on a mountain, and you had to do a bunch of weird, complicated rituals to get them to pay attention to you. Not so with the God of Israel. The God of Israel brings his people close. He dwells in the midst of them in a tabernacle or a temple right there. And they speak to him intimately and personally. Here's the point. The Scriptures show us that Jesus died, not that we would know about God, but that we would know God. The point of all of this is not that you would learn more facts about God alone. It's rather that you would get to know your creator and Savior.

18 · Direct pastoral address to anyone unsure of their relationship with God, urging them to settle the question of whether Jesus is their personal Savior and Lord before pursuing any other practices

And look, if you are here today and you are not sure you know the Lord and you, you are not sure where you are with God. Don't apply any of the other practices in this message before you really dig into your relationship and go, man is Jesus Christ my Savior and my Lord. It's not enough for anyone to believe Jesus is a savior and is a Lord or a important figure. That's not going to save. That's not you knowing him. It must be, Jesus is my Savior and my Lord. This. This again is an invitation for us to come to him. That what? That we might know him. That's the principle.

19 · Moves from principle to practice: the church's goal is daily time with God

But then the practice is this at Cross of Grace. Here's our practice. We want to make it our goal to spend daily time with God. You see this practice reflected throughout the Bible. In Psalm 59, for example, the psalmist says, I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. Psalm 88. In the morning my prayer comes before you. Psalm 143. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love. So what do we hear? We hear this pattern going on in the psalmist life that. That as the day is starting, he is worshiping God, he is praying to God, he is learning about God. So he's got a scroll unrolled and he's meditating where it's in, hidden in his mind and heart. And he is thinking about it. And as he enters the day. That's the practice we want to imitate. Look at Cross of Grace. We want this to become one of our distinctives as a church, that we are all doing two things. One, we're admitting we're total beginners when it comes to the Bible and prayer and relationship to God. But we are doggedly committed to getting better, that we are doggedly committed to spending time with the Lord.

20 · Extended personal story about college internship with John, a pastor who modeled aggressive daily commitment to time with the Lord

And I had this vividly illustrated years ago when in the middle of college, I did an internship at another church out on the East Coast. And I got assigned to work sort of under one of the pastors for the college ministry there. And this guy's name was John, and he had such a distinct personality. He was formerly a Division 1 lacrosse player, meaning he's like a big dude, would run around in like, a face mask with a hockey stick and just wreck people. So he kind of approached everything in life like that, like just fired up. And I got to admit, going into that internship, I was pretty inconsistent about spending time with the Lord. I mean, I'd get fired up by, like, a sermon or a conference. And I'd be like, yeah, an hour a day with the Lord, you know, two hours a day. And maybe I would do it for a week. And then the next week would drop to half hour. And the third week, it would drop to nothing. Right. That was my pattern. I was real inconsistent. And so John, I remember, he was like, all right, so first thing we're gonna do is work on our relationships with the Lord in this internship. And so we're gonna get up. I don't even know what time it was. I do remember it felt earlier than necessary. It was like, we're gonna meet at 6:30 every day. I mean, every day, every week. And I was like, 6:30pm like, before dinner or after dinner? He's like, no, am. And I remember dragging myself out of bed just thinking, I am not used to waking up this early, man. And I. Maybe even six or five. I don't even know. It just. I just remember blearily looking, like, trying to drive in the morning. And here's the gift that John gave me. One, he gave me the gift of sharing his own struggles to be in the Word every day. I just assumed it was automatic for him. And he was like, no, man. I have to fight every single day. But then he gave us the push to say, this is worth fighting for. So you know what his practice was? I've just never forgotten this. I've forgotten a lot about that internship. I didn't forget this. He. He told us he would lay there in bed, the alarm would go off, and everything in his body was like, I just want to go to sleep. I just want to go to sleep. I just want to sleep. Five more minutes, ten more minutes. And he would like, out loud, recite to Himself, Deuteronomy 30:10. I have set before you life and death this day. Choose life. And then he would be like. And then, like, get out of bed. And I remember thinking, how does his wife feel about this? The alarm goes off. Your husband's like. And they just. And he was just honest with this guy. He's like, boys, I have to do this every day. Every single day, like. And I was like, oh, wow. I don't know if I need to roar, but I get the heart. I. I am. And you know what's great? His enthusiasm was contagious. And that's friends. That's the kind of culture we want to build at Cross of Grace, where we go. Yep, it's hard for everybody. But two, we are committed to doing it, even if it takes roaring in the morning. We are going to try to get in the Word together. That's the goal.

