Sermon Recap Week 1

John Overview

Psalm 43:5 “5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

We are going to go over Joe’s sermons.

This week, I believe Joe is starting in John chapter 1

For the past few weeks, Joe has been preaching through an overview of the book and who John wrote it too.

But tonight I want to take a few minutes and help us understand a key part of who Jesus is, and I want us to look broadly at a few of the things Jesus said about himself.

As we think about these things, my prayer is that it will help you as you hear Joe preach about them in the coming weeks.

So here’s what I want us to do for 5 minutes:

I want you to discuss in groups this question:

Can God be in the presence of sin? This is something I was taught as a child and something you may have been taught as well.

But I want you to consider this:

Is this an accurate statement? Why or why not?

List biblical examples to support your claim.

Go!

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Discuss:

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Can I have a volunteer read

1. John 1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

2. Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

4. Genesis 3:9 “9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?””

Let’s discuss these in reverse order:

God’s being present with sinners in the garden.

Gen. 3:9. This is after Adam and Eve had sinned.

They are in the garden. They feel shame and vs. 8 says that they “Hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Very clearly, they are not seeking God.

The next verse is Gen. 3:9. Is God seeking them here in this verse?

Yes…

Now just pause for a moment and let that sink in.

Adam and Eve have just committed the first human sin.

They have messed up badly!

They feel guilt, shame, overwhelmed.

They do not want to be in God’s presence, but what is God doing?

He comes to them…

He pronounces consequences to them.

He kicks them out of the garden.

Lots of bad things happen, but even after all of that.

Someone read Gen. 3:21 “21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”

God makes them clothes…

In the first tender act of grace, God kills an animals and clothes his image bearers in the clothes.

Was God in the presence of sin here?

Yes…

2. God being present with sinners by taking on flesh.

Read John 1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Who is the “Word” here in John 1:14?

I need a volunteer to read John 1:1-5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

If the Word is Jesus, which John is clearly saying it is, then how was Jesus involved in creation according to John 1?

From this we can learn that the same God who was present in the garden, was also the same God who came and took on flesh.

Jesus is God.

Read Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 8:3-4 “3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

Jesus came to sinners to offer us forgiveness for sin.

3. Lastly, Jesus himself was a liar or this statement is not true.

Based on what we’ve already discussed, either Jesus wasn’t really God, making the Bible to be false.

OR

The statement, Jesus can’t be in the presence of sin, is false because Jesus himself came to be with sinners.

Not to keep us sinners, but to redeem us from sin!

Jesus can come to sinners, not to celebrate our sin, but to redeem us from it!

SO what did Jesus teach?

How did he redeem us from sin?

I want us to split into groups again of 3-4 and discuss the 7 statements Joe mentioned Sunday.

1. I am the bread of life. John 6:35 “35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

2. I am the light of the world. John 8:12 “12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””

3. I am the gate of the sheep. John 10:7 “7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”

4. I am the good shepherd. John 10:11 “11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

5. I am the resurrection and the life. John 11:25 “25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,”

6. I am the way the truth and the life. John 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

7. I am the true Vine John 15:1 “1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.”

What can we learn from these 7 statements of Jesus. Let’s go through them in order for a moment.