12/25/22 Sermon John 1:1-14 "The Word" 14 Minutes

John 1:1-14

This morning I'll be reading John chapter 1 verses 1 through 14. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. John 1:1-14 John explained the words that he wrote,,, and why,,, in chapter 20:31,,, that says: “But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” And the way that he begins,,, here in chapter 1,,, helps explains the unique relationship of Jesus. John 1:1–14 (HCSB) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man named John who was sent from God. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday was the 4th Sunday of Advent.

We lit the candle of Love,,, actually,,, the “Presence that speaks of love”,,, and the reading for that was: We light these candles, the candle of joyous hope, of proclaimed peace, of deep everlasting joy, and today of presence that speaks of love, as a sign that no matter our circumstance, we know we are not alone.

At the Christmas Eve service yesterday,,, we lit the Christ candle and the reading was: We complete this circle as we rejoice in the light that shines in the darkness and declare with joy and with hope – rejoice a Savior is born!

Last Sunday we also looked at Isaiah 7:10-16 and learned that Ahaz made a mistake that we need to remember and learn from.

He didn’t trust God the way that he should and it cost him and the people of Judah.

If Ahaz would have shown God just a little bit of faith,,, it would have been so much better for all of them,,, but he chose to put his faith in the strength of men,,, instead of God,,, and that is a bad mistake.

And it’s a bad mistake for us as well.

Any time that we don’t trust God the way that we should,,, we end up paying for it.

And it usually cause us to lose sight of God’s path and wander around with our doubts and questions.

When really,,, all that we need to do,,, is trust God,,, even when that seems impossible,,, and remember that God is capable of so much more than we can ever imagine,,, so trust Him to do what is best,,, especially when we don’t see any way out on our own!

We have that “Presence That Speaks of Love” because of God’s love for us,,, and it helps us to know that Jesus Christ fulfilled that prophesy from Isaiah over 2 thousand years ago.

And because of that,,, Immanuel,,, God is with us,,, every day,,, giving us His,,, “Presence That Speaks of Love”,,, a love that helps us,,, each and every day,,, as we struggle with all that this world throws at us!

This morning we will look at these verses in John and see how they help us to see Christ this Advent season,,, and every day of our life,,, as we continue,,, in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ John explained the words that he wrote,,, and why,,, in chapter 20:31,,, that says: “But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.”

And the way that he begins,,, here in chapter 1,,, helps explains the unique relationship of Jesus.

John begins his Gospel by speaking about the Word—but he does not explain at first who or what the Word is.

We know that a word is a unit of speech that we use to express ourselves to others.

But John is not writing about speech,,, instead,,, he’s writing about a Person.

That Person is,,, Jesus Christ,,, the Son of God.

God has fully expressed Himself to mankind through,,, Jesus.

By coming into the world,,, Jesus Christ has perfectly revealed to us what God is like.

By dying for us on the cross,,, He has told us how much God loves us.

As a result of these things,,, Jesus Christ is God’s living Word to man,,, the expression of God’s thoughts.

When the disciples and others saw Christ,,, they saw God in the flesh,,, hopefully today,,, we as Christians,,, show others,,, that Christ is alive,,, and working in us,,, as well!

___________________________________ Verse 3 says: 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.

Jesus was not a created being; instead,,, He was the Creator of all things.

This includes mankind,,, the animals,,, the heavenly planets,,, the angels,,,— ,,, all things visible and invisible.

Without Him,,, nothing was made that was made.

There can be no possible exception.

If a thing was made,,, He made it.

As Creator,,, He is,,, of course,,, superior to anything He has created.

And,,, all three Persons of the Godhead were involved in the work of creation: “God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). “All things were created through Him (Christ) and for Him” (Colossians 1:16b).

___________________________________ Verses 6 and 7 say: 6 There was a man named John who was sent from God. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.

We’ve learned a lot about John the Baptist.

We know that he came to get everyone ready to receive Christ.

He pointed men to Jesus,,, not himself.

Yet,,, even so,,, he faced doubts and questions while in prison,,, even knowing all of the things about Jesus,,, he still began to question himself.

But we know that he went to Jesus with his questions and doubts,,, which is what we need to remember and copy,,, whenever we are faced with our own questions and doubts,,, so that we can get the right answer that we need to keep us on the correct path.

___________________________________ Jesus came into the world,,, but His own people didn’t recognize Him.

He was born as a little baby,,, grew up,,, completing the job that He was put here to do,,, then was crucified for our sins,,, but was resurrected,,, and lives today at the right hand of God,,, interceding for us!

___________________________________ Verses 12 through 14 say: 12 But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We have the chance today because of the birth,,, life,,, death,,, and resurrection,,, of Jesus Christ!

Once we accept Him as our Savior,,, God has given us the chance to be children of God!

And,,, through the help of the Holy Spirit,,, we have the ability to live the life that God has designed for us!

What a glorious gift that is for us!

___________________________________ And we are here today to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who made this all possible for us!

John wrote these words to help us see that Jesus was the Messiah,,, and by believing in Him we will be saved,,, and we celebrate today because Jesus’ birth made all of this possible.

This day is set aside to make sure that we remember His birth,,, and the sacrifice that He made for us!

___________________________________ So as we celebrate Christmas,,, remember to give God thanks for His love for us,,, and the way that He shows His love for us through the sacrifice that He made!

We have Jesus with us daily through the Holy Spirit,,, and the help that we get to guide us each day,,, got it’s start,,, from the birth of Jesus!

As Christians,,, we should show others the true meaning of Christmas by our actions,,, the way that we live our lives.

And we do that by being obedient to the words of Jesus,,, as we celebrate the birth,,, of our Lord and Savior,,, born in a manger,,, that night so many years ago.

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------

We profit from the Word when we are taught the great value of joy. Joy is to the soul what wings are to the bird, enabling us to soar above the things of earth.

Arthur Walkington Pink