21 · Three concrete tips for implementing daily time with God: (1) something is better than nothing—start small; (2) plan time, place, and content the day before; (3) use audio or movement if sitting and reading is difficult

Now some super practical tips as we seek to Implement this. Number one, remember, something is better than nothing. I think sometimes a lot of us get real ambitious every time you hear a pastor or a book encouraging you to spend time with God and it's too complicated and too long. So I want to just remind you, five minutes is better than zero minutes. Okay? So something is always better than nothing. Now we're always looking to improve, but start somewhere. Two, get a time, get a place, get a plan. The day before, meaning if you wake up, if you decide to like figure out what you're gonna read at 6am tomorrow, you're probably not gonna, it's not gonna be super productive. You're gonna be lucky dipping, you know, like, oh, what's the Lord's word? I guess it's make your face shine upon me. I, I guess that's the word of the day. No, that's not what you wanna do. You wanna time, you wanna place and you want some kind of a plan. Okay. Third, it often helps to listen to the word or be active if it's hard for you to sit and read. So if it's hard, I mean, there's like no shame in this. It's hard to just sit there and kind of think about the words. Do an audiobook, walk around your house, make your coffee listening to the Word or go for a walk, which is what I'll do. Man, when I am dead tired and, and I do not want to spend time with the Lord, I will just walk the neighborhood and listen to the Bible, right? Sometimes I need that.

22 · Recaps first truth-principle-practice sequence before moving to the second

So that's the first thing. The, the truth is this. Christ died to bring us to God. The principle is that we should then spend time with the Lord. And the practice that we're going to try to implement is getting time with the Lord every day.

23 · Exposition emphasizing the audacity and holiness of Jesus' prayer for unity—that believers would be one as the Father and Son are one

Second, second big truth. We have been welcomed to God's people again. Do you see how many times in John 17, the Lord himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, right before going to the cross, prays over and over, lord, Father, may they be one as we are one. May they be united like we are united now. If Jesus hadn't prayed that out loud, I don't even think I would dare to pray that right. To say, oh man, I, Lord, make my relationship with those around me in the church as close as the relationship between the Father and the Son. I'd be like, not, that's too big. No, that's what Jesus is praying for. Now obviously it's going to be, it's going to be different. We're not part of the Trinity, but he's praying. The same heart, the same unity, the same love, the same affection, the same commitment would be true among us, as is the case between the Father and Son. You see how holy and, and amazing that prayer is.

24 · Develops brick illustration from 1 Peter 2 to show that Christians are designed for close, interdependent relationships

What leads to the principle we should have deep, lasting relationships with other Christians. Deep, lasting, committed, warm relationships with other Christians. I I It calls to mind 1st Peter 2, right? 1st Peter 2. The apostle Peter uses his illustration about how Christians are related to each other. He says that you, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house. So you think of a brick, right? Think of, okay, what's a brick's relationship to the other bricks? It's pretty close, right? If you're. I know we have some contractors at our church, right? If you're building a brick facade and the bricks are real far apart. Not great. Not great, man. I remember talking to one of the guys that oversees work crews in our church and that. He said, yeah, you'll have guys that are like, oh, it's fine. It's like an inch in between this tube. No, it's not. Okay, we'll just put some in there. No, you're not. You got to get the brick. You know, it's got to be. If it's not tight, it's not going to be waterproof. It's not going to be sealed. Like, let's go, man. What are we doing here? Similarly, the Apostle Peter was saying, that's what we're meant to live. We're meant to be close in, stuck in with other Christians, being supported by others, and then supporting those above us.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Jul 20, 2025

Mistakes Were Made

True confession of sin to God — not evasive blame-shifting or partial disclosure — is the means by which we trade the misery and spiritual death of hidden sin for the forgiveness, safety, and joy that God offers through the cross of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 32

Jul 27, 2025

The Center Will Hold

Recenter your life on the Lord and rejoice, because His character, plans, throne, and rescue provide the stable foundation, purpose, sovereignty, and deliverance that nothing else in life can offer.

Psalm 33

Aug 17, 2025

Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ

The great need of every human heart is to be welcomed to Jesus Christ, and the church exists to extend that radical invitation and welcome to the world.

