Candle Light Service
Notes
Transcript
In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.
God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
v 1. Word- logos as we continue to read we put it into context we are shown that Jesus is the word.
Jesus was With God and in the community of the God Head Jesus was God.
v 3. Through - Jesus was the agent by which all things were created....Jesus was the instrument by which all things.
Genesis when we read about God Speaking and it coming into being…the preincarnate Jesus was the activating agent that things came into creation by and through him.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
v 4. The word gave LIFE
-Life - animation, movement
This word is related to the verb ζάω (zaō, “to live”) and broadly denotes either physical or eternal life. In the physical sense, zōē can refer to one’s life or lifespan (Luke 16:25; Acts 8:33). Paul contrasts physical life (“the present life [zōē]”) with eternal life, the life “to come” (1 Tim 4:8). The word zōē is also used to communicate the concept of eternal life (Matt 19:16; John 3:15–16; Acts 13:46, 48; Rom 6:22). God is the originator of life (zōē; Acts 3:15), and life is found in him, for he is eternal life (John 5:26; 1 John 5:20). Jesus is similarly referred to as life (zōē; John 1:4; 5:26; 14:6).
Davis, B. S. (2014). Life. D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Life gave light- throughout time we have seen people called to God.....He wooed us back into relationship with him....the relationship that was severed at the fall of man. Starting with a man who was raised in a family of people who worshipped other gods....God called out to him and made him the father of a new nation.
This light that wooed and transformed Abram into Abraham who gave lineage to a great fulfillment of God’s promise through faith. This light continues to break out from eternity and into our world without defeat through the children of God.
V 12. These children of God were not physical children born to him, but are the people who see beyond the vail and listen to the call of God and accept the message of Jesus as God, Jesus as Savior we given the
RIGHT- The greek word for this is actually Authority…God gave his authority to those who became his children through their faith.
not only do we see this here in John, But Jesus also tells us this in
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
He has given us the authority to surround people with the reality of God and leading, and guiding them into His one and only truth of being united with God through an eternal relationship with Jesus.
And in verse 14 we see the focus of Christmas
-The word became human and made his home among us
-Emmanuel God with us he came not with war in his hands, but as scripture says
-Full of unfailing love and faithfulness
John tells us that Jesus was hear to save us and also to drive back the darkness
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
and through the saving work that his birth made possible on the cross we now have that light living in us through the creation of new life and the power of the Holy Spirit to continually bring light into our life.
we are called to, like Jesus did, speak to the darkness
-through prayer and petition battle the principalities of this world that continue to do battle just outside of our physical view, but the results of that battle continue to play out before our very eyes
-Brokenness
-injustice
-pain of sin
-pain of death
As Children of God authorized to live in his holy presence and given the mandate to surround this world with his light we boldly walk into the darkness of this world with a light that has never been and will never be defeated. To this we say Amen and Amen.
Communion
Lighting of Christ Candle