Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Have you ever tried to settle a dispute between two “passionate” people?

Tricia and I have had a dispute for years… What the A/C/Heater temperature needs to be set on and if the television should be on all night or not.

There are certain arguments that are clearly worth dying for and in my opinion, this is one of them.

Maybe your argument in your home has to do with the position of the toilet seat or the proper placement of toilet paper.

Some people prefer beans in their chili.

I call those people unAmerican or at least unTexan.

Disputes have been around for years.

While I’m speaking of light hearted disputes, you and I both know that disputes have led to friendships ending, marriages falling apart, and countries going to war.

In terms of spirituality, disputes have led to some of the most terrible moments recorded in history.

Jesus was placed a cross because of dispute.

How do Christians learn to build their own assurance of faith in the eyes of dispute?

If you are following Christ today, you are aware of the tension that surrounds your way of life.

There’s are choices you face as a Christian today:

Stay out of it completely.

Press forward.

I believe that the book of first John gives you the ability to lean into our culture and understand how to best engage it.

-14

1 John is considered a letter like the other letters of the NT, but it does not have the same form.

Doesn’t identify a sender and reciever.

It doesn’t wish for health of the recipient.

Not a normal conclusion.

It is better described as a “tract”.

(Pamphlet)

Written around the same time as John’s gospel.

The Jewish Christian community was being expelled from the synagogue as heretics.

There was a split between the Jewish community.

1 John was intended to confront a group that interpreted tradition of scripture and Jesus as the messiah incorrectly.

The reader is encouraged to hold fast to the correct interpretation of the tradition.

We will hit many different subjects throughout the next few weeks but today, we are going to focus on the prologue and do our best to understand the apostle Johns meaning and intention to begin this letter.

John has a purpose for every reader in this writing.

1. Jesus is Pre-existent and Historical.

John is clear in his beginning.

In a parallel to & 4, he begins his letter by stating that Jesus is pre-existent just like His father.

He doesn’t ever say that Jesus “began to be,” but that he was essentially around before He was ever manifested on the earth.

He was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was.

John announces this to the people through his writing so that they can understand what has always been true.

He wasn’t only from the beginning, but He was also with the Father the entire time.

God did not enjoy solitude by Himself but he had conscious, continuous, intimate communion as with His Son.

Jesus then entered history through the physical realm.

heard … seen … looked upon … handled

Hearing and Seeing emphasizes that one has had a direct, personal experience in a marvelous way.

“looked upon” we beheld Him.

Not in terms of a vision upon Him, but understanding that He entered history and made special witnesses.

“handled” Not handling that gives us the ability to mold.

Handling that is allowed.

John himself leaned on Jesus at the last supper.

As a result, Jesus became an audible, visible, and tangible appearance of what has been around from the beginning.

He made it possible for human beings to know the nature of God.

We could not have seen the one who was eternally with the Father unless he had taken the initiative to deliberately show Himself to people.

Humans can only know what God is pleased to make known.

“The Word of Life” (Nowhere else in the Bible) - The whole message from God to man, which tells of life, or perhaps, out of which life springs, which beginning to be spoken by the prophets, was at last fully proclaimed by one who was His son.

The descriptive title of the eternal Son Jesus Christ.

John declares the reality of Jesus to people that apposed His ability.

The whole message from God to man, which tells of life, or perhaps, out of which life springs, which beginning to be spoken by the prophets, was at last fully proclaimed by one who was His son.

Announcing a track meet or a football game.

My job is to declare the results of what the athletes have done.

I’m not doing anything.

The athletes accomplishments are the result of the work done by the coach to prepare athletes for competition.

- A good coach is a relationship builder.

- As announcer, I’m called to speak on what I see.

As followers of God, we trust in Savior who was around from the very beginning.

He entered history and manifested God’s love for people.

It’s so simple and yet so profound.

You are were not pardoned by the new savior on the block.

He has been involved in pre-existence, creation, the Old Testament, The New Testament, and is present now.

He understands everything

You can have assurance of your Savior this morning.

2. Jesus was visible to everyone.

Jesus was a revelation given to the few for the sake of the many.

They were to declare it to the world.

While John pointed out the pre-existence of Jesus in history, he then presented different aspects of the same truth.

“The Word became flesh” - the historic fact of His incarnation.

“The life was manifested” - the unfolding of that fact in the operations of life.

One shows the process in which He became human and the other explains how He was recieved.

John brings up three ideas from this message

experience - The disciples spent considerable time with Jesus in His ministry giving them experience with Him.

testimony - As a result, the disciples were given a story.

announcement - The disciples had a story that they were called to announce to all people.

“Eternal life” - A life in its quality of not being measured by time.

It’s a quality of life with the father.

I divine life.

“With the Father” - Since Jesus was with the father from the beginning, salvation with him unites all believers with the Father.

Life, that was broken by sin returns a redeemed world back to Him.

A newspaper report, television program, or documentary will never be able to see an event better than your own two eyes.

Ranger game walk-off, Dirk Nowitzki buzzer beater, or a Hail Mary pass is better seen live.

John had seen and experienced the Savior personally.

He was at the foot of the cross whenever Jesus died.

He was a key witness to Jesus.

If anyone was able to say that Jesus wasn’t the Savior, it could have been John.

He had a message to share to the people for a purpose.

The disputes of his lifetime led John to share the simple, but profound words with the people.

What he seems to be saying here is: “Our own eyes have seen, and our own hands have touched him.

We have heard and looked at him for ourselves.