Watch Night Service Sermon Summary – Dec 31 2025

The Manifesting Presence of Jesus Christ 

John 5: 1-15  

The Bible says that it was a festival day and a Sabbath when Jesus entered the temple through the sheep gate.  There was a pool on the northern side called Bethesda which means house of mercy. The Jews had several festivals and feasts. The three main feasts were the feast of Passover, the feast of Pentecost and the feast of Purim.  

1.  New Command John 5: 8

Jesus came to the pool and found several people waiting to be healed by getting into the water as soon as the angel troubles the water.  He asked a man who was ill for 38 years if he wanted to be well.  He answered the Lord that he had no one to help him get into the pool when the angel disturbed the water. Jesus commanded him to stand up, take his bed and walk. He obeyed the command and did as Jesus told him.  Our Lord will do extra ordinary things for us. He does not always follow the norms. In the New Year our Lord will work in a different way than we expect to give us more than we can ask or imagine. 

2.  New Courage John 5: 11

As the healed person was walking with his bed in his arms, he was questioned by the Jews why he was carrying his bed on the Sabbath and thus breaking the law.  The man who was healed was not afraid of the Jews who questioned him. He boldly answered them saying, “The one who healed me told me to take up my bed and walk.”   Our Lord calls us to have new courage in the New Year.  Courage to face all our challenges knowing that our Lord is with us. The Lord who blesses us in unexpected ways expects us to be courageous in our convictions 

3.  New Conviction John 5: 12

Later our Lord saw the healed man and told him that now that he is healed, he must live with a renewed conviction to follow God faithfully.  Jesus told him, “See that you sin no more.”  In the New Year our Lord wants us to live with a renewed conviction to please God more than we did last year. God wants us to draw closer to Him than we were this year.  We must move from strength to strength and glorify God in the New Year.   God is willing to bless us in unexpected ways, God wants us to be extra ordinarily bold for Him and God wants us to please Him more than we have in the past.  Amen