Receiving Jesus in 2026 (John 1:1-18)

Receiving Jesus in 2026 John 1:12 Introduction • The great American export over the years has not been cotton, military supplies, oil, or any other such commodity. The great American export is the celebrity: inventors, athletes, actors, musicians, and fictional characters. • Preachers have been no exception – American Christians easily fall prey to the cult of celebrity. • To begin our year right, I want to focus our attention on the one, true, superlative Person – the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Defies Category (1:1-5) 1. Jesus is the Word (1:1): He doesn’t merely speak good words or write helpful words, but He is existentially the Word and the world is existentially bound up in his words. 2. Jesus is Life (1:4; 14:6): He doesn’t merely preserve life, but creates it and restores it; Jesus gives his life at will and takes it up again at will. 3. Jesus is Light (1:5; 8:12): He doesn’t merely bring electric light or just harness the lightening; Jesus simultaneously reveals and blinds; He drives away darkness by His mere presence. Jesus Must be Received (1:12) 1. Receiving Jesus means “believing” him (1:12; 2:23f). 2. Receiving Jesus means accepting His message (5:43). 3. Receiving Jesus means receiving Jesus’s people (13:20). 4. Receiving Jesus is to accept the Spirit of Truth (14:1617; 20:22). 5. Receiving Jesus is deeply personal and internal (4:14; 6:53). 6. Receiving Jesus demands His permanent residence in your heart (15:1ff). Receiving Jesus in 2026 1. Humbly accept the gift that Christ is offering. 2. Eagerly receive the Word of Christ and let it dwell in you richly. 3. Lovingly embrace the unity and fellowship of Christ’s people. 4. Proudly adopt the stigma that Christ imparts.