My First Anchor

Keith Doyle, Teaching Pastor - 1/20/2026

John 17:1-12

This week, we are inviting you into a moment; a moment in time where Jesus steps into the upper room, of John 13-16, with his disciples. Can you picture it? He sits down at the table across from them, almost as if it's a modern day 'table talk,' bringing comfort in their anxiety and fear, and preparing them for his departure. After offering a series of pledges and promises, his words culminate in a statement of triumph.

Pastor Michael ended with those words of triumph in his sermon last Sunday: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (16:33). 

With that climactic promise of ultimate victory, Jesus ends his talking to the disciples, and now, He talks to His Father. Jesus pours out his heart in prayer. Philipp Melanchthon once said, “there is no voice which has ever been heard, neither in heaven nor in earth, more exalted, more holy, more fruitful, more sublime than the prayer offered up by the Son of God to His Father…” 

So, what did Jesus pray to the Father about? We’ll explore this prayer together, this Sunday, at CBC.


 Jesus’ prayer to His Father:

  • Reveals the Goal of Jesus’ Love (1-5), “…Glorify your Son, so that the Son may glorify you…” (1)
  • Rejoices In the Grace of Jesus’ Love (6–10), “…they were yours…you gave them to me…” (6)
  • Reassures Us of the Guardianship of Jesus’ Love (v.11–12), “I guarded them and not one of them is lost…” (12)


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