February 1, 2019

“Introducing Jesus in Six Words”

In 2019 we are going to work our way through the first nine chapters of the book of John.  We hope to complete our Journey with John sometime in 2020. First things first, who is this John?  Well, he wasn’t, John Mark, the young man who terribly disappointed the Apostle Paul as a ministry associate and he wasn’t Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, who cried like a voice in the wilderness announcing Christ’s coming. This John, was the youngest of the twelve apostles who followed Jesus, was taught by Jesus, and was loved by Jesus.  This John was the one who, as an old man, was imprisoned on the island of Patmos for his faith and who, while there, wrote the Book of Revelation. John is also fond of repeating three words of progression in his Gospel – signs, believe, and life.  In using these three words, John emphasizes how God uses signs to inspire belief, and how belief leads to eternal life. While Matthew opens his account with Jesus’ earthly lineage to prove He was from the line of David, John opens his account with Jesus’ divine lineage. Sunday’s message will focus on John 1:1-17.  It would be very helpful if you took the time to read that passage before you get to church.  From those verses we’re going to focus on six words John uses to introduce us to Jesus.  Here are those six words – Word, God, Life, Light, Grace, and Truth. The journey continues! pastor jamie