John 6:35-37

August 24 · This sermon

Living a Welcome Home Life

The heart of Christ revealed in John 17—that we would know God, be united as his people, and live on mission—should become the heart that shapes our daily and weekly patterns, writing a eulogy that reflects his priorities rather than our own.

John 17:1-5, 20-26

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In John 17:1-5, Jesus prays about his purposes before going to the cross. What does it tell us about Jesus that he takes time to articulate…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week, we walk through the three purposes Jesus prayed for before the cross—restored relationship with God, deep unity among his people, and active mission—discovering how his heart becomes the pattern that shapes our daily rhythms.

Prayer

Father, Let His Heart Become Our Heart

Father, we come before you in awe of what we have just overheard—the prayer of your Son as he stands on the threshold of the cross, articula…

Family table

What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

Before the meal, explain that Jesus prayed about what he wanted his life to mean before he died—and that we all do the same thing when we th…

Couples

What's On Your Heart Before the Cross

When you heard Jesus pray his three purposes in John 17—knowing God, being united as his people, and going on mission—which one stirred your…

Memorize

John 17:3

This verse distills Jesus' prayer at its heart—that we would know God. It anchors the sermon's central claim that Christ's three core purposes (knowing God, unity, and mission) should shape our daily patterns and priorities. Memorizing this verse means carrying Jesus' own heartbeat into your week.

Memory verse this week

John 17:3

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Why this verse: This verse distills Jesus' prayer at its heart—that we would know God. It anchors the sermon's central claim that Christ's three core purposes (knowing God, unity, and mission) should shape our daily patterns and priorities. Memorizing this verse means carrying Jesus' own heartbeat into your week.

Draft · pending review

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In John 17:1-5, Jesus prays about his purposes before going to the cross. What does it tell us about Jesus that he takes time to articulate what his life and death are meant to accomplish?

John 17:1-5

→ How is this different from the way most of us think about our own lives and what we want to accomplish?
The sermon identifies three core purposes in Christ's prayer: restoring relationship with God, uniting his people, and sending them on mission. As you look at John 17:20-26, which of these three purposes do you see Jesus emphasizing most deeply, and why do you think that matters?

John 17:20-26
The sermon claims that 'the heart of Christ should be the heart of his people.' What would it mean in your actual week if Christ's three purposes—knowing God, unity, and mission—became your priorities instead of the priorities the culture around you is pushing?

→ Where do you feel the most tension between what Jesus cares about and what your job, your family, or your social circle expects you to care about?
Ricky teaches that 'patterns form the path of life'—that our weekly rhythms will determine who we become. Looking at your current weekly patterns, what do they reveal about what you actually value? What are you practicing into becoming?

Deuteronomy 30:10
The sermon distinguishes between principles and practices: we can know that daily time with God is important without actually doing it. What is one specific, concrete practice you could establish this week that would express your commitment to knowing God more deeply?

Psalm 59, Psalm 88, Psalm 143

→ What obstacle typically prevents you from establishing this practice, and what would need to change for you to actually begin?
Jesus prays in John 17:20-23 for the unity of his people—that we would be 'brought to complete unity' and that the world would know he was sent by the Father through our oneness. How is the depth of your relationships with other believers either reflecting or contradicting what Jesus died to accomplish?

John 17:20-23

→ What would it look like to prioritize one deep, close Christian relationship this month in a way that reflects Jesus' prayer?

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday John 17:3

Jesus defines eternal life not as duration, but as *knowing God.* When he prays 'this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God,' he reveals what his death accomplishes—access to the Father, not as strangers, but as children who know him. This is the beating heart of the cross: not a transaction completed, but a relationship restored. What we do this week—our prayers, our time in his word, our moments of worship—should flow from this same purpose: deepening our knowledge of the God who gave his life to make us known.

Tuesday 1 Peter 2

Peter calls us a 'chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession.' These identities were not formed by accident; they were written into Israel's calendar, feasts, and daily practices. God knew that *what we do repeatedly becomes who we are.* If Jesus went to the cross to make us his people, then our patterns—our morning prayers, our gathering with believers, our habits of obedience—are not optional additions to faith. They are the *means* by which the Spirit shapes us into his likeness. This week, ask yourself: do my rhythms reflect that I belong to Christ?

Wednesday John 17:20-23

Jesus prays not for himself, but that his followers 'may be brought to complete unity,' so the world would believe. Unity among believers was so central to his mission that he made it his dying prayer. Yet we often treat unity as a nice bonus, something we pursue if schedules permit. If Jesus considered it worth praying for at Gethsemane, it deserves to be worth our time and sacrifice *this week.* Where is there disunity in your life—between you and a brother or sister, a family member, someone in your church? Jesus' heart was for reconciliation. Does your week reflect the same priority?

Thursday John 17:18

Jesus says, 'As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.' This is not a vague commission; it is a sending—a concrete, directional call. 'Into the world' means into your neighbor's home, your workplace, your city. The principle of mission becomes a *practice* when you show up, when you speak, when you listen, when you serve. This week, identify one person or one place where Jesus is calling you to be sent. Not someday. Not as a grand gesture. But today—in a conversation, a meal, a moment of presence. Mission is a practice, not a wish.

Friday Psalm 59

The psalmist cries out from danger and finds refuge in God, but the prayer also assumes a *people*—those who gather, who witness, who stand together. We were not made to walk alone. As you head into the weekend, reach out to someone in your church community who knows your struggles and can pray with you, or to someone who is struggling and needs you to witness their pain. Christ's unity is built one brick at a time, through relationships where we truly know and are known. Let this Friday be the day you build something solid with another believer.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Father, Let His Heart Become Our Heart

Father, we come before you in awe of what we have just overheard—the prayer of your Son as he stands on the threshold of the cross, articulating not his demands but his deepest desires for us. We praise you that Jesus did not pray for comfort or vindication in that hour, but for our restoration, our unity, and our mission. His heart was set on knowing you, on binding his people together, and on sending us into the world as his witnesses. This is the heart of Christ revealed, and we ask that it would become our heart too.

We confess that our daily patterns often betray a different set of priorities. We build our weeks around what is urgent rather than what is eternal. We neglect the time with you that forms the foundation of everything else. We live as scattered individuals rather than as a bound-together family, and we forget that we have been sent on a mission that is not our own invention but his commission. Forgive us for the gap between what Christ died to accomplish and what our rhythms actually reflect. We have let the noise and pressure of the world write a different eulogy than the one he intended.

And here is the good news: the same Christ who prayed that prayer has given us his Spirit to align our hearts with his. He has not left us to figure this out alone. He has shown us the pattern—daily time with him, deep fellowship with his people, and faithful sending on his mission. These are not burdens laid upon us but gifts he offers to reshape us from the inside out (John 17:3). By his grace, we can begin again, this week, with one day, with one conversation, with one pattern that reflects what he values.

Father, make us a people whose daily lives—our morning prayers, our gatherings with one another, our words and work in the world—write a eulogy that echoes his. Give us courage to start somewhere, even in small ways. Form us through the patterns we establish now so that by his mercy we become the people he prayed for us to be (John 17:20-23). And bind us together so tightly that the world sees not our division but our unity, and knows that you sent him. We commit ourselves to his heart. Amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

What Do You Want to Be Remembered For?

For the parent

Before the meal, explain that Jesus prayed about what he wanted his life to mean before he died—and that we all do the same thing when we think about how we want to be remembered. Invite each person at the table to answer the prompt. Listen for what your kids value, and gently help them connect their answers to what Jesus cared about: knowing God, loving his people, and helping others know him too.

Jesus prayed about three things he wanted his life to accomplish: knowing God, bringing his people together, and sending them out on a mission to tell others about him. If someone wrote about your life someday, what would you want them to say you cared most about? What do you spend your time doing that you hope people remember?

works for ages 7+; younger children can share one thing they like doing; older kids will engage with the deeper question of legacy and priorities

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

What's On Your Heart Before the Cross

When you heard Jesus pray his three purposes in John 17—knowing God, being united as his people, and going on mission—which one stirred your heart most, and why?
Look at the patterns you and I have established together this week: where do our daily rhythms actually show that these three things matter to us, and where are we drifting toward something else?
What is one concrete practice—morning prayer together, a weekly meal with another couple, an act of service as a team—that we could commit to this month that would write Christ's heart into our shared life?

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Mistakes Were Made (Psalm 32, 2025-07-20)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/07/mistakes-were-made)
- [The Center Will Hold (Psalm 33, 2025-07-27)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/07/the-center-will-hold)
- [Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (John 6:35-37, 2025-08-17)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/08/come-and-welcome-to-jesus-christ)
- [Living a Welcome Home Life (John 17:1-5, 20-26, 2025-08-24)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/08/living-a-welcome-home-life)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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